The Man in the Baggy, Brown Suit

  By Charlotte Everbach

            In 1987 I was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer. There had been no warning signs.

            After a hysterectomy I had six chemo treatments in the Lakeland General Hospital.  They were so difficult that I had to go in the hospital for five days after each treatment. I was very, very sick.

            Every day a little man came to my room and said,  “Do you want me to pray for you?”  He had a kind face and wore a brown baggy suit. Every day I said, “Yes,” and he did.  In fact, he prayed…and he prayed… and he prayed. I would always go to sleep during the prayer and when I woke up he was always gone.  The next day I would always apologize for going to sleep and he would say, “That’s all right.”  Then he would start praying again. Again I would go to sleep, and when I awoke up, he would be gone. This continued during the six weeks of my chemotherapy.

            I asked the nurses who the man was and they did not know.

            I know.  He was an angel.

            The prayers of Father Jim Shortess and my friends at Good Shepherd were so important during my healing. But I will never forget the little man in the baggy, brown suit.