It Is Time - a tribute to Erin Gannon

My name is Erin and I'm 17 years old. I was diagnosed with cancer (Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma) when I was 15 on November 7, 2001. I originally had surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. A year after my initial diagnosis and a clear set of scans, I relapsed. I went through another surgery and different clinical trials but none of them seemed to be doing anything.

My cancer returned in full force just before summer and then spread to my brain by November, 2003. More radiation was done in order to ease the pain. The radiation seemed to be doing something because, coming up to Christmas, I was feeling good, attending the one class I really enjoyed and hanging out with my friend, basically doing what I wanted to do! My whole perspective on how to live changed on Christmas Eve when I had the experience of a lifetime.

trying to get over my cold. It was sometime before 1 a.m. but the time is really irrelevant. I must have just woken up when I heard a voice say, it is time. I knew it was God, there wasn't a doubt in my mind. There was no doubt either that I knew what He meant (or so I thought at the time). It was time for me to die and move on to Heaven.

I was flooded with all these thoughts. I remember sitting up as if to call out to someone in my family for help and then I tried pressing the buttons on the intercom for someone to come. I looked around my room for a pen; I wanted to write, �I love you Mom and Dad�, or something - anything! Deep in my heart I wanted to see my mom and tell her bye, but Jesus kept saying, �It's time. Don't worry. Tust Me. I love you�. So I did. I reached for my rosary and clutched the crucifix as if to say, �Yes Lord�. That's what I said too, I just kept repeating over and over, �I love you God - I really, wholly do�. Yet I remember making one last attempt for the call button on the intercom. Then fear. No! I have to go to heaven! It's time; you won 't see your mom right now. Then I let go. It was now I began physically feeling my body die. I felt no pain. My body went very warm, a comforting feeling and I could feel my heart slowing down and my breathing growing faint. I just waited, though I remember continuously confessing my love to God and I remember everything seemed to be perfect. Everything was in place; I'd done everything I'd meant to do.

Then I was outside my body. I couldn't see my own body but I knew I wasn't on Earth anymore. Next I guess was Purgatory but it was very brief for what reason I don't know. It could have been because I'd been to confession only the week earlier or because it wasn't really my time to go to Heaven forever. Perhaps it was just a glimpse. It was the same when I saw my �life flash before my eyes�. It wasn't my entire life and I believe that is because it wasn't God's intention for my life to be over. (Of course that wasn't my thought at the time).

Then I saw it. Heaven. It was beautiful - a beach, a sunset, the colours. He was carrying me, like from the passage �Footprints�. There really aren't words to describe it except maybe one - peaceful. I can't pinpoint what happened, but suddenly I was at the gates of heaven (yes, there were nice golden gates!) and that's where I saw Ali, Pam and Bob (all people I knew who died of cancer recently). -all of them as I remember them, all of them smiling and happy. Finally there was a tunnel and I was back. I was confused though. I still thought I was going to die.

It was then my sister came into my room and she said I was speaking tongues. As I said, this whole experience cannot be related to time, so she may have come in at any time. I knew she was there though, so I called to her to get my mom. She thought I was having some sort of dream but rushed to get my mom anyway. My mom came in and I told her all about how God told me it was time and how l had to go. I'm not sure if she believed me right away because I must have been breathing since I was talking! It wasn't until she said, �I don't think its time yet� that I realized my body was physically alive. I could feel myself breathing again and my heart beating fast. It was then I started to sob. I wasn't sad, I wasn't in pain I think I was just overwhelmed.

It took me the entire day to accept that I wasn't going to die. I wasn't afraid of actual death at all, I think I was just afraid that I would somehow go against God's plan because I was so sure He had intended me to go that day. I remember feeling empty. Maybe that is because I wasn't accepting this miraculous event that happened. Again it was something my mom said that finally allowed me to fill with the Holy Spirit. She said, �I think God had some plans for you, you're not going to die anytime soon. �It was then I felt alive and ever since I have felt so incredibly full of God that I haven�t stopped smiling! I can see God in everything and everyone now! I feel like I�m looking at the world through a new set of eyes.

I now wake up each and every morning, and with my whole heart offer God my day - everything I do. God gave me in incredible gift, experiencing His presence. I know He wants me to share my story and share the words that I carry in my heart and live by everyday - Trust God; He is capable of absolutely ANYTHING!

A Tribute to Erin Gagnon

The front foyer of St. Matthew High School in Orleans Ontario displays more than 1,400 paper bears carrying messages to Erin from students and staff. The Grade 12 student was only 18 when she died but she will be well remembered. Erin died in her mother�s arms just days after her fellow stu�dents at the Orleans school raised $ 106,000 for the Ottawa Regional Can�cer Centre with the world�s largest bear hug. 5,063 people had taken part in the event, but Erin�s health had deteriorated so she could not take part except in her spirit.

As the Ottawa Citizen newspaper reported in an obituary column, �The bear hug empowered others who wanted to help Erin, but didn�t know how�, said Mr. Chris Hughes, a school guidance counselor who had known Erin since grade 9. �Erin was very instrumental in pro�viding us a reason for doing this,� said Andr� Potvin, principal of St. Matthew. �Erin was an unbelievable inspira�tion for students and staff in the way she was open. She was an absolute role model for living the Gospel message we all believe in. She was remarkable�.

Last year, Kyle Baggs, Erin�s classmate, whose band called Scheme sold cotton PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens) bracelets to raise cancer awareness, credits Erin with inspiring the group�s project. �She just raised everyone�s spir�it", he said.

Erin�s mother, Mary Gannon, said that she did not want to be treated differently, though she was very open about her cancer as it was �part of who she was�. A year after she was diagnosed, Erin continued to dance and play on the school�s soccer team. She was also a peer helper and a student council member. Until she became too ill, Erin also worked at a Jacob clothing store, a job her mother said she loved. �To Erin, being normal was very impor�tant�.

Priests for Life Canada would like to express sincere best wishes to the family and friends of Erin who had the fortune of knowing and being loved by Erin. The sharing of her experiences will help many others who find themselves in difficult situations. May her soul, and all the souls of the faithfully departed, rest in the peace of Christ.

TO READ WHEN YOU�RE ALONE

By Erin Gannon, Monday

June 1, 1998

Dear Erin,

God always loves you!

That�s the most important

message that you must

carry on through life.

Also every living creature

on this planet is God�s

creation. And you�re

to love them, especially

those which you find

hard to get along

with. Remember the

first line of this

letter for ever.

Love, Erin

JJJJJ

DON�T FORGET

By Erin Gannon

January 2, 1999

Don�t forget there�s always love within you.

That no matter how you�re feeling, you�re always loved.

Don�t forget, you can always forgive.

That no matter what you�ve done, you can be forgiven.

(The one who loves you and forgives you� no matter� is God!)

JJJJJ

AN INDIVIDUAL

By Erin Gannon, January 2, 1999

Be an individual,

No matter what people say.

And remain an individual,

No matter what people do.

Be an individual,

And make your own decisions.

Be an individual,

And do what you think is fun.

And to all you individuals,

You must trust God.

Be an individual.

JJJJJ

REMEMBER

By Erin Gannon, January 2, 1999

Remember, when you�re broken to fix yourself.

Remember, when you�re sad to become happy.

Remember, when your frustrated, to calm down.

Remember, to find yourself someone to help you remember.

JJJJJ

Erin�s Website can be found at www.angelfire.com/on4/eemg.

In many high schools, students assist with opening announcements and prayers. We encourage you to say the following prayer in your school.

Dear God, We all find things hard to believe, and our minds are filled with doubts. Is there really a God? Why do we believe in something we cannot see?

God, you know that we have faith, but the world's temptations often steer us away. Guide us away from those temptations. Fill us with your Holy Spirit to help us answer our doubts, and strengthen our faith and our love for you and each other. Amen

FOR
CLASS
DISCUSSION

Situation #1:
Mary, a classmate, has just learned that she has been stricken with a disease that will cripple her for the rest of her life.

For Class Discussion: Discuss how you might react to such a situation if you were in Mary�s class or school.

--------------------------------------------------------

Situation #2:
The Holy Father has designated October, 2004 to October, 2005 as �Year of the Eucharist�.

For Class Discussion: What can your class or school do to promote the �Year of the Eucharist�? What can you do as an individual?

PRO-LIFE ESSAY
CONTEST RESULTS

FIRST: Grand Prize: $300.00
Gabrielle Ferri, 16 years old, Pembroke, Ontario
�Choice ?�

SECOND Prize: $150.00
Chlo� Ward, 17 years old, Pembroke, Ontario
�Abortion Kills the Christian Morality Within Us�

THIRD Prize: $ 75.00
Benedicta Dara Goveia, 16 years old, Scarborough, Ontario
�Chastity - the Lost Lifestyle�

Most Canadians believe that our culture offers women the best possible choices and opportunities. Abortion, one of the many options available to women, seems an easy solution to an inconvenient problem. However, choice implies accurate information. It depends upon knowing the facts and risks. Women are not being told the truth about abortion and are not being told the facts and risks that would permit true choice. Women are making biased decisions about abortion because they do not have access to the great quantity of evidence that shows its harmful effects on their physical and mental health.

Mounting evidence proves that abortion poses serious risks to a woman�s physical health and this evidence is not being provided to women when they are making decisions about abortion. A study of Canadian abortions over a six-year period of 1975-1980 shows a 3% morbidity rate, together with the immediate complications including perforation of the uterus, hemorrhage and infection.¹As Dr. and Mrs. Ferri mention in their report, many complications are not always reported as consequences of abortion. The majority of the complications are dealt with away from the abortion clinics in hospitals where the connection is often not made. Further more, women are reluctant to admit that they had an abortion. This suggests that the complication rate is actually much higher than known. The long-term problems following an abortion are less understood. Very few studies of complication rates have followed women for more than a year and most are restricted to their stay in hospital. Because a large proportion of women are lost to follow-up, either through refusal to participate or an inability to contact women for further study, many analyses� of the later complications are rendered unreliable. Despite this, new data does suggest that the conditions following abortions frequently include infertility or decreased fertility, preterm delivery, cervical incompetence and urinary tract infections. The abortion industry has taken great liberty in assuming that this procedure is safe without sufficient study having been conducted; in fact, very recent evidence suggests the exact opposite of the abortion industry�s claim.

Worse even then the physical consequences of abortion noted above, topical research has demonstrated a link between abortion and breast cancer. For example, in 1999, Dr. H. Howe found that a woman who aborted her first pregnancy faced a 1.7 times increased risk of breast cancer under age 40. If a woman aborted her second or third pregnancy, her risk was increased four times. Other studies have demonstrated that abortion poses an even greater possibility of women developing breast cancer if one or more of their family members have struggled with the disease. This evidence has been repeatedly confirmed, with 28 out of 37 international studies done since 1957 demonstrating a relationship. With the vast increase in abortion every year, it is no wonder that the rate of breast cancer is increasing as well. The potential physical effects of abortion should be a major consideration in a woman�s decision regarding the conclusion to her pregnancy.³

The abortion industry also claims that abortion has little or no significant mental health effects on women, and that they have studies to back up their statement. However, on closer examination, these studies attempting to assess the long-term mental effects of abortion on women are, more often then not, invalid. This is due to the refusal to participate or respond by the post-abortion women. This in itself may be a good indication that a significant proportion of women who had abortions are experiencing shame, regret and depression. A Saskatchewan based study used a different tactic. It reviewed the before and after use of health care services by

women who had deliveries, miscarriages, abortions and sterilizations for 1970 and 1971. It found that, in the year following their abortion, women were diagnosed by their physicians 40.8% more often as having mental disorders than the women who had deliveries. They also were treated 25% more often for accidents or conditions resulting from violence.⁴Ultimately, women are trying to find relief by resorting to abortion. As suggested by the Saskatchewan report, abortion merely intensifies their problems.

Breast cancer, infertility, depression, the choices women make can affect the level of risk for these disorders. Nevertheless, every year, thousands of women make the decision to have an abortion without sufficient information concerning its effects on their health. Abortionists are quick to deny that there are any serious risks involved. However, the ones making these statements are usually the ones benefiting financially and they are relying on flawed studies. As well, many women persist in regarding the �right� to abortion as a milestone in women�s battle for freedom and equality. It would seem from the previous indications that, women are more exploited in today�s society than ever before.

It is quite clear that women are not making informed choices about abortion because they are being denied the data which shows the risks and effects involved. As more and more evidence regarding the negative effects of abortion comes to light, the controversy heightens. Abortion always has been an issue of the utmost importance. With so many women being affected in our country and around the world, the fight to inform is a crucial battle that must not be pushed aside. It is one step in overcoming the horror of abortion in today�s society.