At 5:30am Monday, our friend Carlo Santiago took his final breath in a room at CHLA. He was 10 years old, and had just passed the six year anniversary of his cancer treatment.
Carlo was my friend - our friend - and I will miss him in ways words can't convey.
I will miss this little boy that I met along the path of life, of cancer life. In a world filled with obstacles, medical rejection and strife, Carlo thought only of music, jokes, words and conversation. I never saw him cave inward or resort to darkness, even though nobody would have faulted him for it.
Carlo made me smile. He blew my mind with his sharp wit, his unending vocabulary and his appetite for music. When I went up to see him the night before I left for France, he was zoning in and out - the push of the pain and the pull of the powerful medication pumping straight into his spine. When I arrived, he heard my voice and rallied: his eyes opened, he spoke a sentence in whatever voice he could gather, and he pulled his severely cracked lips into a smile.
With that wry smile on his face, Carlo spelled the name of the pain medication that was easing him through. He was wearing his Pablove tee shirt that night.
Carlo will never leave me. He cut deep into me in a way that would take others decades.
I am grateful to have met this little boy and his amazing parents, Toni and Sam.
8 comments:
Love to Carlo's family...
Thank you Jeff for sharing. It was an honor to have known & taken care of Carlo. Pablo & Carlo hanging out now....
Sheila
Thank you Jeff for sharing. It was an honor to have known & taken care of Carlo. Pablo & Carlo are hanging out now....
Sheila
Sending you all love.
Saying goodbye never gets easier,does it?With each one,our hearts break a little bit more but the resolve that propels us to find cure is ignited in epic proportions, by the light that these precious kids shine in our lives.
See you Saturday ...
Jeff,
This hits me very hard as you know. My heart goes out to Carlo and his family and loved ones. I just want to go stand on mountain top and scream...........
again.
Why Carlo..why Pablo......why Kelsey.....why innocent children. I have to believe that there is a profoundly better existence out there for our souls. There just has to be.
Thank you as always for your courage and empathy in the face of a faceless, brutal, and indiscriminate foe.
Pablove
-Dave
Thanks Jeff for sharing. I am glad to see Carlo had your company and love.
Our heart goes to Toni and Sam...
"Goodbye, Carlo, RIP. We will see you in heaven." said Christy and Christian.
We are Carlo's friends and neighbor in Hong Kong. My boy, Christian,age 8, cried when his teacher told them the news in class. My girl, Christy, aged 10, Carlo's classmate at R1 and G5, was much saddened.
Carlo will always be our good friend.
Goodbyes are not forever.
Goodbyes are not the end.
They simply mean I'll miss you
Until we meet again!
REST in Peace Carlo
Dear PF, (Pablo's Fam)
I honestly came across Pablog doing some research for a position with Pablove that I was interested in. That's what got me here...I then stayed for three days reading every entry.
Pablog and the love and honesty in it's words have changed me.
Pablo's story of courage and fight captured me, but what changed me was how you let your love and grace lead you though the battle. Your battle was pure and full and love, it was a read that was "think changing" for me. It is so rare to walk through this world with an open heart and to lead with love. Your family has obviously taken Pablo and his soul and spirit and spreading it all around. The words and outlook in this blog have shifted my thinking and make me only hope that if I am ever faced with such triumphs I can handle it with as much beauty and grace.
Thank you for sharing the gift of your words.
Fondly,
Sarina Aguirre
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