Without Memory or Speech

“Illness is not a punishment; it is a caress from God,” Blessed Alvaro del Portillo stressed in 1987, “to draw us to him.” This couple entrusted themselves to Don Alvaro's intercession at a difficult time.

It was the month of January 2020. My wife was diagnosed with cancer after 5 biopsies. The oncologist and surgeon recommended aggressive surgery, which we approved for March, with the pandemic in full swing. Nevertheless, they informed us that further treatment with chemotherapy or radiotherapy depended on the state of the sentinel ganglion. I asked Don Alvaro for the favour that all would go well, using the prayer from his prayer card. The biopsy of the ganglion came out negative, and so the two therapies were not needed, but only an oral preventative treatment for five years.

Neither of the two therapies were needed

On 4 July 2021, after having undergone reconstructive surgery a month earlier, my wife suffered a stroke, with the result that she lost her memory and the capacity to verbalize her thoughts. She was hospitalized for 19 days in intensive care and in a rehabilitation facility for movement and speech. Once again, I commended her recovery to the intercession of Don
Alvaro.

We began the therapies, and six months later my wife recovered her memory, her cognitive capacity and her speech.

F. J. - United States

Photo: Bailey Burton on Unsplash