Connecting with Cousins

Today I called my cousin who lives in the neighboring town of Camano Island. Her name is Donna Marley and her father and mother are Murray and Pat Thelin. She was raised in Seattle. Murray Thelin was my Uncle Walter's son so Donna and I are second cousins. Her father, Murray was a hemopheliac and so is Donna and one of her sons.

I hate to admit the last time I talked with her was at the grocery store three years ago! At the time something was very wrong with her health-wise but the doctors could not determine what.(After two years they discovered a tumor on the pituitary gland which caused all her internal organs start failing. She had two strokes, a heart attack, two brain operations to remove some of the tumor. (eventually the surgeons told her the rest of the tumor would have to stay since it was inoperable). Her liver stopped working, she gained 140 lbs in two years and was in a wheelchair and on oxygen.

If that's not enough she has 8 children, most of which are adopted. The youngest is now six. It became necessary for her married daughter and her new husband to move back home to care for the family.

She had two priesthood blessings for comfort and endurance, but when she prayed she was told that healing was not to be a part of those Priesthood blessngs YET. Then last May she prayed and received the answer that it was time for a HEALING blessing. She was helped out of the wheelchair and needed help to get into the chair. After the blessing the healing was immediate. She jumped out of the chair and walked in a completely normal way to the car. The next day she went on a two mile walk with her family at a normal pace. She is a very special person who has incredible faith. She talked of having a very, very personal relationshsip with her Heavenly Father.

She still has residual effects from the ordeal. Today she has no pituitary gland or adrenal glands so takes medication to replace what those things did in the body. A wheelchair is no longer needed and she is able to take care of her family. She has no fight or flight mechanism caused by the absence of adrenal glands. So when she starts contracting an ordinary cold she feels the adrenal failure coming and has 2-4 hours before she dies. So 911 is called and she is hospitalized to stabilize her condition. BUT SHE IS ALIVE!

I found no reason to whine or complain about anything in my life after I finished talking with her.