Boy loses fight with cancer, but he and his family are winners in life

It's a sad fact that in today's world almost everybody knows somebody whose life has been affected by cancer.

But when a child dies, it's devastatingly tragic. There are no logical explanations to soothe us because it's the cruelest outcome imaginable.

On this day, the community's heart pours out to the Buelow family of Calabasas.

They recently lost their son, Max, to bone cancer. He was only 11. (See story on page 14).

Many of us have a loving son or daughter who once was Max's age. Our children grew up to be strong and healthy. Max didn't.

The unfairness of it all will never be understood.

In the real world, the hand we are dealt is the only hand we have. What other choices are there? Nobody understands this more than David and Tracey Buelow, Max's parents. Max fought against Ewing's sarcoma for four years, and he and his parents refused to give up.

It wasn't an option in the Buelow family.

The Buelows had not one, but two children with cancer. Max's 12-year-old sister, Emily, has been a victim of leukemia. She struggled with it for eight years. Fortunately, she lives in remission.

It's easy to look at the world and get depressed, but it's also in times like these that humanity shows its best side, according to Max's father. Many people would never see the silver lining in a story like this, but the Buelows do.

"We couldn't have endured all the rides to Childrens Hospital and coped with all the transfusions and all the drama with such an illness without the friends and all the people who stepped forth to help us," Max's mother said.

Please read Michael Picarella's story on page 14 about the courageous life of Max Buelow. Learn, too, how you can help the family.

We're lucky to know and share the Buelows' story. Max and his family serve as an inspiration to all of us.

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