Faith deepened amid leukemia crisis

Ten years ago, the Saratoga resident, a Catholic, began having headaches more and more often. At 33, "I thought I was in perfect health," he said. "I don't smoke; I don't drink. But I was always physically tired. I thought it was stress from work."

Finally, he saw his doctor, who did a blood test. Just a few hours later, Mr. DiChiara received a phone call at work, telling him: "You have to come back to the office."

Another blood test confirmed what the doctor feared: Mr. DiChiara had chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). "You have six months to two years to live," the doctor said.

Mr. DiChiara was incredulous at first, telling his wife, "There's no way I have leukemia."

Seattle sojourn

In Seattle, the real struggle began. Although their insurance paid for most of the $400,000 in medical expenses, the DiChiaras had to mortgage their home to pay for an apartment in Washington for Mr. DiChiara's six months of treatment. They also paid for an apartment for his mother and sister while the latter waited to donate her bone marrow.

After the procedure, Mr. DiChiara was in intensive care for 45 days.

Body and soul

That started with visits from a woman from a local Catholic church. The DiChiaras prayed with her for three nights in a row. On the third night, Mr. DiChiara was feeling scared about the possibility of his throat closing up, a side effect of radiation and chemotherapy.

During the prayer session, he began to cry. But after the visitor left, he remembered, "I just felt really good." That night, he coughed up the mucus that had been blocking his airway and immediately felt air flowing through his throat. He credits this change to the power of prayer.

Changing life

He stayed up one night talking with a nurse about the problems in Romania, where hundreds of children were abandoned in orphanages. The next morning, the nurse left on a flight to Romania to do what she could to help.

"Just the way we talked to each other, I could tell we were on a different plane," Mr. DiChiara remembered.

Near-death experience

It happened after a transfusion of platelets, a procedure he underwent every night -- about 100 times in all. This time, his body rejected the platelets and went into shock.

Mr. DiChiara remembered shaking uncontrollably, so hard he broke a rib. "I said, `Please, God, let this stop; I can't control this!'" he thought.

Suddenly, he felt himself in a dark place. "I got this instant connection: I was talking to Jesus," he said. "There were saints there, too. I had the feeling I was asked a question: `Do you want to stay?' I said, `No, I want to go back.'"

Back to life

"I'm convinced I had some type of communication with Jesus and the saints," Mr. DiChiara says today. "I hope I don't sound kooky -- I'm just a regular person. But it's one thing to be taught about another life in heaven; it's another to have a connection, to experience it."

Ten years later, Mr. DiChiara admits that "some of the effect has worn off." But he still feels somewhat special, as if "maybe I had to be a good person to get a connection like that."

Recuperation

He said the experience made his life "explode. It was tough. People thought they had to be protected from you. Now, if I see somebody with a disability, I'm not afraid of them -- I was that person for a while."

It took three years before Mr. DiChiara was done with the medication, procedures and pain. During that time, he also lost his job through what he calls workplace discrimination.

Making it

"There were plenty of times I could have packed it in. But we were a united front, and I was lucky in that fact," he said. "It goes back to the sanctity of marriage. If you really believe in those vows...."

He believes he survived for a reason and is determined to use his life to help others.

"There was a reason why I was supposed to go back to my wife, to earth," he stated. "I'm supposed to life a decent Christian life and help somebody out once in a while."

Giving back

He recently underwent training as a "First Connection volunteer," as well, and has been matched with people with his type of leukemia to offer support and advice.

He often suggests people speak to a priest, minister or psychologist about the spiritual issues that come up when dealing with a life-threatening illness. "I tell them I've explored these areas and they've all come together to help me survive it," he explained.

Focus on recovery

"The most important thing they have to do is deal with the diagnosis," he said. "The rest is garbage. You have to have a laser focus on trying to get yourself better."

Even though his leukemia has not recurred, Mr. DiChiara admitted it can be difficult to relive the past ten years when discussing it with a fellow survivor. "But I just feel it's the right thing to do," he added. "It's one of God's gifts I have."

(Contact the Leukemia Society of America's upstate New York/Vermont chapter at 438-3583.)

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