lane goodwin | Forever Islam

Tucked away in his parents’ bedroom, Lane Goodwin lies under his favorite camouflage blanked. Lane has cancer.

“It’s really hard,” he said.

“He’s not sad. He tells me that he’s happy, and it’s okay,” said his mother, Angie.

The shades are pulled and windows covered to make Lane as comfortable as possible.
He’s been fighting this disease for two and a half years, but this fight may be his last.

“He isn’t scared,” said Angie. “Right before we left Vanderbilt, he looked at his doctor and smiled, and said, you just can’t fix this anymore.

That’s when we knew he knew. He’s talked about God a lot. He wants to go home, he says.” Angie, says doctors haven’t given her family a time frame, but says it could happen at any time.

“We’ve talked about how good Heaven is. That’s easier for us, knowing, he’s going to be there with his Grandpa and his other family members and the kids from the clinic we’ve met, and he’s not going to have to fight this monster any more,” she said.
But the monster Lane and his family deal with every day isn’t something they’re dealing with alone. The Facebook Page, “Prayers for Lane Goodwin”, has more than 78,000 fans.

Recently a “Thumbs Up for Lane” campaign was started, where people post pictures of themselves giving him the thumbs up of encouragement. It’s something Lane says he’s humbled to receive.

“It’s crazy,” Lane said with a smile.

The Goodwins say the power of social media has made this journey so much better for Lane, because he knows he’s not alone.

“With what he’s gone through, it makes him feel good when someone recognizes him. It would make any kid feel good,” said Lane’s father, George.

In the past week, Lane has suffered a setback. After his latest trip to the doctor, he had a seizure while visiting a restaurant with his family. Since then, he’s been confined to his bed almost all the time.

“After Friday night I just hung up all the toughness I had. You know, kneeling there on the floor of Joe’s Crab Shack, that was it for me,” George said.

Now, it’s all about making Lane comfortable, whether it’s admiring all his fans on Facebook, or playing with is little brother, Landen, his family wants Lane to know he’s loved, and it’s okay to go.

“Are we going to be heartbroken? Absolutely. And we’ve talked about that,” said Angie. “We have to figure out how to go on, day by day. But I know he’s going to be okay, so that makes it easier.”

You can visit Lane’s Facebook page and join the Tri-State’s “Thumbs Up for Lane” campaign by visitinghttps://www.facebook.com/PrayersforLaneGoodwin