Our Lady of Guadalupe, Prayer and My Son Kirk’s Cancer Recovery

(Please view the video to the right after reading this story)

When my son Kirk was diagnosed with stage four throat cancer, Kirk and our entire family went into shock.  I didn’t know much about cancer-and I still don’t-but I knew stage four is an advanced stage that is often deadly.

Since Kirk’s diagnosis, I’ve talked to many people who have or are experiencing the horror of cancer. Because of this common terror, I thought I’d briefly share the story of Kirk’s recovery.

Kirk is just 42. He doesn’t smoke, has ran a marathon and yet cancer struck him. A large part of his will to recover was the love he has for his two children-Cooper and Abbey. Cooper, 9, and Abbey, 7, were incredibly strong and loving as they watched their father grow weaker and weaker by the day.  They are little angels.

Around Easter, I flew to Kirk’s home in Fairfax, Virginia to be with him as he suffered through cancer, and maybe what’s worse, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.  Medical people like to joke that the cure for cancer is worse than the cancer. It’s almost true.

Kirk, like most people in cancer therapy, lost weight, energy and at times heart.  There were several emergencies during his journey to health.

This is just one story of many.

Kirk and I were in Georgetown Hospital Emergency. We had rushed to the D.C. hospital from Fairfax as Kirk was on the verge of choking to death on his own vomit and saliva.  Being a resident of rural New Mexico, I’m not the best city driver. But I sucked it up, tried to comfort Kirk and drove up to 100 m.p.h. in east coast rush hour traffic.

We arrived safely at the hospital and while we anxiously waited for a doctor, a middle aged woman with Downs Syndrome walked up to Kirk, who was still choking, and said, “Don’t worry, you’ll be ok.” Before she turned to walk away, I noticed she was wearing an Our Lady of Guadalupe t-shirt.  Kirk thanked her for the blessing and she disappeared.

After she left, Kirk’s breathing began to normalize and he slowly regained his oxygen and composure.

The woman wearing the Our Lady of Guadalupe t-shirt appeared out of nowhere in an urban hospital emergency room and disappeared just as quickly.  Where did she come from? Who was she with?  People with developmental disabilities don’t just wander around unattended in a hospital’s emergency room.

On the way back to Kirk’s house, he commented on the energy he felt from the woman and asked if I would give him my Our Lady of Guadalupe t-shirt, which I had brought from New Mexico.  Naturally, I gave it to him.

Besides Our Lady of Guadalupe’s energy, many people prayed for Kirk’s recovery and I’d like to thank everyone in that ever widening prayer circle.

Kirk is now back at work and he just ran and completed a 10k run, which is on the video to the right. The video, made by Kirk’s friend Kieth, also chronicles  a fragment of his recovery story.

I hope Kirk’s story radiates healing energy. I know for a fact, illnesses, even stage four cancer, can be overcome with love, hope and prayer.

And, I know for a fact,  Our Lady of Guadalupe walks with us in many different forms.  She heals us up with here love. Praise Our Lady and her infinite manifestations of healing light.