Prayer requests
Prayer request: My mom
Update: My mom is doing well. The infection is her leg, but not her knee. She’s on a course of antibiotics and they’re going to keep her in the hospital until her fever breaks, possibly Tuesday. Deo gratias. Thank you all for your prayers.
I’ve just received word that my mom has been rushed to the hospital near her home in Maine with an infection in her leg and a fever. This is particularly serious because she’s had several knee operations, including knee replacement, and has suffered from infections in the knee, which required hospitalization and surgery. They had become so bad that the doctors warned that another infection could cause her to lose her leg or even her life!
So today she called my sister to say that she had a fever and the telltale redness in her leg. The doctor advised her to call and ambulance right away to get to the hospital and so she’s there now. We’re waiting for an update.
Please, if you will, pray for her, for the low spirits she must be in now and for healing of her leg. Thank you.
Please pray for the Dubruiel family
We all received terrible news late yesterday. Michael Dubruiel, husband of Amy Welborn and father to their children, died of an apparent heart attack yesterday morning.
Michael collapsed this morning at the gym and was not able to be revived despite the efforts of EMTs and hospital personnel.
We are devastated and beg your prayers.
It’s been said many times that the Catholic blogosphere, the so-called St. Blog’s Parish, is like a real parish and in many ways it is: We have priests, religious, and laity. We celebrate the joys of births and marriages and ordinations and religious vows. And we grieve at illnesses and death. We have very real bonds with people we’ve never met in person and when we do meet it’s like meeting an old friend. Melanie and I have experienced much of those highs and lows as our entire relationship has spanned the time I’ve been a Catholic blogger and when Melanie received what would turn out to be a false preliminary diagnosis of cancer a couple of years ago, we felt the power of the prayers of the thousands of people—bloggers and readers alike—who lifted us up.
I pray that Amy and her sons and daughters feel the effects of those same prayers, multiplied. And I pray that Michael would even now be enjoying the beatific vision.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Update: Danielle Bean has set up a PayPal link for donations to help Amy. Amy herself has requested that those who would like to help to purchase Michael’s books.
He long ago promised God that he would give all the royalties of The How To Book of the Mass to the children’s college funds, which he did faithfully. It is in good shape because of that. Buy them, read them, and give them away to others. Spread the Word. That is what he was all about.
Prayer requests
A couple of prayer requests on this Saturday.
First, please pray for Carl Olson at Ignatius Insight Scoop blog. His family is struggling right now with a terrible adoption situation where the biological parents have taken back their daughter after the Olsons have had her in their family for the past five months.
Second, please pray for my Mom. She continues to be out of work, plus she’s started to have the beginnings of a cellulitis infection in her leg. If you’ve been reading for a while, you may remember that she’s had some health issues regarding her knee replacements and infections. The doctor said before that another infection in her knee could result in her having the replacement removed permanently and ending up wheelchair bound.
On top of that, my sister with whom my Mom lives recently lost her job and now they face the daunting prospect of paying the mortgage and their bills. That’s pretty scary.
Finally, on a somewhat more hopeful note, Melanie and I have put an offer on another house and we hope we have a better outcome this time.
In times like these, there are many who need our prayers. If you could spare a moment for these, I would appreciate it.
Update on my mom’s knee
I realized I have not kept you all updated on my mom’s knee problem since my last request for prayers. The short version is that she’s doing really well.
If you recall, earlier this year she had to have one of her two artificial knees removed because of a persistent infection and then had to wait several months for all traces of the infection to disappear, remaining wheelchair-bound for the entire time.
Finally, in June, she had a new knee put in, which was somewhat harrowing because we knew that if this one didn’t take, there was no other option but to do without. Thankfully, the operation was a success and a month later mom is now up and walking about. Yes, for the next eight weeks she has to take it easy and use a cane and be careful how she places her feet, but for the moment she is much more mobile than she’s been in a long time.
I’m still praying that she makes a full recovery and then some, but until then the situation is looking good. Thank you for your prayers. Thank God for his tender mercies.
Prayer request for Harry and his wife
Please remember in your prayers Harry Forbes of Squaring The Boston Globe and his wife, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
Our prayer are with you both, Harry.
Prayers for Dale
I’ve been away from blogging for a few days and he may already be home, but I’d still like to send out my prayers and you for your prayers for Dale Price who’s having a bit of a health scare. Obviously, we include in our prayers his wife Heather and their kids. I’ve seen my dad have heart attacks and my brother too, and I’m paranoid about it, so kudos to Dale and Heather for taking no chances and going to the doctor at the first sign of trouble. Better to be “embarrassed” (although there’s no shame in it) than to ignore it.
They’re doing regular blood draws to check things; those keep coming back with good results. His spirits are good despite being on bedrest—I remember that from last year!
The kids and I saw him and they’re okay. Madeleine told him she’d rather he be in the hospital and get better than home sick, so she’s a smart girl. He encouraged us to go to dance class, even.
The cardiologist has said he expects Dale to get released by 5 PM Tuesday. Not a moment too soon.
On a related note: it’s a LOT easier for me to blog about it than talk about it, so if I don’t return your call, don’t take it personally. It’s a blogging disconnect, you know? These are just words I type on the screen. I completely forget that other people actually read them. People like my sister-in-law, my parents-in-law, other members of our homeschool support group, neighbors, friends…
God bless and Godspeed, Dale. We entrust you to the loving intercession of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph.
Prayer request and Novena to Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati
I recently reconnected with a friend from college, Peter Braam, on Facebook and he sent a message today asking for prayers. His doctors found a lump on his neck and think it might be cancerous. He has a biopsy this week and he’s asking for prayers, not just for himself, but also for some others who are suffering. He’s especially for folks to take part in a novena for Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati. Since his memorial is April 6, tomorrow would be the first day of the novena! Here is the novena as sent by Peter:
NOVENA TO BLESSED PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI
We offer this Novena prayer for the healing of:
Micheal Murphy, the brother of my friend Megan fighting melanoma
Macey King, the daughter of my friend Scott who has relapsed with another tumor in her head
Paul Furey, a college friend with lymphoma recently given only a couple of months to live
Peter J. Braam, with a lump on his neck that is likely to be lymphoma
1st Day
Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Pier Giorgio responds: The faith given to me in Baptism surely suggests to me that of yourself you will do nothing; but if you have God as the center of all your actions, then you will reach the goal.
We pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, teach me true poverty of spirit. Help me understand that God cares for me; and that He asks me, in return, to care for others, especially those in need. Guide me to make choices in my life which will show a preference for service of God and neighbor, rather than accumulating financial wealth and social advantage for myself. Give me a special love for the poor and the sick. Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is the Lover of the poor, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (mention your request).
2nd Day
Jesus says: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Pier Giorgio responds: Our life in order to be Christian, has to be a continual renunciation, a continual sacrifice. But this is not difficult, if one thinks what these few years passed in suffering are, compared with eternal happiness where joy will have no measure or end, and where we shall have unimaginable peace.
We pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, teach me that I must be able to mourn if I will be able to rejoice. Show me how to face my sorrow, and not avoid it or pretend that it does not exist. Help me to enter into any present sorrow, so that my soul can empty itself and be filled with God’s peace. Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is our Consoler, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (mention your request).
3rd Day
Jesus says: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Pier Giorgio responds: With violence you sow hatred, and you harvest its bad fruits. With charity, you sow peace among men - not the peace that the world gives, but the true peace that only faith in Jesus Christ can give us in common brotherhood.
We pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, guide me in claiming my rightful inheritance as a child of God and heir of His kingdom. Show me, by your own example, how to be slow to anger, and gentle in my dealings with others. Help me to show forth the peace of Christ by speaking words of peace, and by living a life of peace. Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession from God, Who is meek and humble of heart, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (mention your request).
4th Day
Jesus says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Pier Giorgio responds: What wealth it is to be in good health, as we are! But we have the duty of putting our health at the service of those who do not have it. To act otherwise would be to betray that gift of God.
We pray: Blessed Giorgio, help me to seek God’s righteousness, His plan for my life and for the salvation of the world. Show me the way to self-surrender, so that I may desire nothing more than to be of service to the Lord and His Kingdom. Lead me to the table of love, where I will be satisfied. Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is righteous and just, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare.> I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (mention you request).
5th Day
Jesus says: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall they obtain mercy.”
Pier Giorgio responds: St. Paul says that “the charity of Christ urges us.” Without this flame, which should burn out our personality little by little and blaze only for other people’s grief, we would not be Christian, let along Catholic.
We pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, teach me by your example of your mercy to open my heart more widely to those in need, especially the poor and the sick. Guide me in extending that mercy to friends and strangers, to those who love me and those who do not. Help me to reflect God’s own mercy, especially in words and deeds of forgiveness. Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is gracious and merciful and just, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need (mention your request).
6th Day
Jesus says: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Pier Giorgio responds: I beg you to pray for me a little, so that God may give me an iron will that does not bend and does not fail in His projects.
We pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, lead me in the path of purity, for only those who are clean of heart can behold God’s face. Help me to be faithful to the covenant I have made with God in Baptism, that I may always be loyal to His commands and thus offer Him sincere worship. Show me by your life how to be single hearted and completely, unswervingly, dedicated to proclaiming the kingdom of God here on earth. Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for you intercession in obtaining from God, Who is pure love and holiness, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (mention your request).
7th Day
Jesus says: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
Pier Giorgio responds: I offer you my best wishes - or rather, only one wish, but the only wish that a true friend can express for a dear friend: may the peace of the Lord be with you always! For if you possess peace every day, you will be truly rich.
We pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, despite your daily struggles, you found peace by fostering your own well being in work, study, and play; in prayer alone and with others; in silence and in song, in laughter and in serious conversation with friends. Guide me to that inner peace which will enable me to share peace with others. Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is our peace, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (mention your request).
8th Day
Jesus says: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Pier Giorgio responds: To live without faith, with a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth, that is not living, but existing.
We pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, teach me silence in the face of personal humiliation and unjust criticism. But guide me to be courageous like you in standing on the side of God’s truth. Help me to be faithful to Him in all things, so that His Will may be done in and through my life. Show me how to persevere in the struggle for those things which are holy and honorable. Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for you intercession in obtaining from God, Who is the source of grace and truth, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (mention your request).
9th Day
Jesus says: Blessed are you when then revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account.> Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
Pier Giorgio responds: We who by the grace of God are Catholics must steel ourselves for the battle we shall certainly have to fight to fulfill our program and to give our county, in the not too distant future, happier days and a morally healthy society. But to achieve this we need constant prayer to obtain from God that grace without which all our powers are useless.
We pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, show me how to bear all wrongs patiently. Help me to accept the sufferings which others inflict on me because of my desire to be faithful to Jesus. Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who protects the innocent, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (mention your request).
Mom update
My mom is out of surgery. Her knee replacement has been removed and a spacer has been put in for the next two months. The doctor said she has very strong bones and that sometimes with weak bones a bit of bone comes with the implant and they have to do reconstructive surgery. Happily, they did not have to do that.
Her knee was indeed filled with an infection, so it’s very good they caught it when they did. Now we wait 2 months before they can put a new knee in.
Dehydrated baby
Thank you everyone for the prayers and congratulations. You’ll see I posted some new photos over there on the right sidebar. Melanie has written an update on her day. Short version is that Sophia was running a little temp so they wanted to do some bloodwork and check for infection. The results came back with no infection, which is good, but she has elevated sodium, which means she’s a bit dehydrated, even though she’s nursing well with Melanie.
So they’re going to put her in the neonatal ICU overnight for an IV of fluids. Melanie will have to go up and down during the night to nurse her. Since she doesn’t need me to bring the baby to her or change diapers, I think I’ll go home and get a good night’s sleep in a bed and then bring Bella and my mom-in-law over.
Update on my mom, too: She wasn’t admitted to the hospital tonight, but will be admitted in the morning and then have her surgery immediately at noon. I talked to her tonight and she sounded in good spirits. All she asked was that I send her a photo of Isabella and Sophia to keep by her bed along with the photos of all her other grandkids.
Your prayers, as always, are a source of grace and encouragement, and I thank God that I have come to know you all and have been able to share my life with you.
More news, updates, and photos as they become available.
Family prayer update
I mentioned yesterday that my mom needed prayers because of problems with her knee replacement. It turns out she needs to have the worst-case scenario: The doctors will have to remove her most recent artificial knee, let the leg sit without a knee for 6 to 8 weeks and then put a new replacement in. You can imagine that she is very discouraged.
She’s hoping that the doctor will give her clearance to drive down tonight to see her new granddaughter before the surgery scheduled for Friday. I don’t know when we’ll be able to go up and visit her otherwise; probably not for a couple of weeks.
Also, I’ve received news that my father’s eldest surviving sister, who is now in her 90s, is in the end stages of life. It doesn’t matter how old or young a person is, it still comes as a shock and is a burden of grief.
If you could mention my mom, Virginia, and my aunt, Jenny, in your prayers, I would appreciate it. Thanks.
And more baby pictures soon, I promise.
Prayers for my mom and Melanie’s progress
Hoping not to overtax the wells of prayer that we’ve requested, but if could fit in a prayer for my mom, we’d appreciate it. We just heard that she’s developed another fever which could be another infection of her artificial knee replacement, since she just came off the previous regime of antibiotics. We won’t know for sure until Thursday, but if it is infected they’ll have to take out the knee, let it rest for 6-8 weeks (with no knee!) and then put a new one in.
This is obviously very discouraging for my whole family and so we’re praying that it is just the flu or something and not the knee. (Imagine praying for the flu!)
Meanwhile, Melanie is doing very well, they’ve got her on a pitocin drip and the contractions are getting stronger and closer together. We may have this baby today.
Oh by the way, her latest blog entry was written from the labor room in between contractions. I think that deserves some kind of blog award. Or therapy, not sure which yet.
Very sad news
Folks, I ask you to please pray for the repose of the soul of longtime reader and commenter Devereaux Cannon. I received an email from his wife this afternoon informing me that he passed away suddenly last night of an apparent embolism. Please also pray for his wife and family and friends.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
I want to add that Devereaux went to great lengths on his own initiative last year to communicate with his bishop in Nashville, to encourage him to consider offering me a job. While it didn’t result in a job offer, I did sincerely appreciate his efforts and showed great charity.
He and his wife Nora were married for 30 years and his son is a lieutenant in the US Army, having received his commission in October 2006, having previously served as a staff sergeant in the Airborne. They also have a young daughter, about 10 or 11. Again, please keep them all in your prayers.
My mom’s Christmas gift
I’m happy to tell you all that my mom has received a wonderful Christmas gift: Her doctors have given her the OK to be discharged from the hospital today and so she’ll be able to spend Christmas at home.
Melanie and I went up to visit her yesterday. With everyone else who will be visiting her that day, we were afraid that if mom was still in the hospital we’d be shuffling in and out of the room and hardly get to spend any time with her. Plus we’d have to rush home in holiday traffic because I have to work on Wednesday.
So while we’re having a quiet Christmas at home with just the three of us, my mom will be surrounded by more than half of her kids and grandkids at home, for which I am very grateful. This is a great Christmas present for me too.
Of course, we’re planning to have a “traditional” Christmas video iChat with my family and Melanie’s (separately, I think, although I bet we have the technology to do a group chat covering three states: Massachusetts, Maine, and Texas.)
Anyway, thank you, Lord, for the early gift and to all of you for your prayers. I am very much aware of the gift of your prayers and we are very grateful.
Another “mom update”
My mom had her surgery on her knee today. (See previous news here and here.)
The doctor opened up the replacement knee to see what’s causing the strep infection in her blood and the inflammation around her knee. The good news is that he didn’t have to take the more drastic step of removing the artificial knee, sewing her back up, and waiting six weeks to put a new one in. Instead, he cleaned up the area and replaced all the plastic parts.
Now we wait. If the infection and inflammation are gone, then we’re out of the woods. But if it comes back or continues, then they’ll have to resort to the more drastic measures. Thank you everyone for your continued prayers.
My mom’s situation gets more serious
My mom’s situation has gotten even more serious. Her doctor is going to have to open up her knee tomorrow or Thursday; not just arthroscopic surgery, but the real deal.
He’s looking for one of two situations. Either the strep infection in her blood has caused the problems with her replacement knee (the inflammation, fluid, and swelling) or the the replacement knee is the source of the problem. If it’s the former then she’ll have to keep on the antibiotics until the infection is gone, but if it’s the latter, then the doctor will have to take out the knee, sew her back up, wait six weeks, and only then put yet another knee in.
Adding to all these complications is my mom’s other physical frailties, including diabetes and high blood pressure.
You may have guessed that it’s now virtually certain that my mom will be in the hospital on Christmas, which understandably distresses her. Making everything more difficult is the fact that she’s in Portland, Maine, which is at least 2 hours away from four of her five kids.
We’re now scrambling to figure out how we’re going to celebrate Christmas and visit with her.
So I thank you all for your prayers and ask you to keep at it. This is a very difficult situation for my family and this is a very dangerous illness for my mom. Put simply, we’re worried and working hard to put all this in the Lord’s capable hands.
