Faith and Healing Go Hand in Hand

By Joe Sullivan, MJ • Phoenix, AZ

Thank you for all your prayers! On the 7th of July I had quadruple bypass heart surgery in Scottsdale. My angiogram showed what a big mess my heart was in and I was scared at the thought of the procedure. The night before surgery I made a general confession and received Anointing of the Sick from Fr. Cahill. It was all
I could do. 

Once again, like I had done when I was lost in the wilderness 11 months ago, I put everything into Our Lord’s hands. The morning of the surgery, Fr. Cahill and Tony Barrios drove me to the hospital. I went through all the pre-op procedures and the nurse signaled that everything was ready. 

Fr. Cahill was telling me that they would be waiting for me after the 6-hour surgery. “Father, aren’t you forgetting something?” asked the nurse. The nurse bowed her head as Father Cahill said a prayer invoking Mary for her protection and gave me a final blessing. The nurse added a “Hail Mary” and all joined in. I could tell the nurse was delighted to pray with us and share her faith. 

As they wheeled me into the OR I felt at peace. It looked like NASA the morning of a launch with lots of professionals in white suits, shiny silver towers of technical equipment and computers. Praise be to God, all went well and I am recovering. 

Sometimes I feel like Captain Kirk. He cheated death so many times. Mary saved me once again. I made a bet with a male nurse while I spent 7 days recovering in the hospital. He lost and owes me ten “Hail Marys”. “I don’t know how to say them, but I will learn and say them” he told me. 

He didn’t think I would hit a recovery goal in time.

Little did he realize I had Mary up my sleeve.