Finding Methuselah: Synopsis

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Below is the synopsis for Finding Methuselah. Beware, the last sentence is super cheesy!

Alan and Susan have two children, a son, ten-year-old Jace, and a daughter, seven-year-old Sarah. The family lives in Chicago and leads a very normal and happy life. Their lives get shaken up when Jace is diagnosed with leukemia. Everyone handles it differently but surprisingly, Jace handles it the best. Susan is distraught at the possibility of losing her son. Alan's outlook is, “get the treatment, put it behind us, move on with our lives.” As for Sarah, if her brother is handling it well, she follows suit. Jace undergoes chemotherapy and the cancer goes into remission.

Months later, during a routine screening, signs of the cancer appear again and it has spread to numerous places throughout his body. After a few more tests, the doctors determine that even aggressive treatment would only slow the cancer down, at best. Jace opts to forgo any treatment and to live the remaining time he has without the suffering he went through during his first rounds of chemo. Susan slowly accepts her son's decision and his inevitable demise, but Alan doesn't. He's angry that things didn't work out and he feels that his son is giving up.

The next few months are spent with the family spending a lot of time together, enjoying each others company, and enjoying life. Jace feels okay most of the time, but he feels weaker as time goes on. One day he tells his parents things he's been reading about and makes a request. He explains how a certain species of tree, bristlecone pines, are the oldest living things on Earth and one specific tree, named Methuselah, is considered to be the oldest living life form on the planet at nearly five thousand years old. His request is to travel to Inyo National Forest in California and find the tree. It might not be easy though – Methuselah's whereabouts are not made public to protect it.

His parents okay the trip and Jace suggests that only he and his dad go. Susan reluctantly agrees, hoping that the time together will help Alan accept their son's fate. The two travel to California and set out on a journey to fulfill a dying boy's last wish and ease a father's fears of the future.

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