In early July 2010, the very first words out of the
doctor’s mouth once the tumor was identified were: “We can beat it, but the
odds are against it.” That gave us
hope. After six weeks of intensive
radiation and chemotherapy concurrently, the SNUC tumor had been reduced 90% of
its original mass.
It was deemed operable.
Surgery was schedule October 19,
2010. To the shock of everyone, including the surgeons, during the operation
living cells were present, predominantly in the dura. Per the surgeons, “Cure was not possible.” The only option was additional chemotherapy
to keep the tumor from growing. The
light of hope was much dimmer
We had tremendous respect for our chemotherapist. He was a Frenchman and it was obvious from
the start that his mission was to maximize the best results possible whatever
the diagnosis. Our first appointment
with him eight days after surgery was one with much positivity. Quite the contrast to the surgeon’s strong
words, “Cure is not on the table.”
Wanting to be sure we understood the reality of the situation, we posed
the question to our chemotherapist, “Is cure on the table?” There
was a pause as he gathered his thoughts.
Then he said, “Who knows?”
These two words with a questioning tone brightened our
hopes. Rose needed 25 days of healing
post-surgery
before she could resume chemo treatments. Rose wasn’t sure she even wanted to try more
chemo. The onslaught of high-powered
treatments between July 22, 2010 and September 10, 2010 were almost too much to
bear. During that time frame, she
endured 35 radiation sessions and three chemo infusions, which required three nights and four days in the hospital
each time. After treatments were
declared completed, her body was so worn down she needed another four days in
the hospital to get her metabolism back in balance. One could understand her hesitation to start
back into chemotherapy.
On the day of her failed surgery, the surgeons had said
her life expectancy without any further chemo treatments would be four to five
weeks. These were dire times. We all
talked about it as a family. Rose agreed
to give the “keep it at bay” chemo a try, with the understanding that she could
stop them any time if she chose. Prior
to resuming the chemo, Rose had to sign a release form that basically said
there was a low probability that the treatments would be effective. Another looming fact was that in the 64 days
since her last treatment, the tumor had grown back to 50% of its original size. Prior to surgery the tumor was not visible in
the brain and appeared to be an operable size in the nasal area.
Around six o’clock the next evening, after the fourth “keep
it at bay” chemo treatment, the phone rang.
It was our chemotherapist. He
informed us that Rose’s blood counts were dangerously low. He said, “The drugs are just too toxic.” The doctor advised Rose to take the fifth
round of chemo, then set up an appointment with his office 30 days later, and
he’d have a plan “B” ready. We were
disappointed to get the phone call because the scans were showing that the tumor
was not growing. In fact, there had been
a slight decrease in size. Rose was
bouncing back from each chemo treatment after two or three days, so it all seemed very manageable.
Then the next weekend or so, while reading the
Sunday morning book reviews in the paper,
I discovered a critique of a book about the canonization of Sister Theodore
Guerin. The article told a story about her
second miracle. It was about a
protestant minister who had a serious eye ailment. The minister went into the shrine of Sister
Guerin on the campus of St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana. He prayed into the night. The next day, his eyes were less irritated. When it came time for surgery, there was no
need. After the research into the case
was completed, it was judged to be Sister Theodore Guerin’s second
miracle. She became Indiana’s first
saint.
I showed this article to Rose and asked her to read
it. After she did, I asked her what she
thought. She said, “I think we should go
to the shrine.” We went 12 days prior to
our plan “B” appointment.
It was a special day.
We bumped into a good number of saintly people that day. As we traveled, a former parishioner of our
Prince of Peace church in Madison called us on the phone. She had read on Facebook that we were
traveling to the shrine (unbeknownst to us, our daughter posted on Facebook for
our community to keep us in their prayers as we visited the shrine). The friend/caller wanted us to see her aunt, Sister
Diane, who was a senior nun on campus and very involved with the shrine and the
history of Sister Theodore Guerin. As
instructed, we called Sister Diane as soon as we drove onto campus so she could
meet us at the shrine.
The day before our trip to the shrine, I called my godson
and his wife about our plan to visit the shrine. His wife Julianne was a
graduate of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
She had previously expressed an interest in meeting us there so she
could be a part of the visit. She said
there was a slim possibility that she would be able to meet us at the
college. It had something to do with her
husband being on a business trip and driving through the night to arrive home
early. If he was willing, able and
agreeable to keeping their three children, plus an extra child that his wife
had planned to care for on that same day to help out one of their couple
friends. Then it just so happened that
one of her college friends called and asked her to ride up to the college on that
same day. That call improved the odds.
As it turned out, it all fell into place. Sister met us at the shrine to lead us in
prayer. Her devotion was contagious. As many had done before her, Rose wrote in the
“visitor/prayer book” of her medical issue.
We felt like Sister Diane’s prayers went directly to God and our prayers
were free to follow right along.
After some lunch, Julianne gave us a tour of the campus,
introducing us to some of the other holy nooks on campus. Her gentle and kind spirit also enriched our
overall experience. Rose and I closed
out our visit to the shrine with an hour of prayer. Not one person entered during that time. The solitude made us feel like we were one on
one with Sister Theodore Guerin. On our
way home, I asked Rose what she prayed for and her response was, “God’s will be
done.”
Some 12 days later, we traveled to the Cincinnati
University Hospital to have an MRI in the morning and a doctor’s appointment in
the afternoon to find out about plan “B”.
I had a business appointment in the morning, so I caught up with Rose
and her entourage (a couple of biological sisters, a friend and
a daughter or three) for the 2:00pm doctor’s appointment. As we waited for the doctor to walk through
the door to talk about the state of the tumor, we were all trying to think of pertinent
questions to ask. The good doctor nearly
floated into the room to announce that the tumor did not show up on the
scan. From the first diagnosis on June23,
2010, the tumor had always been visible in the nasal area. The doctor asked us to return in 30 days for
another scan. It was clear. He then gave us the summer off. We returned in 90 days and the scan was again
clear. To date, Rose is 19 months
without treatment.
Remission is our new favorite word. It is miracle time. As we said when the joyous news broke, it
could be a summer miracle, summer and winter miracle or a lifelong
miracle. Rose is one of the happiest
people on this earth. She appreciates
the gift of life like never before. So
many people played a part in delivering this gift to one with a pure and deep
faith in God almighty. Sister Theodore
Guerin answered our prayers and the prayers of many others. We give thanks every day.
