# @mercphotography on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DO9yDuJASjM
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/34949728-mercphotography-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/aef3602fbe.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-09-24T00:45:18.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** MERC (@mercphotography) — https://gondola.cc/mercphotography

## Caption

Deep breath. I want to share that hospice has told us Elias is in his final days. The cancer in his right lung has spread and the lining of his lungs is filling with fluid, which is causing swelling in different places depending on how he rests. He’s very weak, spending most of his time lying down slipping in and out of sleep, and the pain is difficult to control even with a lot of medication. Watching him suffer is heartbreaking — I can’t make sense of why he has to carry this burden. It’s so hard to see him go through this, and our hearts are heavy. For now, we’re just holding him close and surrounding him with love.

Hospice has brought up using sedation to ease Elias’s pain in these final days. Our heart is torn, I long for him to be free from suffering and safe in Jesus’s arms, yet the weight of agreeing to be the ones to begin that process feels immense. 

Scripture reminds us that life is but a vapor compared to eternity, and as Elias’s parents we’ve been entrusted with this sacred transition. Our prayer is to make the Lord proud in how we walk with Elias through this, releasing him from any burden to keep fighting so that he knows he is free to rest in Jesus. Even now, he is often so present albeit for short periods of time: asking for Finch, playing his 3DS, wanting to pray together, and watching TV until he drifts off. 

Through it all, we are clinging to God’s promise of peace…peace for Elias, and peace for our hearts as we entrust him fully into the arms of Jesus.

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 355
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- **Comments:** 143

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MERC | @mercphotography | https://gondola.cc/mercphotography | Photographer |

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