|
|
 |
|
| Words of Hope : |
|
 |
|
|
|
Words of Hope
Given by Denise Bebenek, Meagan's Mother
following the Healing Mass
February 12, 2001,
Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Healing Mass |
| |
| There are very few words which could ever come close to describing the immense gratitude we have in our hearts for the love, the encouragement, and the kindness you've all offered Meagan, Matthew, Sarah Grace, Kevin and me throughout this incredibly trying time. However, it means very much to us to take a brief moment to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for joining us in this journey. Everyone has contributed whole-heartingly from saying daily prayers, sending us cards of hope, placing a phone call to us, delivering food, picking up the kids, being at the healing Mass, - everything to a simple hug. They are all immeasurable as they all contribute to helping us deal with this painful situation. |
| |
| Brain-stem glioma, we have been told, is one of the worst types of brain tumor a child can have because of its type of cancer and its location in the brain. The terms "lethal", "dismal", "poor prognosis", is the start of most medical papers we read on this disease. However, a main reason for wanting to share something with you this evening is to let you know that this incredible outpouring of support and love immensely helps us cope with these statistics going against her. It helps us stay strong to beat these odds. We are determined. |
| |
| This gathering of support to us is a testimony of what life is truly all about. Meagan has helped us to see that it should not take the most desperate of situations to get us to stop and realize how important it is to be there for one another. We all have our own personal journeys, and we should never measure one to another- for all journeys require human compassion and understanding. One's own pains may seem trivial to others; however, they are not. Let us use 'Meagan's Story' as an opportunity for us to realize how important it is to be there for one another. There are family members and friends who are presently going through their own pains for which we offer prayers to you all. |
| |
| People have asked me if one's love for God and life would be altered because of this present challenge. And it only now seems easy to answer that. From my own challenges in life I have tried to see the good which does come out of the most agonizing of situations. This gathering of love and support is an example of that. Many people have questioned the ability to be positive with a situation such as dealing with one's own child. I can because my love for God and life have changed since Meagan's prognosis. I can say that I personally love both even more today. How could I not? Meagan has already created a miracle, so to speak. She is a true example of courage, of strength, as she lies still each day on the radiation table accepting with utmost grace what is required of her. I have since received letters from people who, from watching this little girl deal with her own journey with such courage at only four years old and watching the love of others which has come out of it, have strengthened their own belief in one-another and in God. She doesn't even realize what she has done in the positive sense. She just resigns herself to the whole procedure required from her. This courage, this confidence from such a young age is certainly a lesson for us all to learn from. |
| |
| From being with Meagan in her treatment each day, I have seen much of which would change anyone's life forever. I, of course, would choose to be spared of having to walk this path with Meagan as my heart is very heavy. Yet I say - what has happened has happened, and it is to all our own benefit to go with it, not against it. So I have kept my eyes and heart open to what I see. Walking the eighth floor at Sick Children's Hospital, which is devoted to children with cancer, is walking a level of life beyond what is explainable. In a strange way, I feel totally blessed to have seen what I see on this 'walk' each week. I now carry this with me in my own days. |
| |
| Life is a gift. I now see each day spent with Meagan as a gift from God. So how can I love God or life any less from this? I can only love Him more and pray that this love will aid me and others in the months to come with whatever they may bring. |
| |
| Many people have asked our family what they can do to help. I would like to use this as an opportunity to briefly say what I have already asked many people to do, which I feel is very important for Meagan and our family. I have expressed my views on miracles. It is my belief that miracles do not take place with negative energies. Miracles will have a better chance in a positive environment filled with courage, confidence and love. So I have asked people at the end of their day to take just a brief moment to light a candle and reflect upon their day. To give thanks for what has come from it and for what they have given to it. And in embracing their loved ones, be it their children, their family members, their neighbours, friends or animals, that we send some of this positive love and energy through prayer and visualization to Meagan's head in a form of positive healing, and also in thanks to God for what He has given to each one of us. Let us use Meagan's story again to show us how important it is to embrace life and give thanks for all that we have to be grateful for. If each one of us at the end of the day takes a brief moment to do this, that to me can be very powerful. |
| |
| It is now that our most difficult journey begins as we leave the safety of the hospital where at least something in the form of treatment, was being done for Meagan. That is over now, for which we rejoice, however, it is a time now when we feel the most vulnerable, the most scared as now we live 'scan by scan', waiting for answers. We ask that we collectively pray on the morning of March 1st, as she undergoes her first MRI since treatment. We pray that this MRI shows the beginning of her healing journey. We pray for Kevin and me and our three children as we try to reconnect to the 'real world'. We pray that the continuing daily usage of Celebrex provides a cure for Meagan. It is now that we will need your support the most as we try to have the courage needed in our attempts to beat the horrible odds against her. |
| |
| In closing I would like to offer some of these prayers here tonight to those who suffer as greatly as my family and who do not have the support which we are so blessed to have. My heart goes out to those who suffer alone. May we offer some of these prayers to some of these people who are not as fortunate as Kevin and me. |
| |
| I have to tell you that our Meagan takes great joy in her day in making cards and wrapping presents for her "new friends", as she calls them, at Princess Margaret Hospital and Sick Children's Hospital. She has compassion and a strong will to accomplish anything given to her, even at the age of four. Anyone who knows Meagan knows of this incredible spirit of which I am speaking. All four year olds are very special. Yet Meagan has endured more than most would ever see. If anyone deserves to be healed it is our Meagan. Let us rejoice in this little girl's revelation of life and for her love of it. Each day spent with the ones we love is a true gift - we are so blessed. |
| |
| God bless and heal our little Meagan. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
