It was a miracle! The rest of the story, part 1
The following is a conversation that was recorded on October 18, 2003, when our wives (Joyce Brossett, Rosa Edwards and Clara Priestley) were asked to tell their side of the story. The conversation included Ellis and Joyce; Preston and Rosa; and Benny. The comments of Clara Priestley are additions. We refer to this conversation with our wives as the rest of the story.

Rosa: One of my best friends had been battling cancer for years. Her cancer had just gone into the final stage when Preston found this nodule in his neck. I left town to visit her two days before his scheduled biopsy. I had not seen her in a while as she was living between the two cities and was now out of town. I went to spend a couple of days with her and returned to New Orleans Tuesday evening for Preston’s biopsy Wednesday morning.

Preston’s doctor was optimistic about his condition. However, you know anytime you find a lump, we all worry that it might be cancer. Dr. Labat, Preston’s surgeon, was encouraging. He had said following the results from the CT-scan that it could be lymphoma, one of the more treatable forms of cancer. This was the first indication that he suspected it was cancer.

I left town early that Monday to visit my friend. When I arrived, her condition had worsened. She was on oxygen at intervals during the day, yet she was still having problems breathing. I went with her and her husband to the doctor, and he told her to just keep the oxygen on continuously. His tone and expression were not encouraging.

As we sat and talked before bedtime, she told me that she now accepted the fact that her cancer was terminal. She said, “You can use the “T” word if you want.” She was such a fighter that before now she had refused to think of her illness as being terminal. She told me some time back that a couple of lesions had been found on her liver, and that you can’t live with cancer once it spreads into the liver. Yet, even then, she was still going full speed ahead trying to fight it, and at this point, she was slowly coming to grips with her impending death. She wanted to come home to New Orleans; have Christmas with her family; and after Christmas talk to the children. She did not want to spoil Christmas with them.

Joyce: So all this is taking place before Preston’s surgery?

Rosa: Yes, while lying in bed Monday night I was thinking about losing my friend, and I was worried about Preston. I thought, “This cannot be anything serious; all of this cannot happen;” yet, worrying that it could. I got back Tuesday night. Preston was taken to surgery for the biopsy Wednesday morning and they told me it would take roughly an hour and a half. After about two hours, I was really beginning to worry. I asked them, “What is taking so long? You said it would only take an hour and a half.” The nurse answered that they had just taken him back to the O.R. late. I continued waiting and finally Dr. Labat came out after about three hours. “I am just so, so, so, sorry,” he said, or something to that effect. I was so upset that I’m surprised that I remembered anything at all. I knew that Preston was not dead, but Dr. Labat said, “I am just sorry this did not come out the way I had hoped.” He continued, “I went in and it was cancer, and it had spread all around the jugular. I cut the jugular and I tried to get the entire tumor in that area, and I did the best I could... But, I am certain I did not get it all.” I was looking at him, hearing his words, still thinking to myself, “I don’t believe this...I don’t believe this!” Yet, realizing that indeed he was telling me exactly what we had all hoped and prayed would not be the case...worse had come to worst ...This is a nightmare, maybe I will wake up in a moment ...

Benny: Let me ask you. You had two bad situations to deal with it almost the same time. In hindsight, what advice would you give somebody who is going through something traumatic with a friend or a family member? What would you tell me if that same thing happened to me? What would you tell me to help me deal with that?

Rosa: Well, I really feel like I could not tell you anything. I was numb. My attitude was that it was completely out of my hands, that there was nothing I could do, so I just put it in the hands of the Lord. I felt that there was nothing I could do. The feeling that this is out of my hands, out of my control, it is happening to me, to us and there is nothing I can do. I felt completely helpless. I was despairing ... when I despair, I have no question about what to do...I pray, I talk to God, tell Him what it is and ask Him to fix it, heal it, make it right...When I pray I talk to God with words and with my heart ... but at times during this ordeal I could not put my thoughts or my needs into words...at those times, I pray the Rosary, I pray to the Blessed Mother that she will pray to God for me: I would pray the Rosary and I would receive a sense of serenity and clarity...for a time, before another rush of fear, or worry, or sadness set in...Prayer is powerful! Prayer transforms, it changes things...a condition, a state of mind, a state of heart...it is a powerful force. Miracles are granted. God is Love and He answers prayers. I can share that.

Joyce: I think that’s when you have to go, as my mother would say, you have to take it to the altar. And you have to ask God for patience and understanding. You have to ask for it.

Ellis: You know for the last two days, with us four guys talking about this, none of us cried: Preston didn’t cry, I didn’t cry, Benny didn’t cry, and Ronald didn’t cry. Why is everybody crying now? [Laughter]

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