In Thanksgiving for Frank...

...and please continue to pray for Frank and Carol. From David@Montreal:

dearest Giants of Prayer & Practice
Just in from a long walk with Willie the blessing daschund, and the phone was ringing
Frank, my very dear cousin, fighting leukemia with genetic therapy with an imperfect genetic match had called Mam when he couldn't get me on the phone.
Late last week he and Carol were headed into Vancouver for one of his twice-weekly days of outpatient treatment at the hospital, when all of a sudden Frank felt an incredibly sharp pain and tearing deep inside his calf.
The pain persisted all the way to the hospital where he was admitted as an emergency.
Turns out two pieces of cartilage had become so brittle from all of the different treatments Frank's been undergoing and two rogue pieces of cartilage were circulating in his body via the blood. Minor piercing of the lungs, some damage to the heart but thankfully no damage to either major veins into or out of the heart. The pain in his calf was indeed a tear of some seriousness which is being left to heal itself.

After the situation had been normalized, apparently the head of the whole cancer program came in to shake Frank's hand- to tell him how he couldn't understand, how with all Frank's been through, and now this, that he's still alive. To quote' you should have been dead, several times over.'
Carol said, with tears in his eyes, Frank told the doctor he was being kept alive by prayer alone- 'It's my cousin's gang of saints' (that's you guys)
Apparently the doctor at first misunderstood, thinking Frank and Carol might be Mormon, until Frank explained we're Anglican/Episcopalian/ RomanCatholic/Buddhist
Frank apparently waxed quite lyrical about the bunch of you, and by the time he'd finished the doctor was shaking his head, smiling with tears washing his own cheeks.

Literally Franks first call when he got home today, was to try and get me, and then to talk with Mam, to say thank you, thank-you, thank-you to the Giants & to ask for your continued prayers.
To quote my beloved cousin, he's never felt so loved in his whole life, and that's saying a lot, as he had two wonderful parents (an only child) who adored the beautiful human being they'd been given.

I'd also ask for prayers for my sister Susan, who has spent the Thanksgiving week-end in hospital following a minor stroke with complications- tests still being run on the second day as they haven't quite got it all figured out.

En passant, I've also recommend two posts, by beloved siblings in Christ:

a DY-NA-MITE sermon by our beloved sister Elizabeth at Telling Secrets. Sublime, poetic, and the essence of our vocation to live as the Body of Christ, this is one of Elizabeth's very, very best- and believe me this sister CAN preach!

and Paul's account of his Sunday at Byzigenous Buddhapalian. This man is positively one of the most generous great hearts in Anglican/Episcopal blogs, and in his two post he shares putting together a Eucharist celebration in a church which apparently had been reclaimed by the Episcopal Church. In addition to a full time secular job, a very serious writing career, and part-time priestly duties at another Episcopal mission, Paul put together a celebration which was lovingly accessorized, beautiful and prophetic.

Thank-you my beloved Giants,
Thank-you from Frank, Mam, and I