I knew that my landlord and his wife were going to Pennsylvania for the weekend to a Mini Cooper auto show and would be back Sunday evening. So, by Tuesday afternoon, when their car wasn't in the driveway, I wondered if something might be wrong.
No sooner had I had that thought when a young man, who introduced himself as the landlord's son, knocked on my door. He told me that his mother had suffered a stroke Sunday and was in a hospital in Pennsylvania. She was 59 and in good health.
It stopped me in my tracks since it was a reminder that anything can happen at any time. I learned this firsthand many years ago when my dad had a stroke the day my mother died and my world was turned upside down. But, as I mentioned before, my dad fully recovered and earned a master's degree in theology at age 75.
This afternoon I found out that my landlord's wife is in a local rehabilitation center and is going to be there for a while. It will take time and I pray for her quick recovery to St. Andrew Avellino, the patron saint of stroke victims.
He was born Lorenzo Avellino in Castronuovo, Sicily in 1521. He was ordained at age 26 and worked as a lawyer for the ecclesiastical court in Venice, Italy. After committing perjury, St. Andrew Avellino chose a life of penance and was big on abstinence. He was a close friend of St. Charles Borromeo.
He changed his name to Andrew in honor of the Apostle.
St. Andrew Avellino died of a stroke on Nov. 10, 1608 while celebrating Mass. Canonized: 1712. His feast day is Nov. 10 and he is also the patron saint against strokes.
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