Jeannie Gaffigan is an American actress, producer and screenwriter, and also the wife of playwright Jim Gaffigan. In 2016, she received the Christopher Award, an award given to producers, directors, and authors of books, images, and television specials that affirm the highest value of the human spirit. .
Earlier this year, while taking her five children to see a pediatrician, Jeannie discovered she had a tumor the size of an apple, surrounding brain cells. Instead of breaking down completely, Jeannie immediately ran to God and told Him, “I need your help. You have to guide me through this difficulty because I don't know what to do… and I have a lot of work to do for You.” From that moment on, she continued to live with faith and trust.
Ms. Jeannie recounted in an interview; She suffered from headaches and dizziness, lost her balance and even lost her hearing. She thought those were the symptoms of allergies during the change of seasons.
When she learned that Jeannie could not hear in one ear, a pediatrician examined her, but could not find anything obvious. This doctor sent Jeannie to see an ENT specialist, but this doctor could not find the cause of Jeannie's deafness in one ear. Mrs. Jeanni was advised to have a CT scan and eventually they discovered she had a large tumor in her head, which may have been growing for a year.
Although the tumor was large, fortunately it was a benign tumor, otherwise a cancer of such size could kill Jeannie immediately. But that tumor still needs to be addressed, or it could leave her paralyzed by pressing on her brain. That's when Jeannie asked God for guidance and she found the right direction. On Holy Week, April this year (2017), Jeannie asked a relative, a true prayer warrior, to start doing prayer weeks for her.
At that time, the neurosurgeons Jeannie contacted were full of appointments until May. Jeannie called a neurologist, a childhood friend of hers, to ask for advice. After receiving copies of her brain scans, he told her she needed to get to the operating room as soon as possible.
Jeannie and her husband went to the neurosurgery department of Mount Sinai Hospital and were examined by the famous doctor Joshua Bederson. On Good Friday, Jeannie had a brain scan; the doctors had a map of her brain and they did a virtual surgery on how to treat the tumor and the nerves around it. Then they said to Jeannie, “You have Easter Saturday and Sunday with your family. On the second day, she will be operated on.”
The nine-hour surgery went well, but the recovery time was fraught with difficulties. Jeannie's throat is temporarily paralyzed and requires an oxygen tube to breathe, as well as a tube to bring food into the stomach. She had to suck her own saliva because the breathing and swallowing organs weren't working, so she developed life-threatening pneumonia.
After four months of recovery, Jeannie experienced nothing more than a miracle. “I had the strongest moral people in the world pray for me… I saw the positive side of humanity at a time when I felt the environment of our country was something that was being divided,” she said. cut. I see people with different beliefs and different political intentions as good people and I have regained a sense of the power of intercessory prayer and a renewed sense of my purpose in living on this earth and for my children. I had many spiritual encounters with God during my really dark days in the hospital. There is no doubt that the hand of God is with me every step of the way.”
Jeannie also saw the presence of God through other things. Cardinal Dolan telephoned Jeanni while he was in Lourdes; The cardinal told Jeannie that he prayed for her, and that it meant a lot to her because of her. On the day Jeanni was due to leave her job, the doctor asked for a nurse to accompany her home and arrange for the medical supplies she needed at home.
The doctors were more worried when Jeanni had a seizure the day before and caused the breathing tube to fall out of her throat. And fortunately, Sister Mary Doolittle, a nurse and a close friend of Jeannie's, came to visit her and agreed to do what the doctor ordered.
"Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness," were the words engraved on the Christopher medal Mrs. Jeannie received. Now those words took on a new meaning to her. She concludes: “I have always known that the one who is given more is expected to earn more, and if I have any gift from God, I need to use it. I've always known that in my work, but now it's better to practice seemingly small things, like lighting a candle, than the grand ambitions of doing to change things. change the world.
Right now, I am seeing clearly that my children, my jobs are right in front of me. It is important to see what God puts before us and to choose what He gives us. People need to realize this because it wouldn't take a brain tumor to realize this. We all need healing. Look for opportunities to light those candles, even if it's not something big and ambitious. We all want to light up 1000 candles, but there is one candle right in front of you that God gives you. Open your eyes, look at it and light it up.” (Aleteia September 12, 2017)
Hong Thuy
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