We Love You, Nehemiah!!
Donation protected
One of the hardest phone calls I have received in my life happened in late January of this year.
“It’s a brain tumor,” Nehemiah said.
We’ve had this conversation several times in the past but this time, it was more jarring. Nehemiah told me that this tumor was at the base of his skull, wrapping its way around his brain stem. This was not going to be our typical process of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. I knew, in that part of your soul that speaks truths that you don’t want to let have a voice, that this was grim.
On February 12, 2016 I waited with Nehemiah’s parents; Helen and Roy, and sister; Nikki, in the surgical waiting room at Anschutz Medical Center in Denver, hoping with my heart of hearts that this was not going to be the news we were all fearing. After all, this was brain tumor number five. Nehemiah’s fought this for five years—he could do it again, right?
Unfortunately, the next few days brought on realities that neither his family nor his loved ones were ready to face. We learned, after the biopsy, that this was an extremely aggressive Grade 3 Meningioma. Tumor number four was also an aggressive Grade 3 Meningioma. The Lord brought him through that, couldn’t he do that again?
Again, we were faced with facts that were too hard to hear and even harder to accept. Despite his valiant attempt with radiation and surgery, the doctors told us, on Monday, that there is nothing more they can do because of how aggressively this tumor is growing. He has just a few weeks left before he will be called back home.
For those of you who do not know Nehemiah, he is one of the toughest people I have ever met in my life. On top of going blind from Bilateral Retinal Blastoma and Anorexia brought on by chemotherapy as a child, dealing with Crohn's disease, and so many treatments for his past tumors, he never complained. Actually, I remember telling him the other day that it was okay to be angry and upset; to which he replied, “That isn’t going to change anything. I am okay.” No matter how he is feeling when I walk into his room, the first thing he asks me is, “How are you Esh? Are you doing okay today”? Never in my life have I met someone so loving towards others. Despite his immense pain, he is always focused on how we are all doing. He has a heart of gold and love for others that goes beyond years. His desire in life has been, for years, to change people’s lives and help them understand they are more than their blindness. His passion in life was to teach technology to blind people to empower them to break down barriers society has placed on them. Oh, dear friend, if only you knew how many lives you have touched in your 29 years!
There are times in life where God leads us to people who, in several ways, teach us and change us for the better. It’s more than a friendship and more than a worldly type of love. It is a moment where you and the other person’s souls connect and link together. I met this amazing being in 2009 when I was a student at the Colorado Center for the Blind and instantly knew it was a friendship and soul crossing that would change my life. Over the last seven years, our bond became closer and closer. Nehemiah, in his gentleness, became one of the few people to break down my walls and help me heal from my past. It is his actions of kindness and selflessness that help me believe in humanity and the goodness of the Lord.
He told me a few weeks ago he was concerned with all the medical bills and expenses that have been piling up on his kitchen table. Being so ill for such a long time has left him unable to work or go back to school to get the certifications needed to teach technology. Financial stability is the last concern I want his family to have. With bills to pay and an impending funeral service, there is a great need for him and his family. Please help me bless Nehemiah and his wonderful family. Every cent counts; however, if you are truly unable to give financially, I am asking for prayers for his parents, Helen and Roy, his sister, Nikki, brother, Ryan, and all of us who have had the honor of crossing souls with him. Please help me take a bit of their worry off of their minds. Thank you so much for reading and may you know and believe that greater things are yet to come.
With love and peace,
Esha
“It’s a brain tumor,” Nehemiah said.
We’ve had this conversation several times in the past but this time, it was more jarring. Nehemiah told me that this tumor was at the base of his skull, wrapping its way around his brain stem. This was not going to be our typical process of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. I knew, in that part of your soul that speaks truths that you don’t want to let have a voice, that this was grim.
On February 12, 2016 I waited with Nehemiah’s parents; Helen and Roy, and sister; Nikki, in the surgical waiting room at Anschutz Medical Center in Denver, hoping with my heart of hearts that this was not going to be the news we were all fearing. After all, this was brain tumor number five. Nehemiah’s fought this for five years—he could do it again, right?
Unfortunately, the next few days brought on realities that neither his family nor his loved ones were ready to face. We learned, after the biopsy, that this was an extremely aggressive Grade 3 Meningioma. Tumor number four was also an aggressive Grade 3 Meningioma. The Lord brought him through that, couldn’t he do that again?
Again, we were faced with facts that were too hard to hear and even harder to accept. Despite his valiant attempt with radiation and surgery, the doctors told us, on Monday, that there is nothing more they can do because of how aggressively this tumor is growing. He has just a few weeks left before he will be called back home.
For those of you who do not know Nehemiah, he is one of the toughest people I have ever met in my life. On top of going blind from Bilateral Retinal Blastoma and Anorexia brought on by chemotherapy as a child, dealing with Crohn's disease, and so many treatments for his past tumors, he never complained. Actually, I remember telling him the other day that it was okay to be angry and upset; to which he replied, “That isn’t going to change anything. I am okay.” No matter how he is feeling when I walk into his room, the first thing he asks me is, “How are you Esh? Are you doing okay today”? Never in my life have I met someone so loving towards others. Despite his immense pain, he is always focused on how we are all doing. He has a heart of gold and love for others that goes beyond years. His desire in life has been, for years, to change people’s lives and help them understand they are more than their blindness. His passion in life was to teach technology to blind people to empower them to break down barriers society has placed on them. Oh, dear friend, if only you knew how many lives you have touched in your 29 years!
There are times in life where God leads us to people who, in several ways, teach us and change us for the better. It’s more than a friendship and more than a worldly type of love. It is a moment where you and the other person’s souls connect and link together. I met this amazing being in 2009 when I was a student at the Colorado Center for the Blind and instantly knew it was a friendship and soul crossing that would change my life. Over the last seven years, our bond became closer and closer. Nehemiah, in his gentleness, became one of the few people to break down my walls and help me heal from my past. It is his actions of kindness and selflessness that help me believe in humanity and the goodness of the Lord.
He told me a few weeks ago he was concerned with all the medical bills and expenses that have been piling up on his kitchen table. Being so ill for such a long time has left him unable to work or go back to school to get the certifications needed to teach technology. Financial stability is the last concern I want his family to have. With bills to pay and an impending funeral service, there is a great need for him and his family. Please help me bless Nehemiah and his wonderful family. Every cent counts; however, if you are truly unable to give financially, I am asking for prayers for his parents, Helen and Roy, his sister, Nikki, brother, Ryan, and all of us who have had the honor of crossing souls with him. Please help me take a bit of their worry off of their minds. Thank you so much for reading and may you know and believe that greater things are yet to come.
With love and peace,
Esha
Organizer and beneficiary
Esha Mehta
Organizer
Boulder, CO
Nicole Crull
Beneficiary
