DIGEST CONTENTS - April, 2007

(To see list of previous Digests, click here.)

*****SCHOOL OF LEADERS

*****TEAM SCHOOL

*****SPONSORING CANDIDATES

*****CALENDAR - Stay informed on What's Up!

*****PRAYER REQUEST - Knee time for our friends!

*****CURSILLO COMMUNICATIONS - Your Story?

*****SILENT RIDE

*****JIM HOUSE LOOKING FOR ROOMMATE

*****LIAM HEARNE UPDATE

*****A MESSAGE FROM LETICIA MENDOZA

*****ROSARY BOWL

*****UNSUBSCRIBE

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SCHOOL OF LEADERS

The San Diego meeting place is no longer at St. Therese. We meet now the first Monday of the month at Vic and Georgia Reichert's home ( 3387 Mt. Carol Dr., SD 92111 ), still from 6:30-8:30pm. The Deacon scheduled to talk the remaining year is as follows. North County continues to me at my home. God bless. Jim

April: Dcn. Herb Kelsey will discuss The Councils call to Lay Involvement

May: Dcn. Bill Vasquez will discuss Marriage and Family and Vatican II

June: Dcn. Kevin Murray will discuss Pope Benedict XVI participation in Vatican II

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CURSILLO WEEKENDS 246 & 247

Team School for weekends 246 & 247 is Friday evenings at St. Therese, 7:00 pm. All Cursillistas are invited to join Jim & Lidia as they prepare for the upcoming weekends.

Men's Cursillo Weekend 246 April 19-22 2007, - Rector: Jim House jrcasa@yahoo.com

Theme: "Love and Laugh"

Women's Cursillo Weekend 247 April 26-29, 2007 - Rectora: Lidia Rennix lrennix@cox.net

Theme: "My Sprit Rejoices in God my Savior" Lk 1:47

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SPONSORING CANDIDATES

For applications contact the Pre-Cursillo Chairpersons: Patrick and Danielle McCay. They can be contacted at precursillosd@gmail.com or 858-272-7286. Be sure to use the current applications and send them to Pre-Cursillo Committee, 2025 Chalcedony St., San Diego, CA 92109

PALANCA: Palanca is the driving force of Cursillo. Please keep the team coordinators, teams and candidates in your prayers as they proceed into the weekends this month.

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CURSILLO SAN DIEGO CALENDAR 2007

* April 19-22, 2007: Men's Cursillo Weekend 246 - Rector: Jim House jrcasa@yahoo.com

* April 26-29, 2007: Women's Cursillo Weekend 247 - Rectora: Lidia Rennix lrennix@cox.net

* May 12, 2007: Welcoming Ultreya for Weekends 246 / 247: Location: Our Lady of Grace

* Oct 11-14, 2007: Men's Cursillo Weekend 248 - Rector: TBA

* Oct 18-21, 2007: Women's Cursillo Weekend 249 - Rectora: TBA

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PRAYER REQUEST

Please take a few minutes to pray for the following........

Note: If one of the following prayer requests is from you, and the information can be updated, please email me at cursillocommunications@arc -socal.com with the updates. Thanks. John Sawaya

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Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

Three months ago I asked for your prayers on behalf of my Godfather and uncle, John Mazurowski, as he was going through a serious battle with pancreatitis. After a valiant fight that included numerous operations and many peaks and valleys, God has ended his suffering and last night (3/26/07) called him home. He leaves behind his second wife and 4 children who lost their mother (and my Godmother) in a similar way about 20 years ago. While we have been preparing for this for some time now, it is no less difficult to experience the actual passing of a loved one. I ask for your prayers for the repose of John's soul, and also for our family as we struggle to cope with his loss and find the strength to rejoice in his homecoming.

Peace,

Anthony Brown

Sent 3-27-2007

*****

Greetings,

My wife and I are starting to look into sending our children, both boys and girls, to High School. In an effort to make an informed decision, we are trying to get first-hand information about a couple of the local high schools to see if they are a good fit for our children.

Having attended a unisex high school, I'm partial to St. Augustine's and Our Lady of Peace. We are traditional Catholics, and our children's faith formation are extremely important to us. We have been hearing/reading mixed information about those schools and are seeking more information from people who share our views. Since we know the importance of Catholic formation about our fellow Cursillistas, we thought that you would be a good first source.

If you have first-hand information about those schools or Cathedral Catholic, we would appreciate your candid input.

God Bless,

Patrick Hughes

Sent 3-27-2007

Please respond to Patrick at patreg@pacbell.net

*****

We just received information that Barry Thornton has been diagnosed with bladder cancer. He will be receiving a Cat Scan and seeing doctors this week regarding treatment. He is the son of Cursillistas Hibe Thornton and the late Frank Thornton. His family, the House family, and other friends ask for prayers for his complete healing and recovery. Barry lives in Northern California.

Thanks.

Love,

Jim House

Sent 10-26-2007

*****

My mom passed away last May of Huntington Disease at 85. 1 in 90,000 people in the US get HD. If an either parent has HD there is a 50% chance of a sibling getting HD.

My mom was in a senior living/nursing home for about 5 years in Detroit. She was additionally in a convalescent center for almost 20 years after and always had a constant and uncontrollable motion in her arms. Only when she slept did the chorea ever stop. The movement became so much that she would get bruised when leather belts were used to hold her down into her wheelchair.

About 3 years before she was in at the senior center, and for about 5-7 years after, whenever we spoke, she always talked of suicide. For the last about 10+ yeas she completely lost her ability to speak. She was intravenously feed for her last 7 years.

About, 2 weeks ago my left arm began moving involuntarily for about 45-60 seconds and then it stopped and I am ok. My first symptom was over 2 years ago. Every couple of weeks something will happen. It is very gradual. There is no cure.

There is promising research. Canadian researchers cured a mouse with HD about 6 months ago. http://www.hdsasandiego.org /dsp_article.cfm?ArticleID=337 &CategoryID=6

There was also Canadian researchers thinking they might have a cure in 1 year.

The exciting thing about all of this is that we've hit upon a kinase pathway that we think may be able to modulate Huntington toxicity, Truant said. My hope is that within the next year well be able to find this kinase and the pathway and there will be some pharmaceutical company out there that already has the inhibitor and most of the pharmacology done.

http://www.photonics.com /content/news/2007/February/28 /86616.aspx

Thank you for your prayers!!!

God bless,

Chris Hahnke

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Fellow Cursillista Brothers & Sisters,

Many of you have asked about how Dario and Martin are doing. Here is the update…

First the Finch family… Many of you have helped in so many ways, through prayers, job leads, housing leads, help with transportation, clothes for the girls, etc.. Thank you all so much! Martin starts his new job tomorrow. He is a salesman for Get One Free, a direct mail catalog of "buy one, get one free" coupons. Also, tonight, the family is moving out of the shelter and into a one bedroom apartment in Imperial Beach. The apartment is being offered at a very low rent with no money needed until Martin starts getting paid – wow! The girls have started back at school and there is work being done behind the scenes to get them into Catholic school on scholarship. Thank you God for your many blessings! If you have not met the Finch family personally, you should (call me, I'll arrange it). They are a wonderful family. So what can still be done for the Finchs…

Continue to pray, please.

If you have or work for a business that might advertise using get-one-free coupons, please consider giving Martin some of your business. Martin's cell number is (619) 997-2366

They're going to need an inexpensive car. They are currently driving a car that has been loaned to them, but eventually they will need their own.

While the apartment in Imperial Beach is a tremendous blessing, it is only temporary. Eventually, they will need to find a more permanent home/apartment, one big enough for the four of them. If you have a lead on inexpensive housing (okay, that's kind of an oxymoron in San Diego), big enough for a family of four, please let them know.

As for Dario… Thank you for all the prayers, encouragement, and job leads. The blessings continue to shower down on Dario, as well. The keys for Dario were getting connected into new, healthy environments – at work, at school, and at church. Well, he's a student at Southwestern College and he loves it. He's taking only one class this spring to get his feet wet, but he will take two over the summer, and will be full-time in the fall. He is a Political Science major and hopes to transfer to SDSU in two years. Church-wise he regularly attends the 10am service and St Rose of Lima (Chula Vista), is enrolled in Disciples in Mission, and intends to join the RCIA class in the fall. He's trying to get more involved in the church and meet more people, so if you go to St Rose, please keep an eye out for him and say "hi". Many of you met Dario at last month's Beach Area Ultreya. Thank you for making him feel so welcome – he definitely had a great time. As for work, Dario was blessed last week with not one, but two job offers. One job is in the mornings and the other in the evenings – both are part-time. Getting an employer to take the risk of offering a decent job to an applicant with a felony record is very unlikely. Two job offers is a minor miracle. Thank you God! So, what can still be done to help Dario…

Pray for him. His journey is difficult and the odds are stacked against him.

Help him get plugged in to church programs where he can make church-going friends

Thank you all for your help, prayers, and encouragement. What a tremendous Christian community you are!

-Brian Devine (224)

(619) 957-7083

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Please pray for our daughter, Kim, who is suffering from unidentified stomach problems as well as neck problems due to auto accident.

Please pray for Judy whose faith has been challenged by something that happened in her Parish, causing her to leave the Church.

Please pray for David, for guidance on making decisions about his future, for helping him to trust in Jesus, and to spend time with the Lord.

Michael Morck

Sent 3-6-2007

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BATTLING CANCER:

Bill Vergeer 3-4-2007 * Mary Dawn Reavey 1-22-2007 * Jose Mendoza 1-16-2007 * Sister Heidi Stein 12-27-2007 * Maria Roberts 12-11-2006 * Kathleen Forgione 11-6-2006 * Ron Price 11-2007 * Maria Aguirre 10-23-2006 * Mona Ohlin 10-9-2006 * Kristen Lepard 10-10-2006 * Matthew 9-11-2006 * Seth Simpson 8-28-2006 * Kristin Schwartz 9-6-2006 * Patsy E Musson 8-21-2006 * Terri Odell 8-3-2006 * Paula Scull 5-22-2006 * Rosemary Crivello 4-24-2006 * Tom Bigler 4-10-2006 * Marcia 4-7-2006 * Jim Kilcoyne 3-24-2006 * Margie Piatkiewicz 3-23-2006 * Sheri D. Kidder 3-22-2006 * Irma Espinola 3-21-2006 * Cecilia (Joe Vina's niece) 3-10-2006 * Maria Brown 2-9-2006 * Brian Sperry 2-9-2006 * Bonnie Basener 2-9-2006 * Liz Schwartz 2-2-2006 * Friend of Yesmin Saide 1-30-2006 * John Kammerer 1-30-2006 * Cynthia Martinez 1-4-2006 * Liz Ravenis * LEUKEMIA: Deacon Bob Fitzmorris * Roy Hubecki *

SERVING IN IRAQ

James Ninteman 11-6-2006 * Brian Scull 10-12-20006 * David Pierce 4-20-2006 * Charlie Johnson 1-11-2006

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DECEASED

Tracy Favreau 2-2007 * Alex Perwich 2 15-2007 * JoAnn Gardo 1-16-2007 * Sally Manolovitz 12-26-2007 * Dale Haggard 12-17-2007 * Mary Mac Isaac 12-7-2006 * Henry G. Vasquez 10-9-2006 * Frank Sandoval 8-29-2006 * Robert Carey 8-26-2006 * Julie Gabbard's dad 8-25-2006 * Valerie Farris 8-25-2006 * Julie Shultis 8-8-2006 * Mary Peri 8-5-2006 * Janelle Darmody 7-21-2006 * Norma Carey 7-25-06 * Paul Carey 7-25-06 * Juanita Villavicencio 7-24-2006 * Clint 7-14-2006 * Bob Murphy 6-1-2006

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* Sokie Vasquez, Advanced Alzheimer's 3-6-2007

* Marion Adams, knee problems 3-6-2007

* Connie Sheehan, Heart ailments 2-16-2007

* Don Roberts, back surgery 2-19-2007

* Casey Fanno, unknown serious bone illness 3-6-2007

* Theron Bell, septic shock 3-6-2007

* George Mullens, health issues 1-23-2007

* John Harris, heat attack 1-22-2007

* Frank Schmitz, hip replacement 1-17-2007

* Ann Dodd Connors, brain surgery 1-16-2007

* John Mazurowski, fighting pancreatitis 1-15-2007

* Chester Jantz, surgery 1-15-2007

* Doug Broding, Heart problems 1-15-2007

* Gina Vina's Mom, spinal surgery 1-2-2007

* Jack Sardo, hospitalization 12-25-2007

* Dale Amorosia, Heart Problem 12-1-2006

* Bobbi Valente , Blood disorder 11-27-2006

* Idamarie Sapien, Abdominal Surgery 11-6-2006

* Phyllis Niotta, Stroke 11-5-2006

* Mary Beth Ekhaml, ongoing medical conditions 10-12-2006

* Gilbert Marquez, mild heart attack 10-12-2006

* Tony, a six year old boy who is on the list for a kidney transplant 10-12-2006

* Teresa Marcotte, for peace and healing 10-10-2006

* Marshal Feldman aka "Mossie", recovering from a brain tumor 10-4-2006

* Mike Campbell, going through Chemotherapy 10-4-2006

* Tom Drabek, diagnosed with a rare bone disease 7-17-2006

* Frannie LaRussa, battling Leukemia 4-11-2006

* Liam Hearne and family in your prayers as they continue to fight CF 2-3-2006

* Rose Sapien, suffering from the onset of dementia. 1-30-2006

* Dave Pierce, Parkinsons Disease

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CURSILLO COMMUNICATIONS

The next issue of the Gazette will be distributed after our upcoming Cursillo weekends in April. We are always looking for more people to write articles for the Gazette so if you have something to share we would love to hear from you. We also have our roving reporter, Erika Johnson who would be happy to interview you and write the article for you. If you have any questions feel free to email at paul@hipstars.com

DeColores!

WEBSITE

For up to date San Diego Cursillo information please utilize our website at http://www.rc.net/sandiego /cursillo/

For San Diego Cursillo Forums visit http://www.cursillosandiego .net/ to interact online with fellow San Diego Cursillistas.

YOUR STORY?

Your story may be what someone needs to hear...

Cursillo Communications is looking for Cursillistas with great stories for future publications of the Gazette. Beginning with the next issue Erika Johnson, our roving reporter will conduct interviews with potential Cursillistas regarding their personal stories on Piety, Study and Action.

Erika will then write the articles up after these interviews are conducted and the stories will be published in future Gazettes. Please contact Paul Greer at paul@hipstars.com if you are interested in your story being shared within our wonderful community.

We are gathering information on our brothers and sisters from the Cursillo Community who have passed away in 2005 or 2006. We want to honor their memories by printing their names in future Gazettes. Please send the names of our brothers and sisters who have gone home to the Lord to Paul Greer, Cursillo Communications Chair at paul@hipstars.com

Paul Greer

Cursillo Communications Chair

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Silent Ride (Honoring Jesus' Sacrifice)

April 7th

Arrive 8:30, Ride 9:00

Mission Bay Boardwalk

ALL BIKES/RIDERS WELCOME!!!

This is our third year leading the Silent Ride. If there is ONE RIDE to make, this is it!

Silent Rides have taken place for years. They are ridden in silence to honor fallen riders. The BUZZ generated from hundreds of people riding in Silence is used to bring awareness to important issues. Our vision for the Silent ride is no different BUT our message offers greater hope!!!

Good Friday is April 6 and Easter is April 8 – the Silent Ride is ‘bookended' between these holy days. Our Rider – Jesus willingly died for our sins on Good Friday, rising from the dead on Easter Sunday. Through his sacrifice, he tore the shroud of death and through his grace gave all Christians eternal salvation. April 7th we are riding to honor and reflect on what Jesus has done for us.

The entire event will be conducted in silence (with the exception of the mid-point devotional). The ride is on the Mission Bay Boardwalk at a very slow pace (no greater than 8 mph) for a total distance of only 7.7 miles. Our desire is to have HUNDREDS of riders, thereby generating BUZZ. The more BUZZ generated, the more likely the Silent Ride will catch on throughout the United States! Our ultimate goal is to see Annual Silent Rides all throughout the Country! Like all things, it has a beginning and you can be part of it.

With that in mind, we need your help promoting this ride to everyone you know!!! Tell your friends, co-workers, family, neighbors - anyone you can think of. Print the flyer and give it to as many people as possible. Talk to other churches you know and get them involved. The Silent Ride is NOT about RockMTB, it is about honoring Christ!

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me. If you need me to speak with someone, let me know! If someone wants me to talk to a group about the Silent Ride, I will make myself available. This is about numbers. The more people that show, the more people will talk about it. The more people talk about it, the more likely they will form their own Silent Ride. The more rides, the more people talk about Christ's ultimate sacrifice – that is the purpose of April 7th's ride. Can I count on you?

What to Bring:

Bike – any will do! Road bike, mountain bike, cruiser, trailer bike – it's all good. A tricycle is probably the only bike not suited for this event. The first year rollerbladers even went!

Helmet. All rides must have a helmet. I realize this is super easy, but please bring yours. It sets a very good example for the children and is something you should always wear. Prayer.

For more info contact: Will Carreras will@adviocorp.com

Directions:

Take I-8 West towards the beaches. Exit West Mission Bay Drive and turn right (at the light). Stay in the right lane and take the West Mission Bay Drive Exit. Go over a bridge and take a right onto Mariners Way and an immediate right into the Ventura Cove public parking lot. Look for all the people – this is next to the Bahia Bell.

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JIM HOUSE LOOKING FOR ROOMMATES

Hello Friends,

I'm spreading the word that Jim House is looking for some new roommates. (Bob Murphy lived with Jim for 7

years.) He would prefer to rent to someone he already knows, or at least to a friend of a friend (non-smoker).

Jim has a beautiful detached, 2-story, four-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home, with a yard, in a quiet Lakeside neighborhood-definitely worth taking a look at. And you get to live with Jim.

The 2 rooms are upstairs and will share one bathroom. Although your room(s) are not furnished, you will have full access to downstairs which is furnished in an extremely classy manner.

Cable TV, wireless Internet, trash, and water included. Shared SDG&E. One driveway space available and plenty of on-street parking available.

$595 / month (Discount available if someone wants to rent both rooms and have one for an office and have

their own bathroom, etc.) $250 deposit.

The house is usually pretty quiet as Jim is a writer.

(Limited garage storage available on request)

2 minutes to the freeway.

20 min to downtown

25 min to beaches

619.994.7955

jrcasa@mac.com

10352 New Bedford Ct., Lakeside 92040

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LIAM HEARNE UPDATE: April 2007

Thank you all once again for your well wishes, prayers and concerns for Liam. We never get tired of talking about him and are always grateful when asked how he is doing. We have come to learn that Liam's life is meant to be shared… He is such a great success story to the power of the powerless, perseverance, courage, hope and love. Our hope would be that you never grow weary of hearing of his struggles, celebrate in his successes and always realize that there is great hope and joy in our life with every breath Liam takes.

As mentioned in our last update, Liam has been in and out of the hospital since the New Year. We have attempted to summarize his last two weeks in the following few paragraphs but if you have the time please read Nancy's journal entries for the more accurate descriptions of Liam's care. Nancy is using her journal to start a Blog that will be attached to the Liam Foundation web site, LiamFoundation.com. Using the web site will keep you more current on Liam's care and transplant progress. It will also be a great way for Liam to communicate and keep in contact with his friends while in the hospital, which has been very difficult for him the past several weeks, due to hospital stuff. The biggest benefit to having the Blog is that you won't be inundated with Liam Updates anymore, just check in with him on your own. Well, we are going to give it a try anyhow.

APRIL 2007 UPDATE

Liam and I were in Seattle last week for his bi-annual consult with the CF Clinic and transplant team. Though this trip was more or less pain free except for blood work, it was very frustrating as far as results go. Our whole goal was to petition for additional point's relation to his place in line for the liver transplant but all the doctors and surgeons thought and commented on how great Liam looked. Which he does and you would normally consider a good thing, but what they don't see is his chronic bleeding and intense abdominal pain he has nightly. We were not encouraged about his chances of having a liver transplant in the immediate future.

That was two weeks ago… last week Nancy and Liam were back in Seattle for a TIPS Shunt revision surgery, coiling varicose veins and an echocardiogram to determine if his heart is being effected by the increase portal tension. The shunt revision surgery didn't go as well as we all had originally hoped. The pressure on the shunt, though improved, is now at a 14. The desired pressure for a TIPS Shunt to be working properly would be between 10 and 12. Liam went into the surgery at an 18 which is why he has severe varicies and has been bleeding. Though an improvement it's still not a good scenario.

Nancy found out late Friday that because of these additional complications Liam's surgical team will be petitioning for additional points for his transplant score. We continue to pray that the transplant happens soon.

Liam was unable to fly home for two day after surgery, so the flight home was planed for yesterday, Monday. As you can see from Nancy's comments below Liam's chronic cough, abdominal pains, vomiting and fevers continued to get worse as the weekend progressed and by Monday morning Liam was back at Children's Hospital ER with a fever of 103, vomiting, coughing up blood and two pounds lighter than his hospital release on Friday. It was a good thing Liam didn't get on the plane Friday or Saturday. Currently Liam has been admitted back into the hospital and is being treated for pneumonia, and undergoing tests for his abdominal issues. His port was accessed and he is currently on IV antibiotics and hydrating fluids. Our best guess at this point is that Liam will need to stay in the hospital for 2-3 days and then home on IV antibiotics for an additional 14 – 21 days.

The silver lining is that Seattle Children's Hospital is seeing more of Liam than we ever anticipated for this trip and this may help the team understand the complexity of his disease better. It finally feels like we are focusing on long term care rather than chasing symptoms. Our hope still remains with the liver transplant.

Nancy's Journal

March 25, 2007 12:20AM

* Liam was nauseous and decided to turn off his feed for a little bit. Within minutes he was vomiting. He felt like he had a fever and we're not sure if he was able to keep his medicines in his body. I told him he could keep the feed off for a couple of hours to try and let his stomach calm down. When he went to bed at about 11:00, his blood sugar was 187. At about 2:15, his blood sugar was at 60. That's a HUGE drop. I'll have to get with the Endocrine doctors to see if we can get a better handle on this. We slept, not great, but we did sleep. We're trying to get to mass but Mr. Liam is lollygagging around. Therapies are now down and meds are "in the process". We missed the 8:00, the 10:00 and now I am hoping to make the 12:00 mass. After mass I'm taking Liam to the Pancake House (yes, I found one in Seattle) and then we are going to a Bead Store. I have an idea for Liam Foundation to make bracelets - "Limited Edition" representing the key components of Liam Foundation: CF, Diabetes, Donor Awareness & of course, PERSEVERANCE. I was thinking it would be cool if we made "65" and sold them for $100 - $1000 each (depending on the cost of the materials). I was also thinking that Shannon can design one special one that represents "65 Roses: to her - maybe hers is a set of bracelet, necklace, earrings - for the live auction. I think this might be HUGE. Back to little man to get moving.

March 24, 2007

* Day 4 and Seattle weather is still not cooperating! Rain and flooding is expected to continue INDEFINITELY... (another reason we love San Diego so much!) People are inherently good. Some are misguided, but most are really good. Liam woke up this morning with a lot of coughing. He slept in until 11 and coughed throughout the day - mornings are always tough for him, but for whatever reason, his cough is relentless today. We drove "exploring" Seattle and the surrounding Washington areas for about an hour. 15 minutes into the road trip, Liam told me to wake him up if I saw anything cool. (So much for Mother/Son bonding!!). After being flashed the universal "birdie" from several drivers, my sister reminded me that we are in tree-hugger land. The fact that the Hertz rental car man told Liam he was going to "Set You Up, Dude!", had a very different meaning today. The H3 is not something people smile about when they watch you drive by... oh well. Live and learn. A very cool thing happened this evening when Liam decided he wanted to get a salad at Buca di Beppo. We tried to "sneak" into the bar to get a quick bite of dinner, in an effort to avoid the 45 minute wait. To our surprise, an indignant "patron" felt it was his job to inform us that Liam was not old enough to walk into the bar. We turned and walked out and the hostess was surprised that we came out so fast. I explained that some people really need to get a grip on the important things in life and basically, mind their own business. Well, long story short, we were seated 5 minutes later and had a great dinner. Liam had lots of energy, we laughed alot, I enjoyed a martini (the house specialty!), and as we were waiting for our waiter to bring our check, the manager introduced herself, told us that our dinner was paid for by OUR WAITER and the entire staff wanted us to know that they were going to be praying for Liam - he was their hero! WOW...every staff member seemed to know who we were and each one hugged Liam and told us to come back when he gets his liver. Good people. As we were walking to our car, there was a homeless man quietly sitting outside the restaurant. We asked him is he was hungry and if he wanted our to go goodies. He was most grateful and said that he hopes our kindness comes back 10-fold. Liam told him "it already has". Amen to that!

March 23, 2007 11:15am

· Liam is sleeping. He's had a tough couple of hours. He has needed oxygen through the night because without it his oxygen saturation was dropping to the high 80's. (which means that his blood was not getting enough oxygen. )

· For some reason he's got some significant headaches. It's taken a couple of rounds of pain meds to treat them, but finally he is comfortable and sleeping. He had an Echo this morning on his heart to determine the extent of the portal pressure on the heart. The doctors explained that an elevated pressure could indicate pulmonary hypertension, which may be an explanation for his lung bleeds. We anticipate being released some time today, but Kaiser wants us to stay in Seattle until Monday…just in case. They're not comfortable having him travel so soon after his procedure yesterday. I think I agree. Although Liam and I both miss Bill & Shannon terribly, it might be fun to do a little sightseeing in Washington.

March 22, 2007 3:30 pm

· Liam went into surgery around 11:30 this morning and I just finished talking with the surgeon and calling Bill. Dr. Burdich (From U Of W Medical Center) came in specifically to do Liam's surgery. The goal of today's surgery was to revise the flow in Liam's TIPPS Shunt to try and lower the pressure which continues to cause him to have such dramatic varices. The surgery took a little over 3 hours and Dr. Burdich feels that as far as the portal pressure goes, there is really not much he can do to lower it significantly. He explained that a pressure reading of 10-12 is where we want the shunt to be, but when they got in and measured the flow, Liam's pressure was at 18. He was definitely at risk for an additional significant bleed. Because the gortex shunt used is size specific, it is not something that can be easily enlarged. The covering of the shunt is not expandable. Although it has been found to be a "better" shunt in the long run, in Liam's case, it is just too small. It was installed while he was still growing and he has outgrown the diameter size. Although the shunt is not blocked, it has narrowed in the middle and the exiting end is starting to close up. From what I was told, his shunt is a size 8 and he actually needs a 10 or 12 to handle his pressure flow. We need to remember that the shunt is a temporary measure to buy us some time BEFORE the liver transplant. Liver transplant is our "golden ticket". We know it is merely a question of "when" not "if" he gets one. We have to trust in God's timing, since Bill and I are more confident than ever that this is exactly where Liam needs to be. We are affirmed of that with each nurse assigned to his care, each doctor willing to take the time to make sure that all of our questions are met, and every time Liam says Thanks for the littlest of things – his eyes say Thanks for ALL things. God IS good!

· One more positive note on the surgery is that Dr. Burdick was able to coil many of the varicose veins that he could get to. He said that Liam's varicose veins are extreme, but hopefully he was able to stop some of them from rupturing.

· Liam is still scheduled to have his banding surgery on April 13th, and all doctors are in agreement that this is an appropriate and necessary treatment.

March 21, 2007 10:00 pm

· Liam and Mom are in Seattle. Liam is scheduled for surgery tomorrow to have his TIPPS shunt revised. Walking the town is hard for Liam because he is out of breath and his stomach is still hurting from the flight. It seems like there is a pressure that builds in his intestines and air expands or something – at least that is how I understand it. It is quite exhausting when it happens and takes a while to get past it. He took a hot bath first and then we went to "hit the town". We lasted about an hour – long enough to get a new PSP game for Liam to play tomorrow … hmmmm

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Mark You Calendars

Please Keep The Rosary Bowl In Prayer

www.rosarybowl.org

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Dear Everyone,

Sue Lopez one of our Pro-Life Warriors sent this to me. God Bless, Leticia

Please join me in praying this novena and in spreading the word about it. Bishop Cordileone will be celebrating the closing Mass at the end of the novena. Thank you and God bless you, Sue

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A MESSAGE FROM LETICIA MENDOZA

If you wish to obtain a favor: Pray the "54-day Rosary Novena" --- Pieta Prayer B ook

Please join in the 54-Day Miraculous Rosary Novena for the

Catholic Diocese of San Diego

Let us use this time of increased prayer and sacrifice to join in prayer for our Church in general and the San

Diego Diocese in particular. Binding our prayers together with the secret weapon of the Rosary,

we beg the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church. We pray that she will guide the Church

locally, nationally and world wide through this crisis in a way that will restore the credibility

and influence of the priesthood and the Church as the moral compass in our modern world.

May the Catholic Faith flourish throughout the world according to God's holy will!

Opening Rosary – Joyful Mysteries with accompanying hymns

Monday, March 26th 7:00 – 7:30pm

Feast of the Annunciation

Mother of Life Shrine, St. Ephrem's Maronite Catholic Church

750 Medford Street, El Cajon, 92020

The rest of the novena is to prayed at home on our own.

The "Irresistible" 54-day Novena consists of reciting five decades of the Rosary each day for 27 days in Petition; then immediately, five decades each day for 27 days in Thanksgiving,

whether or not the request has been granted.

Start, March and April Rosary Mysteries in Petition:

26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

J S G J S G J S G J S G J S G J S G J S G J S G J S G

April and May Rosary Mysteries in Thanksgiving:

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

J S G J S G J S G J S G J S G J S G J S G J S G J S G

J= Joyful Mysteries, S= Sorrowful Mysteries, G= Glorious Mysteries

Alternately: The Rosary mysteries may be prayed they way they normally are for

each weekday, 54 days in succession – 27 days in petition followed by 27 days in thanksgiving.

Closing Rosary: Friday, May 18th 7:00pm, Mother of Life Shrine

St. Ephrem's Maronite Catholic Church

Immediately following the Rosary:

Mass in thanksgiving and in honor of Our Blessed Mother

St. Ephrem's Catholic Church

Bishop Salvatore Cordileone presiding

Fr. Nabil Mouannes concelebrating

More info: Sue Lopez 619/276-7525 or sue.lopez@earthlink.net

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San Diego Cursillo Web Site http://www.rc.net/sandiego /cursillo/

John Sawaya

Cursillo Communications

cursillocommunications@arc -socal.com

Last Updated: April 1, 2007