Asking your Prayers
October 29, 2009
To all the faithful in Christ and dear ones at St.
Luke's, my beloved and precious family, united in the
Holy Orthodox Faith, united in the Body and Blood of
Christ; to all you who bring me such joy and peace
and comfort in our common prayer, love for God and
for one another: Christ is in our midst!
Where to start? I've never written a letter such as this. As your parish priest, I've always appreciated it when you let me know if you or someone near is ill or in the hospital; so that I can call, go and visit, bring the Holy Sacraments, pray with/for you and offer, through the grace of God, some measure of His comfort and the personal experience of God's love and blessings upon us. So now, I need to do the same in return, not to frighten anyone, but to ask your holy prayers. Be assured of my deep love and prayers for all of you too.. Over the years, I've always tried my best and offered all that I can of myself in every aspect of parish life here at St. Luke's. Nevertheless, I know beyond a doubt that I am weak and a sinner and am certain that there are things I could have done better and with more wisdom and love. Please forgive me any and all my short comings as your parish priest over the years and I ask for your patience in the days ahead. Please pray for me and for my family: Kyra, Ana and Katya.
Here goes… Just a few weeks ago, in the beginning of this month of October, I began to notice certain`symptoms' that one could reasonably ascribe to stress, an upset stomach,etc. I thought that, following our Feast Day and 50th Anniversary celebrations on the 18th, the stress and symptoms would subside. One week later,they didn't. And by this past Sunday,the 25th, I noticed that I had lost 12 pounds over the last three weeks and that I was very weak and lightheaded during Matins and Liturgy. My family and others urged me to lay aside the foolishness of `I'll be fine' and go to the Urgent Care, which I did this Monday.
The doctors there saw that my eyes were yellow and I was jaundice, meaning that certain digestive functions were shutting down. They admitted me to St. Joseph's hospital immediately. I went through several tests, the last being a CT scan at 10pm on Monday. Then an overnight stay with no food or drink allowed. At 8am on Tuesday, the doctor came to speak with me and let me know that I'd be having a `busy day'. The CT scan revealed a mass growing on the head of my pancreas that was pressing on the common bile duct, thus shutting off proper digestive function. I was scheduled for surgery at 1pm to implant a stint in the bile duct to open it and restore digestive function, stop the jaundice, etc. My dear friend and beloved fellow priest, Fr.Michael Laffoon, was able to visit me on short notice to hear my confession, pray and anoint me with Holy Oil. This surgical procedure was painted as relatively simple, but not a guaranteed success, as there could always be complications. A temporary (four week) plastic stint was successfully implanted and all indications are, glory to God, that this first part of treatment was a success.. Biopsies were also taken of the pancreas. I woke up from the surgery at 2pm, went back to the room at 3pm, and then was eager to go home and released by 7pm. Yesterday I rested at home and have been trying to eat to regain much needed strength. Today I am feeling well enough to be at Church and respond to many emails and phone calls. Unfortunately,my throat is still a bit sore from Tuesday's surgery, in which several tubes were put down my throat (a minor thing), so I'm trying to keep the talking and calls to a minimum to help my voice's healing.
The reason for a plastic temporary stint to open the bile duct is that the closed duct was not the primary cause of my problem, it was a symptom of the real problem; the mass growing on the head of my pancreas which pressed upon it and closed it in the first place. The doctor said that we'll need to take swift action with the primary concern, the mass growing on my pancreas, and that this would be happening soon, before the four weeks. I have an appointment to see the doctor this Monday at 4pm to discuss the biopsy results, course of action, further tests,etc. So for now, I've let you know everything that I know. Yes, this is very serious and the news hit me like a freight train. My father died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 54. It was on Holy Thursday in my first year at St. Luke's.
For this weekend, Oct. 31stand Nov 1st, we'll plan to have Vespers, Matins and Liturgy as usual. I do not know what to expect for the following weekend, the Feast of the Holy Archangels! It depends on how things go on Monday and how swiftly we are able to act, what needs to be done, etc. I've already contacted His Grace, Bishop JOSEPH with this news and the beloved local clergy, so they are ready to fill-in and help as needed. I am most sincerely thankful!
I really don't know what else to say. I'm so sorry for bearing this news to you, as you are all so precious and dear to me and I'd never want to hurt any one of you by any means whatsoever.
With all my love and with thankfulness to God for each and every one of you, asking your prayers,
Fr.Michael
Where to start? I've never written a letter such as this. As your parish priest, I've always appreciated it when you let me know if you or someone near is ill or in the hospital; so that I can call, go and visit, bring the Holy Sacraments, pray with/for you and offer, through the grace of God, some measure of His comfort and the personal experience of God's love and blessings upon us. So now, I need to do the same in return, not to frighten anyone, but to ask your holy prayers. Be assured of my deep love and prayers for all of you too.. Over the years, I've always tried my best and offered all that I can of myself in every aspect of parish life here at St. Luke's. Nevertheless, I know beyond a doubt that I am weak and a sinner and am certain that there are things I could have done better and with more wisdom and love. Please forgive me any and all my short comings as your parish priest over the years and I ask for your patience in the days ahead. Please pray for me and for my family: Kyra, Ana and Katya.
Here goes… Just a few weeks ago, in the beginning of this month of October, I began to notice certain`symptoms' that one could reasonably ascribe to stress, an upset stomach,etc. I thought that, following our Feast Day and 50th Anniversary celebrations on the 18th, the stress and symptoms would subside. One week later,they didn't. And by this past Sunday,the 25th, I noticed that I had lost 12 pounds over the last three weeks and that I was very weak and lightheaded during Matins and Liturgy. My family and others urged me to lay aside the foolishness of `I'll be fine' and go to the Urgent Care, which I did this Monday.
The doctors there saw that my eyes were yellow and I was jaundice, meaning that certain digestive functions were shutting down. They admitted me to St. Joseph's hospital immediately. I went through several tests, the last being a CT scan at 10pm on Monday. Then an overnight stay with no food or drink allowed. At 8am on Tuesday, the doctor came to speak with me and let me know that I'd be having a `busy day'. The CT scan revealed a mass growing on the head of my pancreas that was pressing on the common bile duct, thus shutting off proper digestive function. I was scheduled for surgery at 1pm to implant a stint in the bile duct to open it and restore digestive function, stop the jaundice, etc. My dear friend and beloved fellow priest, Fr.Michael Laffoon, was able to visit me on short notice to hear my confession, pray and anoint me with Holy Oil. This surgical procedure was painted as relatively simple, but not a guaranteed success, as there could always be complications. A temporary (four week) plastic stint was successfully implanted and all indications are, glory to God, that this first part of treatment was a success.. Biopsies were also taken of the pancreas. I woke up from the surgery at 2pm, went back to the room at 3pm, and then was eager to go home and released by 7pm. Yesterday I rested at home and have been trying to eat to regain much needed strength. Today I am feeling well enough to be at Church and respond to many emails and phone calls. Unfortunately,my throat is still a bit sore from Tuesday's surgery, in which several tubes were put down my throat (a minor thing), so I'm trying to keep the talking and calls to a minimum to help my voice's healing.
The reason for a plastic temporary stint to open the bile duct is that the closed duct was not the primary cause of my problem, it was a symptom of the real problem; the mass growing on the head of my pancreas which pressed upon it and closed it in the first place. The doctor said that we'll need to take swift action with the primary concern, the mass growing on my pancreas, and that this would be happening soon, before the four weeks. I have an appointment to see the doctor this Monday at 4pm to discuss the biopsy results, course of action, further tests,etc. So for now, I've let you know everything that I know. Yes, this is very serious and the news hit me like a freight train. My father died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 54. It was on Holy Thursday in my first year at St. Luke's.
For this weekend, Oct. 31stand Nov 1st, we'll plan to have Vespers, Matins and Liturgy as usual. I do not know what to expect for the following weekend, the Feast of the Holy Archangels! It depends on how things go on Monday and how swiftly we are able to act, what needs to be done, etc. I've already contacted His Grace, Bishop JOSEPH with this news and the beloved local clergy, so they are ready to fill-in and help as needed. I am most sincerely thankful!
I really don't know what else to say. I'm so sorry for bearing this news to you, as you are all so precious and dear to me and I'd never want to hurt any one of you by any means whatsoever.
With all my love and with thankfulness to God for each and every one of you, asking your prayers,
Fr.Michael