A Dying Boy's "Way of the Cross"

If you look on Youtube, you can find several videos of young boy named Garvan Byrne. He was born with a rare bone marrow disorder called Franconi’s anemia. He was interviewed while in hospice. Together, the videos run for about 20 minutes. I was fascinated with his spiritual maturity and watched all three, but here include only the final one. In it, Garvan explains his thoughts about prayer, the Eucharist, his impending death, and his concept of heaven.

Garvan was fully aware of his illness, fully aware of his impending death, and fully in love with Jesus. As I listen to him, I find myself once again experiencing a very strange sensation which is difficult to explain… one which I’ve experienced before as a nurse working with patients who were dying.

To me, there are few experiences more sacred than that of being allowed to walk with someone along their final “way of the cross”. To watch them as, perhaps, they struggle with doubts about their life, sorrow about things left undone, and haste to say things previously left unsaid… This never fails to humble me. To see someone try to discover the meaning of their illness, to watch them try to figure out the “why’s”… This often causes me to examine my own faith, and to find it strengthened.

I’ve been at the bedside of a few people who have alienated everyone they’ve known, and who walk the “way of the cross” alone. I’ve seen families arrive too late to be reconciled, and who’ve left empty-hearted. There are few things in life that are sadder, and this has made me reexamine my own relationships.

But I’ve seen far more occasions when families surrounded a dying person with love. In a strange way, at times I’ve found myself envious as I’ve watched this outpouring of love, and I’ve wondered if I, too, will have touched the lives of those around me so that I won’t die alone.

Watch this video of Garvan as he nears the end of his “way of the cross”.



May God grant us the grace and maturity which Garvan had.

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