Gratitude

Sing to God, with thanksgiving in your hearts. -Colossians 3:16

In reflecting over a story we have read recently in one of our spiritual books, we couldn’t help to compare it to GG’s experiences over the last few weeks. The story goes like this:

Marathon runner Bill Rodgers worked in a service for cognitively disabled men. One of those special men was named Joe. He had the ability to focus on the good in life, and be grateful for it. Bill said, “Whenever I saw Joe, he seemed to be wearing a big welcome-to-my-world smile. When I glimpsed him at a therapy session or a workshop, he was participating wholeheartedly, eager to learn and grow.” The smallest act of kindness made Joe brim with gratitude. Joe found reasons to be grateful, even in the most trying of circumstances.

Reading this story also reminded my Bride of the wonderful students she has had the privilege of teaching. They taught her to be joyful, thankful and enjoy the simplest things in life regardless of their circumstances. The challenges people experience each day can be faced with grace and reflect the respect for life.

God loves all of us, yet we suffer. There are times when we feel all alone. My daughters and I have been there for GG every minute of each day. There were patients in the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) ward who weren’t so lucky - but I have wondered, how do we know that God was there for them? Did God love them? Was he there with them? The answer was right in front of me every day - spend a day in any cancer ward at any hospital in the world, and you will see him. He’s always present in the people!

Last Tuesday, the first day of spring brought new hope of the promise of brand new life - a new spring season, a new lease of time on this Earth, blooming flowers, green leaves on the trees, warm weather, new life through our Lord’s suffering for us; giving us redemption and the promise of resurrection. The first day of Spring also brought the words from the medical staff at PSL that were a surprise - my Bride’s counts were heading back up earlier than expected, and she may be released at the end of the week!

With this great news, we were on a fast track to get our home prepared earlier than scheduled. With the loving support of family members, and great neighbors, we were able to get our home prepared for GG’s return. Also, this news brought another related surprise - our son was able to get leave and spend a long weekend with us!!

What was an hourly grind, eventually turned to passing days, which added into weeks, then to the sweet release. Friday was the day that came with much anticipation - my Bride was coming home, much earlier than expected! The wonderful medical staff repeatedly have said that GG has been a “Star.” Praise the Lord!

The best things are the simple ones in life; the clean sheets of your own bed, walking on your own floors, walking to your own refrigerator or to the bathroom without dragging that IV pole laden with multiple bags of medicine and emitting noise…the simple things.

Some complain
that God put thorns on roses;
others give thanks
that God put roses among thorns - Anonymous

AD MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM

A Message from Glo!

Our Dearest Family and Friends,

I have been very quiet over this journey, while you have had the blessings of hearing from my amazing and eloquent husband. He is my knight in shining armor, my strength, and the love of my life! I am as strong as one can be in this treatment. My faith in The Lord is my focus, and I completely trust that He is by my side. I can do nothing without HIM.

My blood counts are bottoming out, right on schedule. I virtually have no immune system as I write. This becomes a critical time, as I need to be protected from any germs and viruses. The next week or two should prove to be the hardest. The chemo and radiation have taken their toll, and my body is reacting the way it has to. Rest assured I am strong and will take it one day at a time.

I am so amazed to watch the Holy Spirit work through our family and friends. You all give me strength and courage when I need it. You have been generous beyond anything I would have ever imagined. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I will pray with great thanksgiving for all of you!

Love and God Bless,

G

Giving the Gift of Life!

There is the story of mortar shells striking a Vietnamese orphanage, wounding several children. An American Navy doctor saw that one of the girls needed an immediate blood transfusion. Several unharmed children had the right blood type. Using pidgin Vietnamese, the doctor explained the need for blood and asked if anyone would give it. At first no one responded. Then a small boy slowly raised his hand. Quickly the doctor swabbed his arm with alcohol, inserted the needle, and withdrew the blood. After it was all over, the boy began to cry. No amount of hugging would comfort him. Later it was discovered why; the boy had misunderstood that by giving his own blood, he himself would die. When asked why he volunteered, the unselfish boy answered simply “she’s my friend.”

“Is it possible to give without loving, but is it impossible to love without giving.” - Richard Braunstein

Yesterday was quite a blessed day. Sharing a day with family near and far, receiving texts, emails, messages from friends and colleagues - paved the way for the gift of life for my Bride. GG and I prayed early in the morning, as we always do; reflected on our dedications, ate breakfast and attended to a last day of radiation. GG spent time visiting with family and mentally preparing for what lies ahead with the help of our daughters. We prayed as a family, praying with our dear friend Father Bart, and anxiously awaited the gift of life. We had the added blessing to be able to share these moments with our son and his lovely bride through video-stream. Although GG wasn’t able to visit her brother (her unselfish donor) while he was down the hall giving his stem cells, my daughters and I had the pleasure to visit with him and it was quite emotional - talk about the Holy Spirit working through him!

GG was finally able to thank her brother Bobby for his unselfish gift of life, and also the blessings of having many brothers who were matches for the doctor to pick from - thank you Momma and Papa Roman! At 5:30 PM, we watched as the nurse brought in a red and white lunch cooler, and fixated on its contents. Out came a bag of my brother-in-laws precious stem cells - all of them in this one special package. As the Doctor commenced the ritual of spiking the bag of life (while the theme from the movie “Rocky” played in the background), the bag was hung and connected to my Bride’s IV line. As we watched the clear empty line slowly fill with the vibrant red stem cells, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

What a powerfully moving day for all of us. We closed this special “Re-Birthday” with prayer, thanksgiving and unbridled hope that this is the cure for my lovely Bride. Happy Birthday Doll.

AD MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM

This is The Day...

“O give thanks unto the Lord: for he is good.” - Psalms 118

We believe and know that God is a God of everlasting mercy; God is on our side in this challenge. Our trust in Him is stronger than ever. This day is the day the Lord has made, a day the Lord has blessed us with - It is God’s day!

This Lenten season brings us hope through sacrifice; my Brother-in-Law’s love for my GG, our family’s love to comfort us, our friends caring and concern for hope, the dedication and knowledge our our medical staff, and the support from everyone! This brings our hope for a new birth, with a bright new sun each day, another Spring revival to our lives!

My Bride is ready, a day that begins her Spartan discipline; her heroic thinking and acting. It is a day for building a new life, a day for “all-out” confidence in Gods power; a day to rebuild our faith, hope and love. Its a day for prayer, for “this is the day which our Lord has made.”

AD MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM

Want to help and provide a meal?

Many people have been asking us what they can do to help, and if we are going to continue the dinner list that we had going when Gloria was at Porter. Although it was great to have so many people willing to feed us, we are hoping to try something a little different this time. The BMT Unit is much more strict and sterile, in every aspect, due to the seriousness of the bone marrow transplants. It would be more beneficial for our family to simply walk down to the cafeteria or to go out of the hospital and grab some food to eat at our convenience. If you would like to provide a gift card (for 3 people) to a restaurant, a standard visa gift card, or any monetary donation, it would be greatly appreciated. No donation is too small or unappreciated. We are so blessed for all of the wonderful people who are wanting to help, and we hope this will make it more convenient for you.

Faith by Fire

“Be glad about…[the] trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold…is tested by fire; and so your faith…must also be tested, so that it may endure. - 1 Peter 1:6-7

The other night, I was reading a great little book by Father Mark Link, S.J. In it, he told a story that near Cripple Creek, Colorado, telluride ore contains gold and tellurium. Early refining methods couldn’t separate the two, so the ore was disposed of. One day a miner mistook a lump of ore for coal and tossed it into his stove. He later found beads of pure gold littering the ashes of his stove. The heat had burned away the tellurium, leaving the gold in a purified state. We are like telluride ore; Gold is inside us, but it often takes a “fiery trial” in the “stove of affliction” to bring it out of us. This trial that my Bride is going through is definitely helping her discover the gold inside of her - the gold that I have always seen in her! She and all of us are experiencing this fiery trial in our own way, and it’s challenging, however we are getting strong because of it. Experiencing the wonder of God, and the communion of saints and our mother Mary help us to cope and strengthen our faith and resolve.

These last two weeks have passed so fast, days filled with many tests, anxiety, but put to rest each day by prayer, family, reading and reflection. GG and I even went to see a movie together - it was nice to get out of the house! My daughters x 3 and my son continue to love and support us everyday, God has blessed us with these wonderful young people! Our family, friends and collegues are amazing with their support and prayers - THANK YOU!
Well, tomorrow is the day we enter into next step towards a cure. GG will have two days of Chemo, then 4 days of radiation, followed by the transplant of a new life! We will keep everyone posted as we approach this milestone - we ask for continued prayer and great positive thoughts - its game time!!

I am the Lord thy God, I will be with you and protect you wherever you go.” Genesis 28:13,15

AD MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM