We are a family with three children: two wonderful daughters who are professionals in each of their fields. The eldest married to a good man, who is also a professional and a man of values; the second a numerary of Opus Dei. And our third, a son, the one spoiled by everyone at home for that special charisma of being able to get us absorbed in his stories. He is 28 years old, a lover of sports, a good boy, without vices, respectful of the law, a believer in God. My husband and I are both committed to moving the household forward, with mistakes, battles and pleasant moments.
On 2 July 2023, we had an accident. A few seconds before reaching home with our son, after attending Mass and doing our exercise and swimming routine, a car rammed us into the back of a solid, sturdy pick-up truck, scarring us and changing our lives, perhaps forever. My son suffered a detached lens in his right eye after the crash.
For our son the outcome after his operation was discouraging: the surgery did not bring certainty. His 20:20 vision left him with the limited sight of adults in old age.
As if that wasn't bad enough, the final diagnosis: he would never be able to play any sport again. Try and tell that to a lover of sports like tennis, football, basketball and swimming. It was to rob him of his life. For us as parents and for him, anger, rage, hatred, helplessness, and powerlessness are formed in every heart.
Mixed feelings, and the question of someone who does not understand the Will of the Creator: Why us? Added to this was the fact that, within a month he would have to start his Master's degree far from home, in the Czech Republic, a distant country, with its own language. What confidence could I, as a mother, have? Knowing that any blow would damage him forever, its strength could not exceed 25kg. Many unsettling questions: how would he move, what if he falls and what if he needs another operation and what if…, what if… I could not find any answers.
Seeing our son wasting away inside and not wanting to hear phrases considered rhetorical such as: God wanted it that way, let's look at the positive, this will pass, etc., is like putting a band-aid on a large infected wound.
In my ignorance, I was still searching for answers, I even questioned God. Yes, to complain, hurt and alone, how could he have allowed it if we were ‘doing his will’.
In this process our second daughter, struggling in prayer to be strength, gave us a prayercard of Pedro Ballester. My son and I began to pray it together, (I still continue to do so, I must confess that I clung to the card a lot, but for days I doubted so much).
The opportunity arose to visit a top Spanish ophthalmologist almost a year later. The anxiety and doubt made us all tense. My son went to the clinic alone. I can't imagine how scared my little lad was. The doctor, surprised by what he saw in his eye and what the report said, confirmed that the operation performed in his country of birth had been successful, that his healing had been excellent. And, in no way would he need to suspend his sporting activity as long as he complied with the required precautions.
That joy in my son's voice when he called us brought us to our knees. And tears flowed again. But this time they were tears of gratitude. How could I believe it? I took Pedro's prayercard and kissed it with such affection.
As parents wary of any error of analysis, of data, not because of the doctor's professionalism but because we couldn’t believe it, through a lack of maturity in faith so often questioned, because we did not understand that when God has a purpose to transform from within, he does so respecting our freedom, we insisted that we needed to make sure that another doctor would confirm what this doctor had said.
He went to an appointment with an ophthalmologist in Germany. Yes, same answer: everything had healed correctly.
A year later, when I confessed to a good and wise priest how much resentment I felt, he said to me: ‘Come on, my daughter, one only complains to those whom one loves’. I would never have understood if I did not know, as I do now, that everything that comes from God is good and that man in his imperfection wants to blame everything on Him.
Without words, in one go and the only light: Pedro Ballester. His smile, his deep and joyful faith, his love for the cross... Thank you Pedro for listening to the prayers and interceding before God the Heavenly Father.
‘I beg you, never give up hope, never doubt, never tire and never lose heart, never be afraid’ (St John Paul II).
LG (Tegucigalpa, Honduras)
11 September 2024

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