Tuesday, January 2, 2001

Man's recovery from illness shows 'power of prayer'

Saenz

On this New Year's Eve, local pharmacist Eligio Saenz had much to celebrate.
   His is a story of almost losing it all, but gaining it back. An experience, says his wife, Martha, that speaks to the power of prayer.
   It was just a few months ago that Saenz was said to be near death, his health deteriorating rapidly because of an illness that baffled doctors.
   Days of high-grade fevers turned into weeks of more of the same, complicated by a blood infection and numerous other health setbacks. But through it all, Martha and the couple's four children were confident that Saenz would recover.
   Then, a month and a half later, almost as suddenly as he had become ill, a heavily sedated Saenz emerged from what had landed him in intensive care, just in time to celebrate his 38th wedding anniversary in late November.
   Back from the brink of death, Saenz now can embrace a new year, looking forward to time with family and friends and writing the script of memories he'll gratefully reflect on as yet another year passes and another unfolds.
   "All I want is to see my grandkids grow up and be with them all I can," said Saenz, who for the past 35 years has worked as a pharmacist at Port Avenue Drug.
   Throughout his career there, Saenz has only missed a total of six days of work. So it surprised no one when he went to work one day in September despite running a temperature. Saenz dismissed his symptoms as nothing more than the flu, but it proved the beginning of his extraordinary ordeal.
   A few days later, Saenz was hospitalized for testing. When he failed to respond to heavy doses of medication, he was moved to intensive care.
   "He got progressively worse and the doctors were really puzzled," said Martha Saenz, whose husband remained in intensive care for six weeks.
   A steady stream of visitors came to the hospital to offer Martha Saenz support. Longtime customers placed his name on their church prayer petitions. And every day without fail, Martha spoke to her husband, sang to him and prayed over him.
   On Oct. 29, Saenz opened his eyes for the first time, and she knew their prayers had been answered.
   "The first thing he asked me was 'What happened to me?' " Martha Saenz said.
   Two weeks later, he was out of the intensive care unit and finally discharged on Dec. 13.
   Saenz is still weak, having lost more than 30 pounds and significant muscle tone. He remains on medication, continues with outpatient therapy and will undergo further testing to confirm what doctors believe Saenz contracted - a rare pneumonia called bronchial oblirates organizing pneumonial, or boop.
   "We just have to go day by day right now and keep our faith alive," said Saenz's son, Tom. "We did a lot of praying for my father and this whole thing has strengthened our family."
   To have him home, said Martha Saenz, was the best Christmas present she could've gotten.
   "God gave him his life back, and in a very spiritual sense this new year represents a rebirth," she said. "For me, this was a beautiful experience. My husband made it home. It's something not even the doctors expected him to do. Except me. I knew he was going to walk out of there and that he was going to be a miracle."