There are more situations like yours than we would prefer to believe. Fortunately you're making the best of a bad deal. If you have time to explore my other post, we have other stories about Captain Richmond and his family that you can pass along to your son.

Sometimes it appears that we've had more than our fair share of hardships and misfortunes. People naturally wonder why God allows such things. A story from the book of Genesis helps me with the proper perspective --
http://drbjthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/01/you-meant-it-for-evil-god-meant-it-for.html