Power of Prayer

March 21, 2010

Power of Prayer
Every week in our parish bulletin we publish a list of names of people who are ill and have asked for our prayers. Do you wonder who these people are or how they are doing? Do you have faith that our prayers help the sick and dying?

This week we received an e-mail from Jesse Heikkila’s mom. Jesse is a little boy we have been praying for, for nearly a year. Last April, at about his 3rd birthday, Jesse was diagnosed with “High Risk Neuroblastoma,” a stage 4 cancer throughout this body, head, adrenal glands, and bone marrow. Chemotherapy was started two days after entering the ER of Children’s Hospital. For the first month it was touch ad go as Jesse endured endless treatments of chemotherapy and radiation. Jesse’s parents stood by his bed broken-hearted as they saw Jesse lose vision in one eye, and his hair would fall out onto his pillow. As Jesse’s mom says…” During this time, our faith was shaken but not lost. We decided to do whatever it took to get our son back. And we did. Jesse endured an intense schedule of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, a bone marrow harvest and transplant, more radiation, many blood transfusions, an antibody treatment and now he is on Accutane.”

During this past year we, at Sacred Heart, along with Jesse’s family and friends, have been praying for his recovery. Jesse’s cancer responded well to his treatment and now he is cancer free and ready to celebrate his next birthday. Jesse’s mom, Suzzanne, states, “Our goal is to prevent relapse and we will. Because with faith, hope, and love for Jesse… anything is possible.”

The Lord has done great things for us;we are filled with joy. –Ps 126

God Bless, Holly Clark