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August 3, 2008

Family looks forward to visiting Blessed Mother

By Michelle Martin

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Eileen, a mother of four from the western suburbs, has always relied on her faith, attending daily Mass since she was a student at Marquette University in Milwaukee, and praying the rosary every night with her family.

So when her daughter Cecilia became ill seven years ago, it was natural to turn to her faith.

Now the Make-A-Wish Foundation is making it possible for the whole family, who asked that their last name not be used to protect Cecilia’s privacy, to travel to Lourdes, France, with the Archdiocese of Chicago’s 150th anniversary jubilee year pilgrimage.

“The other kids tell her, ‘Cecilia, we’re going to see the Blessed Mother,’” said Eileen. “‘We’re going to where the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bernadette.’”

Devoted to Mary

Eileen and her husband, Brian, a Maronite Catholic, have long considered their lives under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so when Cecilia became ill, they brought their fears to her.

“Where else do you go when you’re in trouble?” Eileen said. “You run to your mother.”

Cecilia, about to turn 11 years old, suffers from a rare auto-immune disorder in which her own body is attacking her brain and central nervous system.

Her parents first noticed a problem just before her fourth birthday, when she would appear to momentarily faint when she laughed. Soon, she would pass out completely, but then wake up normally.

Tough diagnosis

After several months of misdiagnoses, her parents found out the cause of her problems: a Stage 1 neuroblastoma in her chest cavity, near her spinal cord. But when the tumor was surgically removed, her immune system continued to pump out antibodies to fight it, and they attacked her brain and nervous system instead. The disorder, called opsoclonusmyoclonus syndrome, affects an estimated 120-150 people worldwide, according the Web site maintained by Cecilia’s doctor, Michael Pranzatelli, who specializes in treating it.

“And it’s like she has opsoclonus- myoclonus plus more,” said Eileen, noting that most patients have not lost function in the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, as Cecilia has.

Cecilia now uses a wheelchair and ventilator and is fed through a tube. She has a central line to administer medications. Her family is not sure how aware she is of what is going on around her. But they think she knows they are going to Lourdes.

Wanted to visit Lourdes

Lourdes was the first place they thought of when the Make-AWish Foundation contacted them about three years ago. The foundation grants wishes to seriously ill children, at no cost to their families. Someone had recommended Cecilia for a wish, and the foundation wanted to know what she would want. Disney? Meeting a star?

Lourdes, the family said.

The foundation agreed to try to make a trip to Lourdes happen. But the many challenges — starting with the immuno-suppresant drugs Cecilia was on, making it impossible for her to travel by commercial airlines — delayed the trip.

“It was like we were living in a bubble for the first year,” her mother said, “If we went out, when we came home, we’d shed our clothes and wash up and put on clothes we just wore in the house.”

Eileen homeschools the other children — Theresa, 13; Mary Grace, 9; and Joseph, 7 — and their pediatrician makes house calls.

But recently, Cecilia went off the drugs that suppressed her immune system, and Pranzatelli suggested that if the family wanted to go to Lourdes, they should do it before she started a new course of medication.

Shortly after that, another of Cecilia’s doctors, from Marianjoy in DuPage County, called to say she was going on the pilgrimage with the archdiocese, and would the family be interested?

Difficult travel

Even then, the going was not smooth. Travel with a seriously ill person, especially a child, can be difficult, and arrangements did not come together smoothly. But as of the end of July, it looked like the trip was on.

Eileen said the family gives thanks for the gift of Cecilia’s life, and the honor of being allowed to care for her. She remembers how Cecilia, before she got sick, led her own decade of the family’s nightly rosary, and one of the last conversations she had with her daughter. It was in the hospital, when Cecilia was undergoing tests.

“She said, ‘Mommy, it hurts. I don’t feel well,’” Eileen said. “And I said, ‘Can you offer it up for the poor souls in purgatory?’ and she said, ‘I will, Mommy. I’ll offer it up for the poor souls in purgatory.’”

Her family still prays that Cecilia’s suffering is doing good.

“When God gives your child a cross, all you can do is say thank you for the cross, and try to figure out how to use it for the most good,” Eileen said. “Cecilia’s job here is to bring more souls to heaven. How do we as a family help her do that?”

Chicago-area Catholics can do ‘at-home’ pilgrimage

Catholics from the Archdiocese of Chicago can join the the pilgrimage in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s apparitions at Lourdes without leaving the area.

A series of celebrations at Chicago-area churches and shrines Aug. 1-8 is designed to unite the faithful here in prayer with the participants of the Lourdes pilgrimage 2008.

The schedule includes:

  • Departure Mass in honor of the pilgrims traveling to Lourdes; 7:30 p.m. Aug. 1, Queen of All Saints Basilica, 6280 N. Sauganash Ave.
  • Mass opening the at-home pilgrimage; 7:30 p.m. Aug. 4 at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, 4640 N. Ashland Ave.
  • Torchlight rosary procession; 7:30 p.m. Aug. 5 on the grounds of the Provincial House of the Felician Sisters, Mother of Good Counsel, 3800 W. Peterson Ave.
  • Mass 7:30 p.m., Aug. 6, at St. Mary of the Angels Parish, 1850 N. Hermitage Ave. Following Mass, torchlight eucharistic procession through the neighborhood.
  • Mass with anointing of the sick, 7:30 p.m., Aug. 7, at Our Lady of the Woods Parish, 10731 W. 131st St., Orland Park. Worshippers can receive the sacrament of penance before Mass.
  • Torchlight Way of the Cross procession on the grounds of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, 1000 E. Maple Ave., Mundelein; 7:30 p.m. Aug. 8.