Duane "Dog" Chapman is asking for prayers for his wife after a serious turn in her health. Beth Chapman, who is suffering from stage II throat cancer, has been battling to stay healthy since her diagnosis in 2017. Sadly, her condition just got drastically worse, and now the family is left waiting for answers.
In a statement made to Hawaii News Now, the Chapmans revealed that Beth is in a medically-induced coma in the ICU at Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu. The family “humbly ask everyone to please pray for Beth," and offer their "sincere thanks to everyone for their prayers throughout Beth’s battle with cancer.”
Dog confirmed the news on his Facebook page, sharing the article, and tweeted out a message after the news broke.
"Please say your prayers for Beth right now thank you love you," Dog wrote.
Just hours before she was put into the coma, Beth had tweeted about her husband, jokingly saying "And that’s the fourth time this week he’s mowed the lawn What do you think ? Does the man have something on his mind or he just forgot how many times he’s mowed the lawn #AskingForAFriend"
Many people responded saying it was Dog's way of coping, and that he didn't want people to see him so upset so he mowed the lawn to distract himself from Beth's illness.
Beth's cancer diagnosis was a shock to everyone, and two months after she announced she was battling the disease, the family revealed that her cancer had been completely removed. Sadly, the cancer returned a year later and required emergency surgery to clear her airways of a blockage. She was also hospitalized in April due to complications.
Though it would be easy for Beth to blame the universe and God for her illness, she told churchgoers on Mother's Day that it was God's way of testing her.
“I don’t go to God and go, ‘Why did I get cancer?’ ” she said. “He’ll roll his eyes at me again, because I know why — because this is the ultimate test of faith. It is the evidence of things hoped for and it is the substance of things not known.”
Beth also appeared to admit she's stopped her chemotherapy, although she had started treatment in January of this year.
“Chemotherapy is not my bag, people. Sorry, that’s not for me,” she said. “So for me, this is the ultimate test of faith. This is my ultimate lesson. And it will either be taught to me or to you. And I am fine with taking the hit for everyone else. Because I think I know another guy who did the same thing.”
Dog has spoken about the toll his wife's illness has taken on him, saying he's trying to make deals with God to heal his wife.
“I don’t listen to the bad news. I don’t want to hear it. … I pray a lot, anywhere. I cry all the time,” he shared. “I’m a sinner. I pray a lot. I have done double that. I constantly ask God to heal my honey and make sure He takes care of it. I’ve been telling Him that I’m going to try and quit smoking and cursing. I’m a dealmaker, and I’ll do anything.”
I hope that this coma can begin a healing process for Beth, and that her family gets the answers they are looking for.
