Please Pray for This Dear Dominican Priest and Praise God for His Providence

I'm sharing below an email I received from an email friend, Fr. Bartholomew Ruben de la Torre, O.P. Please join me in praying for his speedy recovery. Mary Ann

You haven't heard from me because I almost died!

Dear relatives, friends and correspondents,

     The title is correct, and here is background.

     On Sat. Oct 7, Feast of O.L. of the Rosary, I attended the 40th priestly anniversary of a friend of mine, Dominican Fr. Fernando Romero, in a little town called El Oro, out in the rural and mountainous territory in the center of the country some 2 1/2 hrs. out of Mexico City. I had a great time. On Mon., Oct. 9, another Dominican, Fr. Arturo Vargas, drove me back to the Dominican parish where he lives in Mexico City called Divino Redentor. The young deacon, soon to be ordain a priest, Bro. Pedro, came to my room, whose door I had left open, to ask what I wanted for dinner and found me incoherent and on the floor.

     Fr. Arturo cell-phoned his M.D. sister-in-law who lives near-by and she with her husband came right over. She looked at my eyes and finger nails and something else and declared I was severely anemic and had to be taken immediately to emergency. They carried me by my shoulders and legs and lay me on the back seat of her car. Then I lost consciousness. The following is what I am told happened.

     Everyone went to this super-duper, large, private hospital just three minutes away. Upon being carried out of the car, I began vomiting blood and convulsing, which frightened the emergency room staff so they rushed right away into the shock and trauma dept., where they somehow stabilized me. At some point I was dying in the arms of  40 y/o Fr. Arturo, which aggravated his diabetes, which I feel bad. 

     Eight hours later, on Tues., Oct. 10, I awoke, very weak, in intensive care, with infusions of serum, O- blood and iron, an oxygen tube at my nose, and surrounded by the Dominicans, the MD sister-in-law and her husband, and some medical staff, who were filled with worry and relief. Most everyone else said good-by while the medical staff did whatever they were supposed to. I kept falling in and out of sleep.    

     Soon I was given an endoscopy. They found that the hiatus hernia operation of some four or five years ago had come unravelled, the resultant acid reflux had caused a bleeding ulcer, and my stomach was filled with coagulated blood! Consequently the rest of my body was being deprived of its necessary blood with its red corpuscles, oxygen and iron, and this had resulted in my collapse from severe anemia.

     Fr. Miguel Rolland, my pastor back in Mexicali, tried to get a medical postponement of my Tues. night flight back to Mexicali, which I was in no condition to take. I teach a History of Catholic Spirituality class at the Mexicali Diocesan Major Seminary, so he passed on an assignment to them.

     Back in the hospital I very slowly recovering and was given medication to seal the ulcer, and another infusion of O- blood. I actually have B- but they could not find any donors with that type, and O- is compatible. They already had one dose available, and one of Fr. Arturo's sister-in-law's patients donated the second dose.

     By Fri., Oct. 13, I no longer needed the artificial oxygen, and on Sat., Oct. 14, I was finally released with medications to take, a strict, bland diet, and taken to the Uber in a wheel-chair. Fr. Arturo was with me and we came back to Divino Redentor.

     There was always at least one Dominican with me around the clock, and this really helped, the medical staff was great, and the modern and attractive hospital, which the earthquake had not damaged, was very clean and well managed. 

     Today, Sun., Oct. 15, I concelebrated the noon public Mass but still had to mostly sit it out because of physical weakness. I am sleeping a lot. The artificial oxygen did a number on my vocal chords so I have been horse. However, I am constantly if slowly feeling better, and will fly back to Mexicali ASAP once I feel up to it. I am told however that I will still be weak and will need another transfusion of iron, maybe even before I can fly back. 

     Weakness has prevented me from communicating with you except most briefly. In the hospital I was taught how to send a group message by way of Whats-Ap, but not all of you have that application. My hope was that word would get around so that many prayers would be my salvation as they were when I have my stroke and then my prostate cancer, and it is working again. Some of you have phoned and I am sorry I had not the strength to answer. Now is the first time I have been strong enough to compose this email to bring you up-to-date, and Fr. Arturo has lent me his laptop to do so. My hope is that I have included all the information that would satisfy your questions. Once I get back go Mexicali, I will gradually catch up with the back-log.

     In the hospital I had to be compliant and humble, even being bathed daily by the female nurses. I was given medication to get all the coagulated blood out of my stomach. The prescribed daily doses of laxative is having only partial success so far, but I am told the whole process of recovery from this radical episode will take a long time and will require patience. I have to tell you that the patience and cheerful charity of my Dominican brethren upon whom I have been depending has been admirable.

     One side of the rectory of Divino Redentor, I have been given a nice room with its own toilet and bath, is a foot from the wall of a tall apartment building that was damaged in the earthquake, evacuated, and will have to be demolished if it does not collapse on its own first. I ask the Lord not to have me go through all this only to end up crushed by accident. Another big earthquake is expected and the government is not expending all its resources just now so as to have some when the next big one hits.

     This has also been a retreat time for me, reading, and praying for all of you out of gratitude for your prayerful help that has been helping me get through this. My meditations have revealed so many more apostolic things I can do, but I need the time and health to do them. Besides your prayers, I see this bland diet as an important means to these goals.

     Had my unexpected collapse occurred in Mexicali, all the pieces such as came together here may not have been in place. What I do know is that they did come together here like clock work and I am on the road to recovery. In this my spirit sees a loving Providence at work.

     The Dominican community will be meeting shortly in the house chapel for Evening Prayer, so I will say good-bye for now, and you will be in my intentions as we say those psalms.

Appreciating more life in general and you in particular,

Fr. Bartholomew Ruben de la Torre, O.P.

Temporatily in Colonia Roma Sur, Mexico City

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