Triumph over cancer! no comments
Posted at 7:05 pm in Motivational stories
My name is Don Heding and I live in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, U.S.A. I am 63 years of age and married quite late in life for the 2nd time as my first wife died of cervical cancer. My wife, Saowanee, is a Thai Buddhist and we have two sons, Patrick and Andrew, aged seven and six respectively. I also have a son from my first marriage, Brett, who is now 29 years of age.
In the latter part of 1996, I was experiencing some difficulty in eating, that is, I was experiencing severe indigestion. Naturally, I went to my physician and, after an examination, (I) was told that I had a hyatal hernia and was treated for such. I then made a trip to South-east Asia as was my custom after Chinese New Year in 1997. I noticed I was still not feeling up to par and my appetite was not what it used to be. Upon my return, I again went to see my physician and a series of tests were prescribed to see what else could be causing my problem. After a CAT scan and a procedure where a tiny camera is put down your (my) throat and to your (my) stomach, the following became evident:
(a) I had an abdominal aorta annurism. My aorta was supposed to be approximately 2 cm in diameter and mine was 8 cm.
(b) There were cancer cells between my esophagus and stomach. Not very good news to say the least. An oncologist was recommended to me and upon seeing him, (I) was told I had two alternatives: Do nothing and die in four to six months or take radiation and chemotherapy and finally have an esophagectomy (removal of your esophagus and putting your stomach higher in your chest area).
Because of my wife and three sons, I chose the latter.
In June of 1997, I underwent the operation for the annurism and, in August, I started the radiation and chemo treatments which lasted for seven weeks. On October 4th, I underwent the operation to remove my esophagus. Incidentally, the doctor told me there was only a 50 percent chance that all of this would be successful. Now, from October 3rd to Mar28th, (1998), I did not take any nourishment by mouth. I was fed through a tube in my side and, during this period, my weight went from 178lbs down to 115lbs.
I should relate to you at this time, that I was baptized a Roman Catholic but through the years drifted away from my faith and, most importantly, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
On March the 5th, 1998, a Catholic man, (whom) I had met through another friend of mine in Singapore, telephoned me to inquire about my health. I told him I was dying of esophageal cancer and, due to my drastic weight loss, my oncologist and also my family physicians told me that there was nothing more that they could do as I could not eat any solid food. At this time, all medical treatment had stopped including marijuana tablets that were supposed to give me an appetite. If I took any solid food, it would be only a matter of minutes and I would vomit. I was literally starving to death and was preparing myself if not welcoming the thought of death.
He consoled me and prayed with me during our phone conversation and assured me that Dr. Jesus Christ, Lord, Savior & Messiah, would answer my prayers and that he would intercede for me and get as many Christians as he could to pray for me. Our conversation lasted approx. ½ hour and, later that same evening, he faxed me 13 pages of stories of miracles extracted from “And then they were healed” a book by Fr. Corsie S. Legaspi, and an article by Ms Irene Teo, a Singaporean, who was healed of advanced colon cancer, and of his own major healings of poliomyelitis and prostate cancer.
Between Mar 5 and Mar 28th, 1998, this man phoned me 4 times and faxed messages to me 5 times. On March 26th, he faxed (and) phoned me urging me to have full trust in the divine healer, My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Since my own doctors had given up on me, and discontinued any more treatment or medication, I had to clutch to the words of the Lord in the Bible. My friend assured me that God’s word was more powerful and potent than any chemotherapy or radiation treatment or medication. For a period of three weeks, his prayer group participated in daily Masses, fasting, two long retreats and charismatic prayer meetings. Many (of his) church members had prayed for me incessantly since Mar 5th. I had difficulty in reading the Bible but I urgently realized I needed the healing Words of God but persevered and literally and physically clutched to His Words as my life.
On Saturday, March 28th, 1998 (simultaneously a 4-hour healing Charismatic Mass was said between 8p.m. and 10p.m. at the St. Francis Xavier Retreat Centre in Singapore), I was awakened by a now very strange sensation. I was hungry! In fact, I was so hungry I felt I was starving! I also had no more pain. Immediately, I prayed to Dr. Jesus Christ and thanked him for rescuing me at the imminent hour of death. As if I had lost 5 more lbs, I am sure I would not have survived. My first meal of solid food was indeed a very strange one. I had the most awful craving to eat raw beef which is the custom in my part of the U.S.A. During the Christmas holidays I personally never enjoyed this tradition. However, my stomach was telling me something else. So off to the grocery store, my wife went and bought some ground round of beef, raw onions, rye bread and stome stinky brick cheese made only here in Wisconsin (and some mustard!). I relished my first meal of solid food in 6 months and thought for sure I would be as sick as a dog after eating this hard to digest meal. However, I had no problem and have been eating almost normally since this time. I cannot eat as much as I used to as my stomach is much smaller but I can eat more often. Praise be the Holy Name of Jesus Christ, My Lord, Master, Savior, Spiritual and Physical Physician.
My cancer recovery was dramatic as shown by my weight loss records:
178 lbs before esophageal cancer (in) 1997
114/5 lbs on March 27th 1998 — one year earlier 178lbs
120 lbs on Apr 4, 1998
128 lbs on Apr 14, 1998
152 lbs Present weight Nov 22, 1998
In mid-April, my oncologist confirmed that there was no trace of cancer but was at a loss to explain my miraculous recovery and appetite. I promptly informed him that I had a second opinion from another doctor, Dr. Jesus Christ — He just shrugged his shoulders.
My wife and children are now convinced that Jesus is indeed ominpotent and alive and are now embracing the Catholic faith.
I would like to take this opportunity to let you know it is very difficult for me to write this testimonial as I become very emotional. It is not unusual to be at Mass and break into tears thinking about my past experience and watching my family in prayer. I can only tell you this that if you have faith and completely put your life in the hands of Jesus Christ you will not nothing to worry about or fear. God is indeed great all of the time and the word impossible is not in his vocabulary as he can accomplish anything at any time He wishes.
Donald G Heding
November 22, 1998
Written by Stephen on November 20th, 2008
Enjoy your life at every moment 13 comments
Posted at 6:29 pm in Motivational stories
Once a fisherman was sitting near seashore, under the shadow of a tree smoking his beedi. Suddenly a rich businessman passing by approached him and enquired as to why he was sitting under a tree smoking and not working. To this the poor fisherman replied that he had caught enough fishes for the day.
Hearing this the rich man got angry and said: Why don’t you catch more fishes instead of sitting in shadow wasting your time?
Fisherman asked: What would I do by catching more fishes?
Businessman: You could catch more fishes, sell them and earn more money, and buy a bigger boat.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could go fishing in deep waters and catch even more fishes and earn even more money.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could buy many boats and employ many people to work for you and earn even more money.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could become a rich businessman like me.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could then enjoy your life peacefully.
Fisherman: What do you think I’m doing right now?
MORAL – You don’t need to wait for tomorrow to be happy and enjoy your life. You don’t even need to be more rich, more powerful to enjoy life. LIFE is at this moment, enjoy it fully.
As some great men have said “My riches consist not in extent of my possessions but in the fewness of my wants”.
Written by Stephen on November 17th, 2008
Keep your dream 12 comments
Posted at 1:49 pm in Motivational stories
I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.
The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.
“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, `See me after class.’
“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, `Why did I receive an F?’
“The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’
“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, `Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’ “Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all.
He stated, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”
Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.”
“Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.”
- Author Unknown
Written by Stephen on October 1st, 2008
DON’T HOPE,…DECIDE! 14 comments
Posted at 10:19 am in Motivational stories
While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had one of those life-changing experiences that you hear other people talk about — the kind that sneaks up on you unexpectedly. This one occurred a mere two feet away from me.
Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning through the jet way, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.
First he motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, loving hug. As they separated enough to look in each other’s face, I heard the father say, “It’s so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!” His son smiled somewhat shyly, averted his eyes and replied softly, “Me, too, Dad!”
Then the man stood up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe nine or ten) and while cupping his son’s face in his hands said, “You’re already quite the young man. I love you very much, Zach!” They too hugged a most loving, tender hug.
While this was happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or one-and-a-half) was squirming excitedly in her mother’s arms, never once taking her little eyes off the wonderful sight of her returning father. The man said, “Hi, baby girl!” as he gently took the child from her mother. He quickly kissed her face all over and then held her close to his chest while rocking her from side to side. The little girl instantly relaxed and simply laid her head on his shoulder, motionless in pure contentment.
After several moments, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, “I’ve saved the best for last!” and proceeded to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. He gazed into her eyes for several seconds and then silently mouthed. “I love you so much!” They stared at each other’s eyes, beaming big smiles at one another, while holding both hands.
For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds, but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn’t possibly be. I puzzled about it for a moment then realized how totally engrossed I was in the wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm’s length away from me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I was invading something sacred, but was amazed to hear my own voice nervously ask, “Wow! How long have you two been married?
“Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those.” he replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife’s face. “Well then, how long have you been away?” I asked. The man finally turned and looked at me, still beaming his joyous smile. “Two whole days!”
Two days? I was stunned. By the intensity of the greeting, I had assumed he’d been gone for at least several weeks – if not months. I know my expression betrayed me.
I said almost offhandedly, hoping to end my intrusion with some semblance of grace (and to get back to searching for my friend), “I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!”
The man suddenly stopped smiling.
He looked me straight in the eye, and with forcefulness that burned right into my soul, he told me something that left me a different person. He told me, “Don’t hope, friend… decide!” Then he flashed me his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, “God bless!”
- By Michael D. Hargrove and Bottom Line Underwriters, Inc. Copyright 1997
Written by Stephen on September 26th, 2008
Don’t Be Afraid 6 comments
Posted at 6:27 pm in Motivational stories
Here we are, afraid of losing what we have all the time, holding on to it so tight that not a soul can touch it. We think by hiding it from the world, it’s hidden and it’s ours. Nothing is. Nothing ever will be. For, nothing ever was.
If you think there is anything that you have, that’s yours, be it money, a house, a job, or a girlfriend… it’s nothing but an illusion. It’ll all disappear… in one blow. One blow, my man.
Here we are, so insecure that we are afraid of re-starting our lives, so we just carry on trying to sort out the current mess. The thought that we should give it all up and just start all over – with nothing – might cross our minds some time, sure, but we get scared and we push away anything that scares us.
There is nothing I can ever achieve or gain that I cannot lose, in a matter of seconds. You have never gained enough to not be able to lose it all, in just a few minutes. What you think is yours, was never yours and will never be yours. Whatever you make here, you leave here. You came naked and you’re going to go back naked.
So what are you afraid of?
Let all be lost. Let them take away everything. As long as you have your heart beating strong, as long as you have your nostrils working fine, as long as the blood flows in your veins, you will live, you will breathe and you can get it all back… again and again. For, if you can do it once, you can damn well do it again. It’s just a game we play – Life.
By Rohit Wadhwaney
Written by Stephen on September 18th, 2008
The Smell of Rain 12 comments
Posted at 10:47 pm in Motivational stories
A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas as the Doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. Still groggy from surgery, her husband David held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news. That afternoon of March 10,1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24 weeks pregnant, to Danae Lu Blessing.
At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound and nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor’s soft words dropped like bombs. I don’t think she’s going to make it, he said, as kindly as he could. “There’s only a 10 percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one.” Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Danae would likely face if she survived. She would never walk, she would never talk, she would probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on. “No! No!” was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a family of four. Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away.
Through the dark hours of morning as Danae held onto life by the thinnest thread, Diana slipped in and out of sleep, growing more and more determined that their tiny daughter would live, and live to be a healthy, happy young girl. But David, fully awake and listening to additional dire details of their daughter’s chances of ever leaving the hospital alive, much less healthy, knew he must confront his wife with the inevitable. David walked in and said that we needed to talk about making funeral arrangements. Diana remembers, ‘I felt so bad for him because he was doing everything, trying to include me in what was going on, but I just wouldn’t listen, I couldn’t listen. I said, “No, that is not going to happen, no way! I don’t care what the doctors say; Danae is not going to die! One day she will be just fine, and she will be coming home with us!”
As if willed to live by Diana’s determination, Danae clung to life hour after hour, with the help of every medical machine and marvel her miniature body could endure. But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana. Because Danae’s under-developed nervous system was essentially raw, the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort, so they couldn’t even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love. All they could do, as Danae struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little girl. There was never a moment when Danae suddenly grew stronger.
But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there. At last, when Danae turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time. And two months later-though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero. Danae went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.
Today, five years later, Danae is a petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life. She shows no signs, what so ever, of any mental or physical impairment. Simply, she is everything a little girl can be and more-but that happy ending is far from the end of her story.
One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Danae was sitting in her mother’s lap in the bleachers of a local ballpark where her brother Dustin’s baseball team was practicing. As always, Danae was chattering non-stop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent. Hugging her arms across her chest, Danae asked, “Do you smell that?” Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, “Yes, it smells like rain.” Danae closed her eyes and again asked, “Do you smell that?” Once again, her mother replied, “Yes, I think we’re about to get wet, it smells like rain. Still caught in the moment, Danae shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, “No, it smells like Him. It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest.” Tears blurred Diana’s eyes as Danae then happily hopped down to play with the other children.
Before the rains came, her daughter’s words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along. During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life, when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Danae on His chest and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.
This story is real.
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