Alban, 23, has a brain tumor, and he relies on God to face the challenge. He relies on his faith and his love for Blessed Carlo Acutis, which for him is the strength needed to carry the cross. To overcome the challenge of this terrible disease, Alban decided to “surrender to Jesus” and this action brought him peace.
Alban, 23, has been anointed three times, sums it up: “I always live with the sword hanging over me.” While in high school, a few months before his baccalaureate exams, he suffered from recurring headaches and eye pain. The sword fell: the doctors found a benign tumor between the optic nerve and the pituitary gland! His life was turned upside down.
For several years, his family lived through all kinds of ups and downs and a lot of medicine to help him continue fighting! In addition, his faith became stronger. He says: “I received the faith from my childhood as a gift, which I use to fight the disease! I am religious, I go to Mass every Sunday, I join the Scouts, I serve the altar… But at first I did not realize that these things were creating fertile ground for me to endure the shock… When I look back at the important milestones in my life, God has given me absolute trust in Him!”
He believes that the secret to happiness and joy lies in renunciation: “In grief, renunciation, entrusting myself to God brings me peace!” His complete renunciation was renewed when he came to the Eucharist, which helped him overcome moments of doubt: “I have never had a moment of rebellion, I put everything in the hands of Jesus and I am at peace. If there is a temptation to doubt, I remember the graces I have received, these graces give me the strength to fight!”
Accompanying the Virgin Mary
Since discovering the tumor, he has been to the doctor non-stop, he has had five operations, each lasting from five to twelve hours. To remove as much of the tumor as possible, the doctors removed the pituitary gland – the gland that produces various hormones – so he had to take medication every day. Some of the side effects left him exhausted, severely fatigued, and with poor eyesight, unable to drive. He was sad: “I was in pain, God should have loved me, I asked Him to heal me, but He didn’t heal me… As humans, all these things can make us rebel! It seems absurd that we have faith, a faith that believes in a higher entity! But when we overcome these doubts, God will bless us a hundredfold!”
His studies prove it: “God guided me, even though I had to undergo surgery many times, I passed my baccalaureate. I entered a technical school!” His student life was difficult because he had to study and have surgery at the same time… “In December 2020, I asked to postpone the surgery date for three days to take the semester exam. During the MRI, the doctor said: Alban, you should have been in a coma or at least quadriplegic! The growing cyst was pressing on the brain stem, where information is transmitted between the body and the brain…” Then he had to interrupt his university studies once again.
He was greatly helped during his treatment… Since 2018, he has always worn the Carmelite mantle: “Before each exam, I pray the Rosary, I entrust my notes to Our Lady so that she can help me remember them. And I see that Our Lady has a strange skill in my subjects, I did the fluid mechanics and ecological management. I passed, definitely thanks to Our Lady!”
Meeting the parents of Blessed Carlo Acutis
The tumor also brought him to Blessed Carlo Acutis, who has helped him overcome his challenges to this day. In 2019, he first heard about the man nicknamed Jesus’ Computer Genius: “I quickly saw the resonance between Carlo’s life and mine! Carlo's simple sentences helped me to penetrate deeply into the mystery of faith, especially the Eucharist… In this regard, Carlo truly gave me a good spiritual slap in the face! In my trial, Carlo helped me to deepen my relationship with Christ, to find in the Eucharist the energy to renew my faith. Jesus had good reason to anchor Carlo in Eucharistic love for this century.”
He testified: “I did two novenas to Carlo Acutis and I avoided surgery. Carlo not only interceded for me spiritually but also physically, I was always as close to Carlo as possible… I have the Blessed's relics at home, my father is a professional cabinetmaker, he is making a reliquary for me. I met Carlo's parents twice. They are lovely people and speak French very well. It was very touching, they want to continue their son's work.”
Three days in a coma instead of ten
Despite knowing that he could die at any time, he said: “When I was 16, I knew that I could die at any time, of course I didn’t want it to be tomorrow. I wanted to have time to truly convert before I died, I trusted in God’s Mercy!”
He confessed: “I asked for a complete and lasting healing. God wants us to ask Him. My family and relatives prayed for me. I knew that I would hardly survive, and if I did, I would have some after-effects. I should have been in a coma for at least ten days, but it was only three days… as a resultthe birth of Christ, which is a beautiful testimony thanks to the intercession of the saints and especially of Carlo.”
Today Alban takes advantage of each day to “learn to love” better, as St. Therese of Lisieux advised.