***Please read and leave your prayers and words of hope for Alfred in the comments.***
My family and I took an unexpected trip to one of our old homes, Michigan, to attend the funeral of my great grandmother, Elijia and to visit my grandmother, Elodia in the hospital who had a stroke on the day of my great grandmother's (her mother) death. In the same week as those two happenings, my amazing uncle Alfred was also diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and was given two months to live. On top of myself getting brain surgery this year, it's safe to say this trip was much needed, no doubt.
It was a stressful trip, yet enjoyable at the same time. It's hard to think that those two things can exist together, but they can. Being blessed enough to see family whom I haven't seen in years was the enjoyable part. Having to see the ones I love struggling with these illnesses was the stressful part. I was so stressed I didn't get an ounce of sleep until the night before I left to travel home, so you can imagine my seizures should have been running wild. However, they didn't run wild until my last day there. Surprising, right? I looked pale and sick the entire time I was there and even makeup couldn't cover that up. I thought it could, but my camera reminded me otherwise.
My grandmother, Elodia is back to normal. We're calling and begging her not to clean... Well, more like threatening her not to clean "or else". "Or else what?" is the real question behind that situation. However, my real reason for writing this article is my uncle Freddy. (Feel free to pray for grandma, though. We all need prayers.)
My uncle Alfred and I talked a lot while I was in Michigan. He told me something I had never known about him - he actually had seizures when he was a little boy! I was taken aback because I figured he would have told me that by now. But it was nice to know because I felt like someone finally understood me and what I was feeling. He described them as "electricity taking over your body". Thats exactly what they feel like. Someone in my family finally knew.
One afternoon my uncle and aunt put their hands over me to pray, as I sat at their kitchen table with cold vegetables on my head. The whole time I wondered why my aunt Mary and uncle Alfred prayed for me when my uncle, himself, is so sick. "We should pray for him, and his healing. Not mine..." I thought. But still, they prayed. And I started to cry because I felt the selfless love my uncle has for others through his prayer, just like the selfless love that God has.
Near the end of their prayer, a small seizure sparked. It was truly quite an insignificant seizure in the way that was not convulsive, but it was one of those seizures that takes a major hold of my mind - and I dropped the vegetables to the ground.
The lack of several days worth of sleep along with the weakness of my body took that small seizure and really multiplied it. Therefore, I don't remember all of it. But when I was fully aware, my uncle was holding me.
My uncle, who is suffering from something more terrible than I could ever imagine, was taking care of me! What an amazing example of selfless love... And all he ever said about himself the whole trip was that he'd come out of this illness and that God would work a miracle on him. I, and many others, struggled to believe it because of what the doctors said. They said he has two months left to live. For whatever foolish reason, I failed to see how God could change that. Nonetheless, his faith and hope was and still is absolutely amazing.
I always knew stress was a seizure trigger, but never in my life did I see it happen so quickly right before my eyes. As I hugged and kissed my uncle Alfred goodbye, he said "I will always be with you in spirit." and I felt that kick in the gut and draining feeling in my face letting me know tears were on their way. I struggled to hold them in, but I did it somehow and said "See you at the beach next summer, I love you." Heading back to the car and wondering how we'd see him next summer with only two months left to live, and I lost control of myself.
Knowing that hug and kiss on the cheek may be the last I get to share with him was too much. How could something so terrible happen to such an amazing man? That thought alone had my mind hooked, and the tears took me over. He never knew it until I told him, but Uncle Alfred brought me back to the Lord with a simple phone call and prayer a few years ago. My aunt Mary even told me they have both been praying for me and my Epilepsy every morning for a long time now, and continue to even though he's the one who needs the prayers more than I do. (In my mind, I thought this at the time... But we all need prayer). Realizing this, I cried harder than I have in ten years and had three seizures immediately. However, it felt good to finally seize because the pressure in my head was gone.
But as we drove the long, quiet 23 hour drive home, I remembered that uncle Alfred told us not to cry. He has always told us to be thankful, and full of hope, faith and love. Not to mention, he told me there was a purpose for all of this. I have already found one of those purposes, and that is the chance for me to share this story with you.
Hope is something we, as humans, lose quite often. If something isn't in front of our face, we assume we'll never get it. Whether that be a doctor telling us that we are cured of our stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer, or a doctor telling us we are cured of our Epilepsy.
So how are we supposed to have hope if what we want or need isn't in front of our eyes? To have hope, we must also have faith and love. Not just any love, but a selfless love. A love for the Lord, and for those around us. And not just any faith, but a strong faith in the Lord that He will bring us through our battle in His own way and on His own time.
Together, our faith and love should say "Lord, I love you and I give my life to you. I give my hope, my faith, and my love to you, Lord. I know in your hands, I will end up where I belong. You have already given me all of these blessings, and brought me this far - where I belong can't be that far away. Anything is possible with you by my side, so please accompany me on this journey and lead me through this dark valley into your light. Amen."
So, my friends... Just because the doctor says the odds are not good, or just because the journey seems too hard or too long to complete does not, by any means, mean you can't make it through. With God by our side, all things are possible. He has overcome all things in the world, and He is simply waiting for us to realize that.
Please keep my uncle Alfred in your prayers, as he is still battling this illness. However, I got a call today from my family saying that my uncle Alfred has made it through two operations successfully, and has a third one on Wednesday. He is doing very well and our many, many prayers are paying off. None of us expected such good news, but God is good and He has truly shown us all that hope, faith, and love are essential for making it through hard times.
"Thank you, Lord for getting my uncle Fred over this first hurdle, being today's surgery. You are such an amazing God and I knew you'd get him through this. Your love is astounding and I will forever give you glory and honor for that. Please continue to put your healing hands on my uncle Alfred Cantu as he goes through this battle. He has been a strong and faithful servant to you for many, many years... Bringing lost sheep and unbelievers back to you, including myself. Praying for others whom are ill and suffering and showing them your healing. So please heal him, Lord, and he can glorify your name for many more years to come. Amen."
With God on our side, a cure to Epilepsy, or anything for that matter, is not at all far away! Keep believing, my sisters and brothers!
Romans 8:24-25
"For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."
Matthew 17:20
"He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”"
1 Corinthians 13:13
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
