This was the last thing I expected to hear...

My son was diagnosed with testicular cancer on January 17, 2013.  I was completely and totally shocked.  He is only 24 years old.  He had surgery to remove the mass on January 25th. He's feeling a little better.  He still has pain, but not as intolerable as it was. He is trying to stay in high spirits, since we don't have the final diagnosis (benign or malignant).  He has an extremely good sense of humor and that is helping him to keep up a good front.  Being his mom, I know that inside he is fearful and unsure of what will happen next.  We can only take it a day at a time, pray, and put it in God's hands. 
Although the surgeon did say that it appears to be malignant, we're still keeping optimistic and praying that it is benign.  See, fibroid tumors run in my family so there is still a chance that the mass is no more than a fibroid or fatty tumor.  The surgeon assured us that he removed it all.  The only reason he would need to have chemo or radiation is if the biopsy reveals a malignancy.  *Fingers-crossed and eyes to Heaven*....

Here's my Sonshine, just this past summer, working hard to build me a pond....

  
And here he is being silly, like usual...

What makes this especially hard on him (as if the illness itself isn't hard enough), is that I called his Grandma Young (Jean Young of Ellwood City PA) to have her relay the message to his dad, who he hasn't spoken to in about 2 years.  His dad didn't even bother to contact him back.  They have been at odds for years, and his dad pretty much disowned him. Raymond hasn't lived his life the way his father thinks he should have, nor has he accomplished anything that they'd write about in the history books, so he's not worthy of being called "son" by Raymond A. Young,Sr. Despite this, Raymond still loves his dad and would like to have a chance to make things right and repair the relationship before it's too late.  What a sad testimonial to a young man's life when his own father can't swallow his pride and bury the hatchet to reunite with his son, given the circumstances.  Well, all I know is that Raymond and I have our differences, but this is one parent who will NEVER give up on him no matter what he says or does.  He is flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood and I'm very proud to call him my son! Life is too short to hold grudges against a loved one.