Chaplain (Major) Henry T. Vakoc, Retired
Posted on 11/09/2006 12:10:21 PM PST by NYer
Minneapolis, Nov. 09, 2006 (CNA) - Timothy Vakoc has lay nearly comatose in a Minnesota hospital. Last week, however, he shocked family, friends and caregivers by uttering his first words since being severely injured by an explosion in Iraq.
46 year-old Fr. Vakoc--a Minnesota native--first arrived in Iraq in 2003, following a stint as military chaplain in Bosnia and Germany. His duties in Iraq included holding prayer services and escorting the bodies of fallen soldiers to planes bound for the U.S.
Shortly after celebrating Mass on May 24th, 2004--the 12th anniversary of his ordination as a priest--he was struck by a roadside bomb near the city of Mosul. Shrapnel from the blast destroyed his left eye and embedded itself into his skull, causing brain damage.
From that point on, Fr. Vakoc has not been able to speak and has been in what doctors call a “minimally responsive” state. Staff at the Minneapolis Veterans Medical Center had all but given up hope and declared that the priest would never speak again.
Then, on October 26th, everything changed.
His mother, Phyllis Vakoc, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune newspaper that "All of a sudden Tim was on the phone and he was talking to me…He said 'Mom.' He said 'goodbye.' He said a lot of things in between I couldn't catch. For two and a half years we've been waiting. We've been praying for a miracle."
That miracle happened in the presence of Brenda Simmons, a longtime friend of Fr. Vakoc. The Star-Tribune reported that she is a holistic health practitioner from Colorado who’d been working with the priest despite most hospital staff having given up hope.
The Star-Tribune recounted that on the afternoon of October 26th “when he woke up from a nap, [Simmons] said, ‘Hi, Tim. Can you say hi back?’
He said, "Hi."
Simmons, struggling to restrain her shock, replied, "Can you say Mom?"
"Very clear again,” she reported, “he said 'Mom,'…I was just like, 'Oh, my gosh…And I said, 'Tim, can you say, Thank you, God?' And he said 'Thank you, God.'"
Since then, progress has been steady, but sometimes frustrating for the once gregarious priest. The hospital has now stepped up therapy and the priest’s devout Catholic family continually waits for more words from their son and brother.
Patience runs high though, for the embattled family. According to the Star-Tribune, mother Phyllis recently told her son, “ I've waited two and a half years, Tim…And we can wait some more. We'll wait as long as it takes."
May God bring this good man back to us.
FYI Ping.
Wow. Prayers for this man and his loyal and loving family.
Yet another story of someone in a coma whom the doctors give up on, but God does not.
Gloria in excelsis Deo! More and more prayers for him!
I'm all teary now. I'm a sucker for these kinds of stories. Deo Gratias!
Boy, does this bring out the emotional old Greek in me!
"Let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
O Lord Almighty, the Healer of our souls and bodies, You Who put down and raise up, Who chastise and heal also; do You now, in Your great mercy, visit our brother, Your holy priest Timothy, who is sick. Stretch forth Your hand that is full of healing and health, and get him up from his bed, and cure him of his illness. Put away from him the spirit of disease and of every malady, pain and fever to which he is bound; and if he has sins and transgressions, grant to him remission and forgiveness, in that You love mankind; yea, Lord my God, pity Your creation, through the compassions of Your Only-Begotten Son, together with Your All-Holy, Good and Life-creating Spirit, with Whom You are blessed, both now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
O Lord our God, Who by word alone did heal all diseases, Who did cure the kinswoman of Peter, You Who chastise with pity and heal according to Your goodness; Who are able to put aside every malady and infirmity, do You Yourself, the same Lord, grant aid to this Your servant the holy priest Timothy and cure him of every sickness of which he is grieved; lift him up from his bed of pain, and send down upon him Your great mercy, and if it be Your Will, give to him health and a complete recovery; for You are the Physician of our souls and bodies, and to You do we send up Glory: to Father, and to Son, and to Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Thanks! Are you totally Greek or is there some other 'ethnicity' in our DNA?
Pro-life bump to the top.
"Are you totally Greek or is there some other 'ethnicity' in our DNA?"
Irish, Scots and Iroquois (Dad's side)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.