On March 21, 2019, my son Nate endured cardiac arrest due to catastrophic sepsis. His friends administered CPR for 15 minutes until the EMT arrived and delivered him to a local hospital. Over a two-day period, all major organs began to fail. In the process, his heart stopped 15 times and he was resuscitated by CPR/defibrillator 15 times. He was placed on rotobed therapy, induced paralysis, with vital signs all over the map. His right arm from elbow down suffered irreparable damage due to loss of blood. Initially, Nate showed signs of responsiveness. On Monday morning at 6am, he became unresponsive. All paralytic and pain meds were removed with no further response. All organs were being sustained by machines. An EEG was performed on Tuesday to determine brain activity and no activity was found. Every effort was made to save our son.

It is with deep sorrow and great joy that I announce the passing of my beautiful 20-year old Nate. He was my son, my brother in Christ, and wingman. He was a genuine friend to so many, a wonderful help and blessing to his girlfriend, cohort in shenanigans to his sisters, and incredible delight to me and my wife Suzie—a wellspring of happiness and laughter for all who knew him.

In solidarity, our family, friends, and believing community from around the world stood united asking our merciful Father for His will to be done. Yet, Nate’s days, like each of us, were ordained and numbered by God.In the end, we did not say goodbye, but instead, “see you soon,” because our faith is in the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus and we know Nate is eternally secure with our heavenly Father. We will see him again.

Someday we will all die—but the real question is, are we prepared for that day? We can be, by giving our lives to Christ and trusting Him to forgive and save us. I know Nate trusted Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior and now, especially now, would say, “Have you made your personal commitment to Him, too”?

Thank you for loving him and for loving us. Our gratitude is immeasurable.