Please leave a short message for my friend: America's lost a hero.........

.....and this hero isn't anybody you know.  I didn't know him, either.  This hero's mother is a dear friend of mine.  Her son was diagnosed with cancer about 8 years ago, four months after having married the girl of his dreams.

This isn't his name, but I'm going to call this hero Rob because I want to protect his family's anonymity.  I wanted you to know about this man because he was smart, brave, funny, kind, giving, and lived and died a hero.  I think most policemen are heroes but Rob was special.  Rob was a policeman in a city some distance South of where I live and he did his job and he did more than that.  He was so loved by his fellow cops that they kept vigil at his home the whole three weeks he was in hospice care, having returned from the hospital to be at home with his wife and one-month old daughter when the end came. Yes, I said one month old daughter, born coincidentally on my birthday, born by amazing technology, and born 3 weeks early, as healthy as a little girl can be, born in time for her daddy to get to see and hold her for the 3 weeks until he left her and her mom to live in their hearts for the rest of their lives. In those last, sad weeks that he was under hospice care, his wife would put the baby in the crook of his arm and he would caress her and Daddy and his little girl would sleep together like that.  His colleague cops say they can't wait till his little girl is old enough to understand because they're eager to tell her what a great daddy she had.

I think Rob suffered more than anybody I have ever known.  Every time he finally sort of recovered from each setback which prompted really horrid, invasive surgeries and treatments, he'd go back to the work at the police force with neuropathy and nausea and worse. It was very hard for his mother and wife and friends to see what he was going through but, from what I've heard of his character, I think it was probably harder for him to know how much his mother and wife suffered watching his discomfort.

Rob worked almost to the end.   He was a hard worker, responsible, and dedicated to his calling. And he did more than just his job. His fellow cops tell his family that he would buy sandwiches and pass them out to homeless people on his beat.  Typical of what he'd do, he frequently visited an old lady who lived in a small trailer to make sure she had enough food and was doing okay and, when she heard he was on his death bed, she visited him, holding his hand while she sat by the hospital bed they had installed in the dining room of his home.  He fed stray cats, paid for vet care for poor peoples' animals, and bought cat and dog food for them.  He also helped the homeless with food and shelter when he could.  He was known by his colleagues and the people on his beat for having an extraordinary heart, so giving to everyone, so caring to stray animals. 

His mother raised Rob by herself, with no help from anyone; she gave him faith in Jesus Christ, she gave him love of this great country, she gave him good character, and she gave him what it takes to be a man.  His mother was with him when this hero took his last breath.  She's my hero, too. 

Please pray for my friend and her family......I know you don't know who they are, but God does.
Thanks a million.
z