Gulf Pine Catholic

8 Gulf Pine Catholic • December 13, 2019 their hot tub and Timmy found her under the water. Long story short, Alyssa was revived after 30 minutes and has spent the last 22 years completely handicapped. Alyssa has a tracheotomy and a feeding tube and is unable to communicate or move. She is 100% dependent on others and is unable to express her needs. So, then what happened? Jill and Scott loved one another and their children the best that they could. Despite incredible financial and emotional challenges, Scott never blamed Jill. Jill continued to persevere and grieve the loss of her child’s future and gradually accepted the changes in her life. They refused to institutionalize Alyssa and because Jill knew what her daughter needed better than anyone else, she became her physical therapist and advocate in addition to being a devoted mother and wife. She and Scott embraced one another and their journey and had two more daughters. Alyssa has never needed hospitalization for health reasons (outside of surgeries) because the entire family knows the proper way to care for Alyssa. They are not afraid to do the hard work necessary every single day for the benefit of her health. Alyssa is a loved and cherished part of their family. She requires diaper changes, position changes, trach care, G tube care, feedings, suctioning, and bathing. She is placed in a wheelchair and sits in the room where the family is gathered. Some people may wonder if keeping Alyssa home was detrimental to their relationships with their other three children. By my best estimate, absolutely not. Scottie definitely suffered from the upheaval in his early years. He spent a good bit of time with his cousins and grandparents. He struggled at times with anger and lashed out as a child. Interestingly, he developed an uncanny ability to appreciate his sister over time. He won a citywide essay contest as a senior in high school “…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint…”. Romans 5:3-5 One of the most beautiful love stories that I have ever witnessed has consistently inspired me since 1991. My college roommate, Jill, married her husband, Scott, in November of 1991. Scott’s younger sister graduated with us from high school, but Scott had never paid much attention to Jill back then. Theywere reacquainted, then became inseparable, got married, and seemed to have a perfect life with a bright future. They welcomed their first child, Alyssa, on Mother’s Day 1994 and their second, Scottie, in April of 1996. Thankfully they already had a solid relationship and strong, faith-filled families, because they never would have imagined the way that their perfect life would change in May of 1997. Scott traveled all over the world while working with his father and had business in Singapore that May. He left not long after celebrating Alyssa’s third birthday. One weekend afternoon while Scottie was napping, Jill and Alyssa played in the backyard of their home. Jill’s brother, Timmy, was cutting the grass in the front yard. Leaving Alyssa alone for a few minutes, Jill checked on Scottie and grabbed some popsicles out of the freezer. Before she knew it, Timmy was yelling and holding her gray, limp daughter in his arms. Alyssa had fallen into Living Large Pisciotta Living Large and loving Alyssa for the essay that he wrote about Alyssa. Catie and Monica are both thriving young women. Catie is a sophomore at Seton Hall University and Monica is a sophomore at Dominican High School. Jill has gone on to earn a master’s degree in Theology from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans and is an administrator at Dominican. Scott is now the president of his company. They have handled all kinds of other normal challenges raising their family in New Orleans, like the loss of their home to Katrina, with grace. The best part of their story is that they are happy together. So many things divide families and commonly, traumatic events like this end in tragedy. Jill and Scott chose to stay committed and grew to accept their life as it changed. It took Jill about eight years to accept her new reality. During that eight years, Jill never stopped living large. God gave her the strength to persevere. When I asked her what she would like to share for this article, this is what she sent: “Alyssa has taught Scott and I, and all of her young- er siblings more than I could have ever imagined, and she hasn’t spoken a word in over 22 years!! I cry every time I think of this -- it’s just too incredible for words. She is such a testament and witness for the value and power of every life -- it’s so counter cultural in our world which values money, power, intelligence, ac- complishment, etc.. I can hear the choir of angels and the saints saying to her with God, “Well done good and faithful servant!”’ Bravo my friend! You have inspired so many. LIVE MAS! Michele Pisciotta is a retired obstetrician and gynecologist who heads up the Diocese of Biloxi’s Pro-Life Ministry and Natural Family Planning education initiative. She can be contacted at gulfpinecatholic@biloxidiocese. org. Update: Beatification for Archbishop Sheen postponed PEORIA, Ill. (CNS) -- Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria said Vatican officials have told him that the upcoming beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen has been postponed. A news release from the Diocese of Peoria said it was informed Dec. 2 that Vatican had decided to post- pone the Dec. 21 ceremony “at the request of a few members” of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Details on what prompted the bishops to intervene were unknown. The diocese added, “In our current climate it is important for the faithful to know that there has never been, nor is there now, any allegation against (Archbishop) Sheen involving the abuse of a minor.” A Dec. 5 statement from the Diocese of Rochester, New York, said it had “expressed concern about advancing the cause for the beatification of Archbishop Sheen at this time without a further review of his role in priests’ assignments.” The statement said the Rochester Diocese, prior to Vatican announcement Nov. 18 that Pope Francis approved the beatification, had provided documenta- tion expressing its concern to the Diocese of Peoria and the Congregation for Saints’ Causes via the apostolic nunciature in Washington. Archbishop Sheen was bishop of Rochester from October 1966 until his retire- ment in October 1969. He received the title of arch- bishop at retirement. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, the famed media evangelist, is pictured in an undated photo. The Diocese of Peoria, Ill., announced Dec. 3, 2019, it was informed Dec. 2 the Vatican has decided to postpone his Dec. 21 beatification. CNS files