Fortune

Someone I know from the US had a child a few years ago who was stillborn, due to many medical complications in the womb. They knew it was going to happen, but I can’t imagine that made things much easier. This person just found out that their other child has a form of cancer that is so rare in children that there’s no real baseline for how to treat it or what will happen. In adults, however, it is about as bad as cancer gets.

I don’t know this person very well – we got on well enough, but didn’t interact too often, so I’d hesitate to say we were friends. I want to say something encouraging to this person, but I’m at a loss for what. I can see no good here. So instead I remember that my children’s health is a gift beyond all measure, and hope that my friend finds some way forward.