Episode 19: Gratitude Is the Most Important Tool: Susan Lawrence

6 Months or Less

When 16-year-old Dylan Lawrence was diagnosed with a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, the deadliest childhood brain tumor, he said, “I don’t want my life to be pointless.” I was planning on interviewing Dylan for this podcast, but unfortunately he got too sick and died several weeks after our scheduled interview. But I still wanted to somehow capture who Dylan was. So Dylan’s “bonus mom” Susan Lawrence and I decided that we would carry his voice after his death through hers.

In this episode, you’re going to hear a lot about who Dylan was as person, how Susan and Dylan talked about his terminal illness, and about how even in the midst of darkness, Susan was able to feel gratitude. Susan also talks in detail about Dylan’s death, and about the trauma of witnessing Dylan’s struggle to die. This episode is heavy at times, but if you’re up for it, you can help hold a space for the unimaginable: losing a child.

If you would like to learn more about Dylan and Susan, you can check out their Facebook page: Dreams For Dylan.

Music: “Surface Tension 3” by Podington Bear, “Thank You for Everything” by Alan Spiljak, and “Memories” by Pictures of the Floating World”.