Sunday, August 26, 2007
A prayer for Gloria "We're not out of the water" - Seattle Times
The 11-year-old moves in ways she could not three weeks ago. She can walk, sometimes gingerly, but she can walk. She can roll over on her swollen body. She has more energy. More life.
"I think we finally got her medicine caught up to her cancer," a hospice nurse tells Gloria's father, Doug Strauss.
"No," Doug retorts.
He prefers a divine explanation.
...
The Strausses understand pain more than most. Examine their family tree, and illness, especially cancer, hangs on both sides. They do not believe these are random acts of misfortune. This is God's plan, they say.
...
"When we're suffering, it's God kissing us," Doug says. "But sometimes we wish God would stop kissing us."
For four years, Gloria has fought neuroblastoma, an unrelenting childhood cancer. Her condition worsened in late April. She is dying, and with doctors unable to discover an elixir, the Strauss family has chosen to abandon cancer treatment and lean on God for a healing miracle.
...
Daughter is up, and Mom is down. Just the way Kristen prefers it. Throughout Gloria's struggles, her mother has offered up her woes to God. If she could, she would happily negotiate a trade.
Kristen's multiple sclerosis for Gloria's cancer.
Kristen learned six years ago she had MS, a chronic and progressive disease that turns the body's central nervous system against itself. For the past five years, however, she has relegated it to a footnote.
...
After surgery, chemo and radiation, Grandma was healthy again. It was not that hard, she says. Gloria's cancer is "10 times worse."
When Grandma is around, Gloria falls asleep in her lap. Grandma knows just the right touch for Gloria's aching legs. Gloria is unafraid to be vulnerable around Grandma.
"I actually feel I got cancer so I could help Gloria through her cancer," [Grandma says.]
---
[See the sidebar for more stories about Gloria and her family.]
The 11-year-old moves in ways she could not three weeks ago. She can walk, sometimes gingerly, but she can walk. She can roll over on her swollen body. She has more energy. More life.
"I think we finally got her medicine caught up to her cancer," a hospice nurse tells Gloria's father, Doug Strauss.
"No," Doug retorts.
He prefers a divine explanation.
...
The Strausses understand pain more than most. Examine their family tree, and illness, especially cancer, hangs on both sides. They do not believe these are random acts of misfortune. This is God's plan, they say.
...
"When we're suffering, it's God kissing us," Doug says. "But sometimes we wish God would stop kissing us."
For four years, Gloria has fought neuroblastoma, an unrelenting childhood cancer. Her condition worsened in late April. She is dying, and with doctors unable to discover an elixir, the Strauss family has chosen to abandon cancer treatment and lean on God for a healing miracle.
...
Daughter is up, and Mom is down. Just the way Kristen prefers it. Throughout Gloria's struggles, her mother has offered up her woes to God. If she could, she would happily negotiate a trade.
Kristen's multiple sclerosis for Gloria's cancer.
Kristen learned six years ago she had MS, a chronic and progressive disease that turns the body's central nervous system against itself. For the past five years, however, she has relegated it to a footnote.
...
After surgery, chemo and radiation, Grandma was healthy again. It was not that hard, she says. Gloria's cancer is "10 times worse."
When Grandma is around, Gloria falls asleep in her lap. Grandma knows just the right touch for Gloria's aching legs. Gloria is unafraid to be vulnerable around Grandma.
"I actually feel I got cancer so I could help Gloria through her cancer," [Grandma says.]
---
[See the sidebar for more stories about Gloria and her family.]
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