It’s not the news any one of us wanted to hear about teenage cancer warrior Will Roberts as he battles Stage 4 cancer.
Just two days ago, his family was holding onto hope that the experimental treatment they had traveled across the country to receive was finally beginning to work.
Today, they say they have reached the point where faith is all they have left.
If you’ve been following Will’s journey with me, you know this 15-year-old from Alabama has spent the last 18 months fighting Stage 4 osteosarcoma.
After exhausting nearly every treatment available, a viral video helped open the door to an experimental treatment in California that his family prayed would save his life.
At first, there were encouraging signs.
Doctors believed the treatment was attacking Will’s tumors so aggressively that it created a rare complication as his body struggled to clear the dying cancer cells.
His family celebrated small victories.
Will was sitting up in bed. His double vision had nearly disappeared.
For the first time in days, they believed they were turning a corner.
Now, Brittney says everything has changed again.
She says Will’s liver numbers continue to rise, and his liver has become so enlarged that it is causing severe abdominal pain.
He is now receiving methadone, ketamine, and Dilaudid to help control the pain.
“We have reached the point of what this journey has been all about… leaning into faith when there is nothing else,” she wrote.
Earlier today, Brittney says she, Will’s father Jason, his grandmother, and other loved ones gathered around his hospital bed.
“There comes a moment when you realize you have done everything humanly possible, and all that remains is to trust the One who has carried us this far.”
From the very beginning, she says she and Jason made a promise to fight for their son with everything they had.
“We have loved him fiercely, advocated relentlessly, and chased every door God opened.”
Then she shared the words no parent ever wants to have to write.
“I don’t know how this chapter ends, but I know Who is already there… Our God.”
“One thing I know with absolute certainty… Will is going to be healed. Whether that healing comes here on earth or in the presence of Jesus, cancer does not get the final word. God does.”
Tonight, this family has one specific prayer.
They are asking God to do what medicine cannot.
They are praying Will’s next CT scan shocks every doctor involved and that the only explanation is a miracle.
But if God’s plan is different, they are praying for the strength, peace, and grace to walk whatever road lies ahead.
Please share your most powerful prayers with them right now.
As Brittney wrote:
“Our God is bigger than cancer. As long as there is breath in Will’s lungs, we will continue to pray, believe, and advocate with everything we have for an earthly healing.”