Teens pray for Sara's miracle

When 16-year-old Sara Orleanski was confirmed at Holy Trinity Church in Johnstown recently, it was another stage in her recovery from a horrific car accident. It had injured a friend, killed the driver (her friend's father) and left Sara in a coma, with the prognosis that she would not last the night.

Kathy and Ken Orleanski, members of Holy Trinity parish, lived a nightmare when they learned that their only daughter had been severely injured in the July collision.

Sara had broken bones, a shattered skull and severe brain damage, some of it caused by a clot that had cut off the blood supply to the area of her brain that governed verbal communication.

After Sara lay in a bed in the intensive care ward of a Syracuse hospital for weeks, her parents were asked to make a terrifying decision: whether or not to remove her ventilator.

Breath of life

"We agonized," recalled Mrs. Orleanski. "We prayed: 'Don't take her away from us. She's in your heart, and we know you love her.' Sara is a fighter. She's stubborn. She was never one to give up."

They opted to wean their daughter off the ventilator. Soon, Sara began to breathe on her own; but, her parents were told that recovery would be a long process, if it happened at all.

Sara's journey towards that recovery has become a journey of faith for her parents, parish and friends.

Coming home

Last fall, Sara was transferred from the Syracuse hospital to Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital in Schenectady, where she spent five months in intensive physical therapy.

She returned to Johnstown in March, to be cared for by a battalion of aides and therapists, and watched over by her mother, who has taken a leave of absence from her position as a children's librarian.

Pictures from happier times dot the living room in the Orleanski home: Sara at dances and at parties, school pictures, Sara posing with a big grin in front of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The photos capture a bubbly, social girl who loved field hockey and dancing, and treasured the time spent with friends from school.

Slow process

Sara still gets much of her nutrition from a feeding tube, although she is able to eat lightly on her own.

At Sunnyview, therapists assisted her in walking 35 feet with a walker. At home, she's been trying to become the self-sufficient girl her parents once knew. She tries to pour her own milk for cereal, for example; pets Shadow, the family dog; and responds to her father's words with a grin.

"She'll never be the same, but she's still a beautiful human being that we love and that we will always take care of," said Mrs. Orleanski. "God and Sara are making these choices and decisions. [Recently,] she released the brake on the wheelchair and pushed with one foot! Sometimes, the changes are so subtle, we don't notice them right away."

Sara tires easily. She cannot communicate orally, which "frustrates her," according to her mother. Sometimes, she cannot process commands, a result of her brain damage, and control over her body is still slim.

Prayer line

Sara's illness has taught many teens the value of prayer. On the night of the accident, for example, cell-phones and instant messages among Johnstown teens flashed: "Come to church."

More than 100 teens, non-Catholic and Catholic, poured through the doors of Holy Trinity's three churches to pray for Sara and to be with their friends. Others visited the synagogue attended by the man who was killed.

Many of the young people returned week after week, according to Lucy McHenry, Holy Trinity's director of faith formation. They came to pray and to talk with people who knew Sara.

Confirmation

Teens also gathered to pray for Sara in Confirmation classes, special prayer services and private meetings of friends, according to Patrick Reynolds, 16, a friend.

Encouraged by reports of Sara's progress directly after these gatherings, the young people are convinced that their prayers have an effect.

"Every time we've gotten together and prayed, Sara has major progress," said Patrick. "That's your proof right there. I used to pray every night and think I was a good Catholic because I used to mumble an 'Our Father.' Now, I talk to God. Even my friends who didn't believe in God -- we all prayed together."

Dealing with crisis

Patrick's faith journey echoes that of many of the teens facing what happened to Sara. First, he felt anger towards God and resentment that his friend was taken from him. Then, after he talked with adults and teens, came the knowledge that "God is there," he said.

Still, he struggles with the loss of the girl he knew. "I could talk to Sara about anything," said Patrick. "It's very strange, because the one person I'd call, if any of my other friends got into an accident, was Sara. I felt that nothing could happen to her."

"Through everybody's prayers, miracles happen," said Paula Cuttica, 16. "It made me realize that God wasn't at fault. There's no one to blame. God helped. He made prayers come through; He helped Sara fight. And Sara wanted to fight and make it."

Another of Sara's friends from Holy Trinity, 16-year-old Devon Rogers, said: "God didn't do this to her; He's helping her get through it."

Pitching in

The Holy Family teens and kids from her school helped raise $500 to purchase materials to build a ramp to help Sara and her family have easier access to their house.

A Holy Family parishioner -- someone the Orleanskis didn't know before the accident -- drew up plans for the ramp, and a group of men from the parish helped build it. Parishioners also installed a special shower on the first floor.

Students began selling a light blue ribbon in support of Sara. They pinned the ribbons to coats, backpacks, jackets and shoes. Sara's best friend, Gillie -- now a freshman at The College of Saint Rose in Albany -- masterminded a fundraiser for the family.

Changed lives

At first, it wasn't easy for the Orleanskis to accept help. For many years, they considered themselves "ordinary" Catholics who went to church but otherwise were just faces in a pew.

That changed with Sara's accident, said Mrs. Orleanski. Almost immediately, Rev. James Fitzmaurice, pastor, drove to the hospital to see her. Later, the parish pulled together to help raise money to help Sara and her family.

"It has been amazing. Our lives are not our own anymore," she explained. "We were pretty private people. The amount everyone pulled together -- we were overwhelmed. The first time we went to Mass [after the accident], we were swarmed in the parking lot.

"How we look at life -- valuing our faith, looking at people in our community, and in general -- it's all changed. The little petty things we thought were important aren't anymore. People look at us as towers of strength, but we're just doing things naturally."

Encounters

Since Sara's return home, her friends have been able to meet her at a Confirmation retreat and at a sweet-16 party organized by her friend Patrick.

Her father wheeled her into the retreat room at church to applause, and Sara, whose life had revolved around her friends, "lit up" for one of the first times since the accident, Mrs. Orleanski recalled.

"We were so afraid that she wasn't going to react or that she was going to cry," said her mother; "but, she was so elated, even when they weren't talking to her. Oh, that grin!"

Sign of Cross

At the end of Sara's time at the retreat, the teens prayed for her. She made the Sign of the Cross by herself, a movement that her father had helped Sara practice.

"It was a miracle," said Mrs. Orleanski.

"It was one of the most spiritually moving thing I've been a part of for 50 years," said Mrs. McHenry.

Birthday

Paula, who worked with the retreat team that day and was confirmed last year, was especially affected by Sara's presence: "You saw it in her eyes: how much she wished she could talk, how much she loved it, sheer happiness. Her friends saw it, too."

Said Devon: "I didn't know what to do or what to say. I went over to her and gave her a hug. It was sad to see her like that and to see the expression on her face. She knows what's going on, and you can tell that she's sad she can't be a part of it."

Two weeks later, Patrick invited 18 of Sara's friends to celebrate her 16th birthday.

"Some of the people were a little intimidated because of her physical state," he said. "I felt my role was to just have Sara listen to some conversation between teenagers because she hasn't heard that in months. She recognizes you. It was just the biggest smile I've seen from her in my entire life -- from this girl in a bed in horrible physical shape. You could make her laugh."

Sacrament

Sara was confirmed this month with her Holy Trinity class and indicated her Confirmation name -- Kateri -- by squeezing Mrs. McHenry's hands at the retreat.

Inside Mrs. Orleanski's left pocket is a relic of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, which was given to her by the hospital chaplain, and a beaded bracelet that was cut off of Sara's foot on the night of the accident.

Every day since the accident, Sara's mother has prayed to Blessed Kateri. Mrs. Orleanski used to take her daughter to the Tekakwitha Shrine in Fonda and recalls the devotion she had to the saint-to-be from her own girlhood.

More work ahead

Sara's journey is far from over. She has undergone surgery to aid the healing of her skull. She will continue to receive daily occupational and physical therapy, tutoring, and help from aides who dress and move her.

It will be years before Sara will be able to take care of herself, said Mrs. Orleanski. She may never regain the ability to speak.

"We pray for continued healing for Sara. We pray for her strength, her confidence, that she can continue to try things that are difficult for her," said her mother. "There's so much more inside than she's able to let out."

Expecting a miracle

Her friends and family hope for a miracle, and believe that their prayers continue to be heard.

Recently, Mrs. McHenry stopped by the house to bring Sara a birthday present: a CD of one of her favorite bands and a keychain, a gift she gives all of her 16-year-old students on their birthdays.

"I know she'll be driving, someday," said Mrs. McHenry.

"We'll buy her a Mercedes," replied Mrs. Orleanski.

(5/19/05)