BK's Cancer-Free Corner: Hey, its the third day of Christmas - where are my three french hens?

Those of you who regularly read the blog know that I rarely post anything of substance anymore. I can hardly keep up. Let's just say that when I was sick I had much more time for blogging. Now that life is back in full swing, I really have to be faithful to my duties and obligations. But I had a unique experience last night which I feel compelled to share.

This past November 10th, we began the process of having a new roof put on our house. We were 25 years into a 30 year roof, but a couple of persistent leaks threatened our upstairs ceilings and we knew we'd have to get a new roof before winter. Today, as I type, it still isn't done. I can hear the pounding of the workmen right now. Believe it or not, there have not been two consecutive days of good weather since Nov. 10th. So for the past six weeks, we've had tarps covering parts of our roof. The workmen have done their best to work whenever then can, but between high winds, rain, snow, and ice, they just haven't been able to get it done. It didn't help that work was delayed by a guy falling off our roof. Miraculously, he was not killed, nor did he even require an ambulance! Anyone who has seen our house will know that this is quite remarkable.

Since work started oh so long ago, we've been hit with a series of annoyances that have really tested our mettle. We've had four or five middle of the night water containment sessions where Margy has had to catch water in the bedrooms and protect furniture while I try to catch it as it dripped or poured into our attic. Several of our children have been sick during this period of time, the worst being Meg whose fevers would spike as high as 105.7 and then drop to the 99 range a half hour later. She's also been battling a persistent bacterial infection in her urinary tract. Margy had to stay home with her on Christmas Eve due to her illness which was upsetting for everyone.

On top of these challenges, I had a month long respiratory issue which resulted in a late night trip to the emergency room and a later trip to the University of Chicago medical center. Since I operate on only about 70% of my original lung capacity, when I get a respiratory ailment, my lung capacity drops to about 50% or 60 %. Its hard to function at that level. I also had five or six painful days of inexplicable tendenitis in my left achilles tendon which made it difficult to sleep and even more difficult to walk. But that went away as strangely and abruptly as it came. In the background looms my continued Graft vs. Host Disease. This is actually good - it makes it less likely for the cancer to return. But its also another set of symptoms to deal with.

At work, its been a time of intense activity and dramatic change. For a four or five day period, I was the primary college contact for one of our best faculty members whose seventeen year old son was in a horrible car accident. Weeks later, I'm still shaken by it. He is not expected to awake from his coma. Its all very sad.

On another front, my life has changed in a bittersweet and somewhat emotional way. I'm now out of teaching and Campus Ministry at Holy Cross College. My new mission is to oversee our recruitment of students, our public relations / marketing efforts, and our fundraising efforts. I'm fine with this new job (technically its a promotion) but I'm sad to leave my first loves (teaching and ministry) and starting anew has taken quite a bit of psychological energy. I've spent over twenty-five hours in personal meetings with everyone who are in my area of responsibility. The meetings have been great, but totalled together, they've also been rather draining. But I consider them to be essential to the task at hand - to recruit students and raise money for our important mission. But what a time to take this job! I'm sure its not hard to imagine the tremendous challenge the faltering economy presents for a small, tuition-driven, Catholic college. Its a daunting task.

But my most important work - that of being a husband and a father - has not changed at all. Relationship management is certainly my most challenging work, but bailing water from the attic is part of my duty. Our attic doesn't have a floor - just beams, 90 year old knob and tube wiring, and blown insulation that makes it a mess. Its a rather difficult place to maneuver, mostly on my hands and knees. Today we have worked out a system for lighting it with a spotlight and extension cord, we have a higher tolerance for the mess created when I scatter insulation around the house, and our water bailing sessions are beginning to seem almost routine.

(Its taken about twenty containers to catch all the water falling - sometimes filling a couple buckets per hour.)

(Pictured above is my ingenious invention for stopping the water flowing down a beam and making it drip into my bucket! Yes, I am very proud of myself for this device. It most certainly saved our ceilings.)

Last night, I spent the hours of 11:15 p.m. until 7:15 a.m. up in the attic with a break from 4:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. for a little nap on the floor in the hallway upstairs. I think I bailed over ten buckets of water, but truthfully I lost count. Much of this time was spent waiting for the buckets to fill after I emptied them. It gave me an excellent opportunity to reflect and pray.

By the time I got in the shower at 7:30 this morning, I have to admit that I was feeling very grateful for the past six weeks. As we all know, Mom used to tell us that any sort of adversity or suffering may be offered to God as a prayer. All this water in our attic has given me to the opportunity to weather the storm together with Margy. Its a great feeling when we work together. Its also given me a memorable two hour session with Michael in the attic when the water was cascading like Niagra Falls. Last night, as I sat on a plastic box and prayed the rosary in between bailings, everything began to make sense. God places little demands on us sometimes in order to build our character and prepare us for the big challenges we might face in the future. As the Bible tells us, if we are faithful in our little responsibilities, then we shall be given bigger ones. All I've ever wanted out of life is for my life to count - for my life to make a difference in the world. Hopefully bailing water cheerfully in the middle of the night will earn me the chance to touch someone's life someday.

So last night I hung a picture of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in our attic. I put four miraculous medals above the four corners of the house. I put a medal of St. Joseph and Blessed Br. Andre sqaurely over the center and I applied holy oil from the Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal to the rafters. Being up there all night gave me the perfect opportunity to pray. I prayed prayers of deliverance and spiritual protection. I prayed a rosary for my family. I asked Our Lady to place her mantle of protection over 1121 North Saint Peter Street. I prayed for each family member. It was great. I felt a tremendous sense of peace.

But would any of this have happened without the problems with the roof? Would I have spent an entire night in prayer?

No way.

Our crosses are often really just blessings in disguise. So don't worry about us - we're doing just fine. Ave Crux, Spes Unica!

Cell Phone Company Recommendations Please

Margy and I have finally severed our ties with the evil empire, aka Verizon Wireless. Our horrible history with them is partially recounted here, but suffice it to say that there have been even more problems and canceling our service this afternoon just felt fantastic. The problem is that Margy is now without a cell phone (my phone is actually still Verizon, but I use it for free because its actually the Franciscan Friar's extra phone). Anyway, can anyone speak in favor or against any other wireless phone company in the South Bend / Mishawaka area? Even if you report that you've never had a problem with a particular phone company, that would help us. So please, on the record recommendations!

ND's Jersey's

Christmas Eve was very unique this year as THE University of Notre Dame played their bowl game against Hawaii (and won in convincing fashion 49-21!). There seemed to be some confusion and interesting discussion regarding the motivation of coach Charlie Weis allowing the players names to be on the back of their jerseys. I was not aware of any tradition regarding this practice, but found this on the internet...after further review, pretty cool I thought!
Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year!!! GO IRISH!!!

CHANNELING ARA: Rekindling a bowl tradition from the Ara Parseghian era, the Irish took the field wearing jerseys that featured their last names on the back. It was a nice Christmas present for the players, who are allowed to keep their bowl game jerseys.

“It was a total surprise … we had no idea until we saw them hanging in our lockers,” said Turkovich. “It was really exciting to be able to represent my family and play for the name on the back of my jersey as well.”

Another Christmas Classic

Update on Sherry Stuck

Sherry is out of ICU and doing well. They isolated what was making her sick and she's on some serious anti-biotics. She should be home for Christmas. Thanks for all the prayers.