December 1998
Dear Fr.
Pavone -
I’d like to share with you the story of a Mom who risked everything for
her child. Her name is Maria and she’s a personal friend of mine. She
suffers from a variety of physical disorders, among them anaphylactic food
allergies and Lupus. Additionally, she was diagnosed with a rare,
progressive and usually terminal lung condition (LAM) during her third
pregnancy. |
| This was confirmed by open
surgical lung biopsy at Loyola University’s Foster McGraw Hospital in
Chicago suburban Maywood, IL. But all in all, she is just an ordinary Mom
who took her extraordinary love for her child and coupled it with her faith.
In doing so, God rewarded her with a miraculous healing. |
| Maria sought treatment for
the illnesses which threatened her. Doctor after doctor, five to be exact,
pleaded with her to abort her unborn child. She remained faithful. At the
conclusion of her third pregnancy, doctors had given up hope of her
survival. They only prayed that they could help her hang on until delivery,
buying precious time for her growing child. They tried to keep her
comfortable. After a dramatic and sudden delivery, Maria begged to have the
oxygen mask removed long enough to see her prematurely delivered newborn son
face to face as he nursed. They did so. All monitors silenced and her
collapsed lungs returned to normal function the moment they removed it. She
was disconnected from all medical equipment and recovered, by the grace of
God. He also graced her with a beautiful voice propelled by those miraculous
lungs! |
| She had two other children
prior to this "miracle child." he told me that when faced with the decision
to end her pregnancy in order to optimize her chances of survival she had an
unsettling thought. What if, she thought, I do end this pregnancy? What
message will they get? These other children of mine could be lead to believe
that I value my own life over theirs. A child should never be faced with
that possibility, she told me -- a mother’s love by definition is all
encompassing, all sacrificing. She told me that her life, if it were to
continue after making a choice to end the pregnancy, would be pointless -
that no mother can make a louder statement of love than to say "I love you
more than life itself." |
| I cherish this mother as a
friend and know that she has taken her love for her children to a heroic
degree. Her dedication and integrity are rare qualities in today’s society. |
| A happy post script to her
story is the life she has gone on to live. She wrote a song, called "A Child
of Hope," to inspire other women who are faced with similarly hard life
decisions. She recorded a CD by the same name. She knows there are many
women out there who face desperate decisions. She sings this song, and
others like it, with that beautiful voice, the one restored from the brink
of death. This is, she believes, how she is divinely called to use the gift
given back to her. Sadly, her marriage dissolved after this took place. |
| She is not discouraged by
these negative events. She does all she can to the best of her modest
abilities. She gives her children a Catholic Homeschool education, citing
her desire to nurture and imbue Catholic values as her most compelling
reasons. She is an exceptional woman and mother, whose life is a living
tribute to a Mother’s Love - and the ultimate statement of "Pro-Life". Her
music and her testimony are powerful and moving. She lives meagerly, relying
only on God’s Providence to care for herself and her three young children. |
| I hope, by sharing this
story, to help spread the news of the blessings God has for those who love
Him and respect the Life he freely gifts us with. May He shower you with
the same blessings as you continue this vital work.
Mrs. Christine Klamer |
Other
Testimonies
|
