When David Maxwell and his son, Reese, talk about their wife and mother, Angie, their faces light up. David and Angie met years ago at a church where David was working. He chuckles when he says, “I was the official janitor and the unofficial youth pastor.” They married on June 2, 1990, in Columbus, Mississippi, and later welcomed their son, Reese, and their daughter, Kadie, to complete their family of four. Angie and David began a wonderful ministry together where they served in youth ministries in churches across Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
While life seemed to be occurring at a normal pace for the Maxwell family, things took a sudden change in 2016. As the couple began routinely getting ready for their annual trip to student camp, Angie began having a difficult time recalling information. After struggling for some time with headaches, the couple made the decision to seek medical attention. The doctor visits eventually led to a CT scan in June of 2016 that showed a tumor in the right hemisphere of Angie’s brain. After having surgery to remove the tumor, the couple was told that the glioblastoma tumor was very aggressive and would need immediate treatment.
“We lost everything in Hurricane Katrina when we were living on the Gulf Coast, and we believed that was our big trial for our lifetime and our big test of faith. We didn’t expect that we’d ever be given anything worse than that. We were wrong,” says David. While this diagnosis would lead to a difficult ongoing journey over the next two and a half years, the faith of David and Angie never wavered. “Even in the most difficult of times, Angie would say, ‘God’s got this,’” shares David. One specific example of this was when Angie had her head shaved for the first time. Reese recalls, “Even when mom was getting her head shaved, she wanted to raise money in some way for missions. Part of the reason why we could jump into our faith so easily was because mom’s faith was so strong.”
Without hesitation, the Maxwell family attributes faith as playing a significant role in their experience. “These are the times when you figure out if you really believe what you say you believe,” says David. “My faith never wavered, but there were many times where I was angry with God.” During the two-and-a-half-year journey of Angie’s sickness, as well as following her death, their family had many hard conversations with God that often involved anger and tears. “The key is to stay honest with what you are feeling. God hears you,” states David. “God gave us little gifts along the way, like the ‘snap-outs’. There were a few precious days when Angie would snap out of the illness completely and have complete brain function. Although temporary, our wonderful physician had told us this was possible and that they would be blessings. They really were,” continues David.
David claims that he will never understand why Angie was chosen to bear the pain and suffering of a brain tumor, but Angie always used it as an opportunity. “When mom first got sick, her story was used to lead someone to the Lord, and I remember her saying that because of that, the disease was worth it,” shares Reese. Even when God chose not to heal Angie physically, they remained true to their firm belief that this life is only temporary, and they are all only moments behind her in Eternity.
In Angie’s final days, David, Reese, and Kadie, along with Angie’s physician, made the decision to move Angie to hospice care. They chose the inpatient facility at Hospice Ministries because they wanted to spend quality time with Angie. They were able to stay around the clock with her before she died on October 28, 2018. “We’ll never forget those sweet and peaceful times that we had with her. We wanted every last moment to count.”
After Angie’s death, grief set in and each family member experienced it differently. They all unanimously agree that grief counseling and support are essential after the death of loved-one. David is active in a grief group at Hospice Ministries, and Reese and Kadie are both involved in groups as well.
David also believes that another important element of healing is to take care of yourself. “I make it a point to exercise and participate in triathlons to give myself an outlet to relieve stress. Last year I participated in the Hospice Ministries Run to Remember 5K. It was a great way for us to remember Angie. I have a special playlist of music that I listen to when I miss Angie, and I played that when I ran. The camaraderie was great, and it was a reminder to me that there are many other people who have been through what we went through,” says David.
This year’s Run to Remember 5k and 1 Mile Run will be held on April 18, 2020, at Hospice Ministries in Ridgeland, Mississippi. For more information visit www.hospiceministries.org/5k