Sam

Last fall, Claire learned that one of her good friends, Sam, was having some medical issues. The problems baffled the doctors and he was bounced around from one specialist to another, from one hospital to another, from one town to another...nobody could figure out what was going wrong. (You can read his story here)


It took 10 months before they could come up with any type of solid diagnosis. It was a very rare form of cancer. By this point, Sam was having issues with his vision, his thought process, and had little to no strength. Sam was very sick.


At the beginning of July, the doctors decided to try radiation to attack the cancer. On July 18, after 1 full week of radiation, things were looking good. To quote the family journal:

"Today ends Sam's first full week of radiation. Everything is going fine, but he is extremely tired. He's put on a few more pounds and is up to 90 pounds now."

Radiation continued last week and there was hope for everyone involved. Unfortunately, by the end of week two, Sam started to get very sick again. On Monday this week, Sam was taken to the ER with respiratory distress. He was admitted with pneumonia. The family journal on Tuesday, July 29th reads:

"After multiple discussions with several of his doctors, I have agreed to honor Sam's wishes. We are currently seeking comfort measures only, and Sam will be moved to Bethany House (a residential hospice facility)in town later today."

Claire got word early this morning that Sam passed away.


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Sam and Claire were wonderful friends. He was a huge part of her life for most of college and after he got married to Kelly their friendship continued. Earlier this year, Claire was able to fly down and celebrate Kelly's birthday with her. She also got to spend some time visiting Sam in the hospital. A great time was had by all and Claire returned to Portsmouth very happy after spending the weekend with people that are so very important to her.


When I met Claire, I was told that there were a few friends that I had to meet. By the end of last year I had met each of them, except Sam and Kelly. We were going to fix that. We HAD to fix that.

Unfortunately, I never got that chance to meet Sam and I am very sad for that.


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Sam leaves a beautiful wife and two very young children behind. Please keep them in your prayers today.