Henry

This is going to wrench the guts right out of you. If you are overly emotional it might be best if you read no further.

Dr. Smak is a primary care family physician in a small town in the U.S. When she started her blog it was a diary of her daily encounters with patients and life in general. From a Canadian point of view it was a bit of insight into the views of a doctor dealing with a medical system we often don't see outside the hyperbole provided by the media.

Then her life changed. In mid-October 2007 her three-year old son, Henry, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor.

Dr. Smak changed the focus of her writing and it became a real-time chronicle of her son's struggles, her pain, the fear and the love which would form the path of her life and the life of Henry. She wrote all that with poise and an unbelievable grace. It will reduce you to tears.

On Thursday, February 26th, 2009, Dr. Smak provided her readers with the worst news possible.

Goodbye, Henry.