This post will be short. I am nearly speechless. I am sitting here at my computer with tears streaming down my face- washed over in so much grief and yet so much love and hope all at once.
Here’s why… [Read more...]
Help Please!
Many of you know this story. Many of you don’t. I am asking for help for my dear friend Raegan.
This precious boy captured my heart and thousands of others in this world…but oh how he captured his family. Theo had just turned one when Raegan flew to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in February of 2011. Her birthday was the day she received him into her arms for the first time. She stayed in Congo for five weeks and then flew back to America with her sweet Theo to bring him home to his daddy and big sister Mallaney and big brother Max. Just a few months after that he was diagnosed with Leukemia. Theo died just before his second birthday.
I can’t write that sentence without the wound in my chest ripping open. I can’t think of Theo, of his unique, little, splendid, wonderful character and all the love and pain that has followed without weeping. [Read more...]
I saw Jesus
Walking across the ped-way into the UK Children’s hospital I caught glimpse of “Donavan Hall” in the distance where room 104 (or Harmony as we called it) solidified the friendship I have with Raegan Anne Mallaney. My eyes filled with tears as I picked up the pace desperately wanting to get to my friend. My trip to Lexington, KY had been planned for months. I couldn’t wait to meet Theo! I had already fallen in love with him from pictures and months of carrying his name to Jesus in prayer. But this was to be the grand moment where I would finally get to meet the little mister. The third and youngest child to my college roommate Raegan, 17 month old Theo joined the Gyorffy family from the Congo and arrived safely back in the states with his mama in March. [Read more...]
I saw Jesus
Walking across the ped-way into the UK Children’s hospital I caught glimpse of “Donavan Hall” in the distance where room 104 (or Harmony as we called it) solidified the friendship I have with Raegan Anne Mallaney. My eyes filled with tears as I picked up the pace desperately wanting to get to my friend. My trip to Lexington, KY had been planned for months. I couldn’t wait to meet Theo! I had already fallen in love with him from pictures and months of carrying his name to Jesus in prayer. But this was to be the grand moment where I would finally get to meet the little mister. The third and youngest child to my college roommate Raegan, 17 month old Theo joined the Gyorffy family from the Congo and arrived safely back in the states with his mama in March.
Our dorm room was nicknamed “harmony” because Raeg and I were quite the vocal pair. Now the words to our favorite duet, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords, glory hallelujah…Jesus Prince of Peace, glory, hallelujah” leapt into my mind. We were so naïve. 1997 had us convinced that the most difficult thing we would ever have to conquer was Math 109. The tune remained with the words now a faith anchor and a desperate prayer. Two weeks had gone by since I received the text that stole my breath and pushed me to my knees: “Theo…Leukemia.” As I opened the door to room 474, I grabbed my friend and was hit by a wave that I am now going to do my best to describe:
Christian Theodore Gyorffy is even more handsome and precious than I had imagined and his mother, more beautiful than I’ve ever seen. I am coming to the very strong conclusion that there is another diagnosis that cannot go without mentioning. I know nothing of medicine and get lost very quickly in doctor speech. But what I discovered over the past few days I will now confidently and awfully diagnose in a single word, “Jesus.” As if a black light revealed His finger prints in the darkness of cancer, I saw Him and felt Him…He was there.
I saw Him first in the face of Mammy, Raeg’s mom and Theo’s grandmother. She met me in the hallway and escorted me into the room and in her face and in her touch I saw the love of Jesus. I saw the desperation of a mother who herself feared and fought cancer for her baby girl, who just happens to be Raegan. There was compassion in her eyes. There was hope in her eyes. There was love in her eyes. It was Jesus.
I saw Him in the face of countless nurses who kept the smiles and tender touches coming with every medicine administered, every temperature taken and with every good and bad word spoken. They were a cool wind tempering the high fevers and hot mood in the room. It was Jesus.
I saw Him in the face and gestures of Stephanie, a college friend of Raeg’s and nurse on another floor. Frequenting her room for breaks and meal times, Stephanie brings knowledge, kindness, normalcy and routine to life in the hospital. With her entries, Raeg perks up for a small pleasure and I can tell she is strengthened. It was Jesus.
I saw Him in Sandy, a dorm mate to us both our sophomore year and now a hospital mate to Raeg. Her baby boy was diagnosed with the same tumor Raegan had and conquered in her infancy. Now Raeg represents hope and victory for our old friend. Sandy represents friendship, faith and “getting it” that very few of the rest of us can offer. They have each other as the endure the fight of their lives for their babies. In Sandy’s smile and in her partnership I saw Jesus.
I felt Him in the phone conversations and texts Raeg took frequently from Retta, her sister, who is managing the rest of Raegans’ life outside the hospital walls. Though I did not see Retta, I saw peace and even delight on Raeg’s face as she spoke to her. Delivering funny antics from home, Raegan is reminded that some parts of life are worth laughing at. As she hangs up the phone, there is a deep breath released, revealing relief and even gratitude. The look says, “What would I be doing without my sister.” In Retta, there is trust, there is peace and even joy. It was Jesus.
I saw Him in the face of a daddy and husband overwhelmed by compassion and tenderness for his wife and son. Mike walked in the room and without hesitation, the baton was passed. I saw dependence, trust and security as Raegan untied herself from Theo and handed the reins to Mike. They are doing this together. There is strength, hope and comfort in their partnership. They are taking turns at everything. This was simultaneously sad and beautiful to witness. They are divvying up all of life’s once shared responsibilities, but seamlessly so. In their marriage I saw Jesus.
As I think back over my three days spent in room 474, and my many encounters with Jesus in the faces of those that came and went, I can honestly say I experienced our Savior most profoundly in Raegan. Her love and commitment to Theo in the midst of her own exhaustion and fear was holy. Empty of self and yet full of something pure and substantial, she was overflowing with the love or Jesus…a love so patient and kind, selfless and strong, giving and hopeful. In Raegan I saw the beauty of the One in whom she is trusting with not only her life, but the life of her son. In my friend, I encountered Jesus!
Watching Raegan and Theo was like a dance. One movement or glance necessitating response from the other. They are in sync, in tune with each other. They look nothing alike, and yet, when I was with them, I couldn’t help but to ponder how alike they seemed. They share love and desperation for each other. They share trust and determination. But mostly, they share Jesus. They are not alone. As they continue to survive and fight with and for one another in that room, a holy vapor fills the air and they are enveloped in the presence, provision and power of Jesus together.
Theo Gyorffy may have Leukemia, but he also has Jesus…and this is the word I will repeat and claim over and over every day until he is once again running around the backyard tackling his big brother and hugging his big sister, free from cancer!
There is much about life and suffering that remains a mystery to me, but one thing I know without wavering is that Jesus is worth trusting during the bad news seasons of life and He loves us. Raeg, I am honored to be your friend. I am blessed by your sweet boy and I am proud to be among the countless number of family, friends and even strangers praying and praising Him with and for you.
Leaving you was difficult for me. It feels wrong not to be with you. Not knowing when I will see you again, I am comforted and strengthened by the reality that Jesus is with you and I know Him to be…(sing with me friend)
“King of Kings and Lord of Lords, glory, hallelujah…Jesus, Prince of Peace, glory, hallelujah!”
Theo
Meet Theo….
As I sit here typing my eyes are weak from tears…My dear friend and college roomate Raegan adopted this precious baby boy from the Congo this past February. 72 hours has turned their world upside down. Theo has been diagnosed with Leukemia. Theo is 15 months old. Theo needs our prayers. Raegan and her family need the powerful and precious presence of Jesus, they need healing, they need love. I am attaching her blog address for those of you who know her and want to follow along, joining me in prayer.
I am also asking boldly, that if you feel so led, to please contribute to their needs right now. When we lost Anna, a group of friends set up different ways to love and serve us. We were overwhelmed and upheld by the prayer and financial support of those we had never met. I have never felt more loved in my entire life. Raegan’s sister has just listed their needs on her most recent post.
http://www.oh-bla-di.blogspot.com/
If you would like to help in anyway, please send me a personal message on Face Book or email me at katekelty@gmail.com.
I end with this:
John 14:8
“I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.”
God fulfilled this beautiful promise to Theo Gyorffy when he placed him with Raegan and Mike…and even now as I write, Jesus is with you dear friend. You are not alone. The darkness is not dark to him and He is with you and He is for you and not against you. I am praying the reality of Emmanuel and all the promises that accompany will comfort and encourage you as you sit now in desperation and hope….
Thank you in advance to all who will respond…
Kate
