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In July of 2019, my wife of 47 years died of renal failure.

Before I had time to grieve for the loss of my wife, two weeks later, I got the confirmation that I had Multiple Myeloma, a type of blood cancer.

Now I had to make the decisions on treatments and getting this in remission. There is no cure for Multiple Myeloma, all you can hope for is to keep it in remission.

With the treatments available today, that is obtainable. I have just completed a Stem Cell Transplant and hopefully I will be able to keep it in remission for several years.

The thing that got me through all of this is my faith in God.

I started Chemo treatments in August and after a fast trip to Iowa to do the final internment of my wife’s ashes, I continued treatment. We found it early enough that we got it in remission after a few months of treatments.

I heard of the GriefShare program at Parkway Baptist Church and signed up for the January program. It was a tremendous help to me as I was still trying to go through the grieving process for my wife and dealing with the cancer treatments.

The facilitators of the GriefShare program were very understanding and helped me through several difficult times. The support of my friends and extended family gave me the strength and courage to get through the difficult times ahead. The prayers of several people and prayer groups also helped me find peace and put some order to my life. I am sure that all of the prayers had a big part in my healing process.

No one will ever be able to tell me different!

I was told of all the possible side effects of the Stem Cell Transplant and other than a short 12 hour low grade fever that was later found to be a grafting fever, I had no major side effects. I was very fortunate and still believe the prayers had a major impact.

The prayers and my faith gave me the determination and positive attitude that I needed to win the battle with this disease. I’m not out of the woods yet, but everyday I get stronger and closer to staying in remission.

On Saturday, Nov. 14, from 9 to 11 a.m., GriefShare is having a program on Surviving the Holidays. It is open to everyone at no cost. You can sign up at www.griefshare.org or you can call Debbie at 601-807-9738 for more information.

If you are grieving the loss of a loved one, perhaps GriefShare could help you like it did me.

Daniel Miller, participant of the GriefShare program at Parkway Baptist Church.