Last January, actor-writer-comedian Rob Delaney (“Catastrophe,” “Deadpool 2) lost his son, Henry, after a two-year battle with brain cancer.
Henry was just two-and-a-half years old.
During the painful ordeal, Delaney began writing a book about Henry’s illness to help other parents of sick children. He wanted to remind others that “someone understood and cared” about their pain.
However, Delaney stopped writing the book when he learned Henry only had a few months to live. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with his son and family.
“I stopped writing when we saw the new, bad MRI,” Delaney wrote. “My wife and his brothers and I just wanted to be with him around the clock and make sure his final months were happy. And they were.”
Eight months after Henry’s death, on September 18, Delaney sent out a tweet with a link to excerpts of his unfinished book he posted at Medium. “I hope this helps,” he tweeted.
The passages shared by Delaney reveal the toll a terminal illness has on a family.
In the essay, Delaney discusses how the treatments affected his young son’s body.
Delaney also highlights the important role that caretakers played in keeping his family sane throughout the ordeal.
Then the essay abruptly ends.
Last June, Delaney and his wife, Leah, learned they were having another baby.
His positive experience with England’s National Health Service encouraged him to ask all Americans to fight for Medicare for all.
Share image by Rob Delaney/Twitter
