When your child is diagnosed with a terminal illness during infancy, it can be hard to keep the faith.
Videos by InspireMore
The Tanner family of Dillon, South Carolina, know all too well how easy it would be to slip into negativity and allow the pain and fear to take over their lives. Their son Lincoln, who is just 14 months old, has been diagnosed with a rare, terminal form of epilepsy called malignant migrating partial seizure of infancy (MMPSI). He is not expected to live past early childhood.
Facebook
Abby and Justin Tanner have spent all of Lincoln’s short life devoted to caring for him. At one point, the tiny baby experienced up to 200 seizures a day.
Facebook
Abby has maintains a blog, as well as a Facebook page called Lincoln’s Road, to keep people updated on his progress. “Lincoln’s road of disability is challenging in every way,” she says, “but we know Who leads us.”
Facebook
It is the Tanner’s strong faith that keeps them from wallowing in grief. “You have to reach for the joys that are today, and you have to embrace those and not get sucked into this cycle of hurt and despair,” Abby said.
Facebook
The couple is used to spending hours at the hospital while Lincoln receives neurological care for his condition. On one such visit to Duke Cancer Center, Abby spotted a piano in a patient area that was begging to be played. She sat down, with Lincoln slumbering peacefully beside her in his stroller, and began to play a slow, emotional song.
Facebook
Abby sang, “Never Enough,” an original song written by “The Voice” singer Loren Allred. She has a beautiful singing voice but it’s the heartfelt emotion behind the song that tugs at the heartstrings. You can feel the love that flows from Abby to her son; a devotion that is undiminished by his poor health and devastating prognosis.
“Music just communicates things that words can’t,” Abby explained. “It just heals my heart to be able to play and sing.”
I’m trying to hold my breath
Let it stay this way
Can’t let this moment end
You set off a dream with me
Getting louder now
Can you hear it echoing?
Take my hand
Will you share this with me?
‘Cause darling without you
All the shine of a thousand spotlights
All the stars we steal from the nightsky
Will never be enough
Never be enough
Towers of gold are still too little
These hands could hold the world but it’ll
Never be enough
Facebook
Employees of the Duke Cancer Center heard Abby playing, and recorded video of the emotional moment between mother and son. After the hospital uploaded the video to their Facebook page, Abby was shocked to find the video had gone viral.
Facebook
“You know, it was just a moment between he and I, and it wasn’t until we looked up and we saw a bunch of people clapping afterwards, really enjoying it, that we knew anybody else was even there,”Abby said.
Facebook
What a lovely tribute. Abby hopes that the video’s popularity will increase awareness, and therefore research, to support Lincoln’s rare disease.
Watch the video below and please share to send good thoughts and well wishes to Lincoln and his family.
Want to be happier in just 5 minutes a day? Sign up for Morning Smile and join over 455,000+ people who start each day with good news.
