Cancer patient, 10, fulfills last wish to attend church service: 'He was just all smiles'

Kerry Justich
·Health and Wellness Staff Writer
Max Huseby, 10, got a wish to attend his last church service granted on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of Lori Harper)
Max Huseby, 10, got a wish to attend his last church service granted on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of Lori Harper)

A 10-year-old boy in Arkansas was recently released from a nearly 14-month hospital stay for a rare form of leukemia. But before heading home for hospice care, he made a final wish to attend church.

Max Huseby was diagnosed with cancer in March 2018, leading his parents, Mark and Monique Huseby, to look for support within their community. Fortunately, the boy’s teacher, Mandy Hunter, knew the perfect people to introduce the family to — her pastor, Josh Harper, and his wife, Lori Harper, who had been through the same journey themselves.

“We had a child with cancer,” Lori tells Yahoo Lifestyle of her son, Jed, who is now 12. “When our little boy was 3, he was diagnosed with cancer. And so we went through the whole childhood cancer journey and I have a non-profit childhood cancer foundation.”

The foundation, called Sharing JED, is named for the couple’s son and was created with leftover funds that the family’s previous church community had raised for them during Jed’s treatment, which he has completed. Now, they provide the same financial and emotional support for others going through the same experience. Namely, the Husebys, who quickly became an integral part of the One Refuge Church community in Hot Springs, Ark.

“They started attending the church [after Max’s diagnosis] and became a part of the church family,” Lori says of Mark and Monique.

However, Max himself never got the chance to attend church services in person because of his ongoing treatment. Instead, he tuned into them virtually.

“We live stream our services on Sundays, and so he was able to watch the worship music from the hospital,” Lori explains. “A lot of times when we had special prayer for Max, we would go live and he would be in the hospital room watching it, and he just really loved it.”

On Wednesday, he got to be a part of it for his first and last time.

One Refuge church held a party for Max, as he attended a service for the first time. (Photo courtesy of Lori Harper)
One Refuge church held a party for Max, as he attended a service for the first time. (Photo courtesy of Lori Harper)

According to the pastor’s wife, Make-a-Wish became involved in Max’s journey when doctors determined that he would be going home. And while he wasn’t strong enough to take a long trip to Disney World, he was eager to take a drive over to One Refuge where he was greeted by the congregation, including members of the Hot Springs fire and police departments, and a number of classmates he hadn’t seen during his extended hospital stay.

“He’s not been able to be around kids in a year,” Lori says. “So, it was amazing to see all of his little classmates and his friends with balloons and just throwing them up over his head. He was just all smiles.”

While the event was held in honor of Max and his family, Lori says that the boy did a lot to lift the spirits of those around him.

“He really, really lifted me up a lot of times because I would just be looking at him and I’m sure he could see the heartbreak in the faces of me and his parents because of his situation declining rapidly. And he would lift us up,” Lori says. “He is one of the strongest humans I’ve ever met. I’m so thankful to know him.”

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