A husband, his wife and their adopted son—all three afflicted with cancer. Two succumbed to the treacherous disease, but one survived to share to the world an inspiring lesson of unyielding faith in God.
Jay Siltzer, the "morning guy" news anchor at WLOS-TV, the ABC affiliate in Asheville, North Carolina, first suffered the loss of his wife Kelly to leukaemia or cancer of the blood in 2014. Then just recently, their adopted eight-year-old son Malachi also died of brain cancer, CBN News reports.
Despite this double whammy, Siltzer, a cancer survivor himself, has remained steadfast in his faith.
In May, the 48-year-old TV journalist told People Magazine that he relies on his faith to get him through saying,
"I suppose I could ask, 'Why me?' but the answer is 'Why not?' I'm a person of faith, and I trust good will come from this."
In his job as a morning television anchor, Siltzer appears unperturbed by the back-to-back tragedies that have struck him. He still keeps things light and fun in the show, according to People.
Siltzer's friends and colleagues affectionately noted that he can even be corny at times – which they say is touching considering all that he's been through.
The TV man was himself diagnosed with testicular cancer in January 1999. He underwent surgery and radiation, but the cancer cells moved and wrapped around his spine.
He again had surgery and radiation plus chemotherapy treatments. His doctor warned him that the treatments he underwent could make him infertile for life.
The doctor's warning did not prevent him from marrying his wife Kelly in 2000. Since they could not produce a baby of their own, they adopted their son Malachi from Ethiopia five years later.
It was when Malachi reached the age of three when Siltzer's wife was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia. She passed away in the summer of 2014.
Years later, it was Malachi's turn. He woke up with a headache in November of 2015 and the MRI showed a grade-three brain tumor on the left side of his brain. Malachi joined his adopted mother in heaven afterward.
Last Tuesday, Siltzer said his final goodbye to his son at the Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, North Carolina during his memorial service.
He recalled the last words he said to his son as he lay dying. "You had a terrible start to life in Ethiopia. Then you were adopted. Your mom died from leukaemia. Now you're dying from brain cancer. How can you be so happy? And he simply looked at me with those brown eyes and he said because I know God," Siltzer said.
