Nicholas Jensen was six years old, and he was dying. This is the story of the adults around him who helped him live his life.
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Kind World is a podcast about the profound impact one act can have on our lives. This Kind World story about 6-year-old Nicholas Jensen follows his family after he’s diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly they face questions any parent would dread.
How do you tell a boy that he’s sick?
Nick didn’t take well to a number of the doctors at the hospital. But oncologist Melody Cunningham became a part of the family. She earned Nick’s trust by letting him be him – she’d play with his G.I. Joes or laugh as he pulled pranks on her.
How do you explain to a boy what death means?
When Nick took a turn for the worse, Melody drove to his house, showed him her father’s Purple Heart and explained that she was Nick’s age when her father died. Nick’s mother says their conversation seemed to strengthen him. “Although he never said the words and asked about dying,” Melody says, “I think in that moment we had that talk about him dying.”
How do you help a child die?
At Nick’s final moments, Melody and his parents held him for 15 hours, telling stories and crying together. Melody and Nick’s mother continue to stay in touch 13 years later, remembering how Nick used to play practical jokes and rollerblade around the Boston hospital where they all first met.
You can listen to the story or read the transcript here:http://www.wbur.org/2015/12/04/kind-world-19-she-remembers-it-all
I can’t imagine.
People sometimes ask what super power we would want if we could have one.
Mine would be the power to heal children.