This was the first wish granted by Stella’s Wish Foundation.
Rudy and his brother Robert
Dear Stella’s Wish Foundation,
On behalf of the Flores family, I would like to thank you for granting my brother Rudy’s wish to see all of us once again before he died.
In August, Rudy was told he needed an MRI to see if there was something (a tumor) causing his eye to bulge and causing his chronic migraine. Sadly, it was a tumor, but he was assured that it could be removed. Further blood work revealed even more bad news. Rudy had raised enzyme levels or something indicating tumors involving the liver. His blood pressure was rocketing because of his intense pain. Surgery was scheduled for September 17. Up until that time, all of our family was praying for the tumor to be benign, and that Rudy would have a speedy recovery. However, the Doctor did not have good news. He told Rudy that he had cancer. It was not just in the tumor they removed, but on his liver, throat, the base of his skull and lungs. He offered a glimmer of hope when he said that if Rudy chose chemo and radiation he might live. The doctor said this cancer was so aggressive that the chemo would have to be just as aggressive and might in fact kill him. Rudy decided not to start chemo.
During this time, the Lord got a hold of all of our hearts. Rudy decided to start going to church. He decided to get baptized and renew his commitment to Christ. His wife just watched, but the Holy Spirit was moving mightily in us. My Aunt asked my Mom to forgive her, Rudy’s daughter asked her dad to forgive her for living with Edward and got married that week having Rudy and her Mom as her witnesses. Rudy’s son David told his wife “that’s it we are going to stop playing games, we are going public with our Christianity”. My brother, Robert in Washington said he would marry Shelly his lover of 11 years and he was baptized also.
Only 3 weeks later, Rudy began feeling better, he decided to go fishing, he went for his follow up and told the doctor “I’ll try the chemo” It was October 7th and the doctor said he felt chemo was no longer an option. He had a PET Scan done to confirm that the cancer was unstoppable. Rudy would have less than 3 months to live.
This is where Rudy wanted to see all of us once more before he died. Robert was trying to see how he could come to see Rudy; his plan was to hitchhike. Shelly said that her estranged dad might be able to fly him to Texas, but he was out of town until November Bobby didn’t want to wait. My husband and I flew to Texas November 3rd -10th .
It is with humble and thankful hearts that we can say this is when Stella’s Wish came in to help. Stella’s Wish paid to have Robert flown in to be with Rudy for 2 weeks. Rudy died the next week.
Our family will forever be grateful for the kindness given to us “strangers yet united in Christ”. No thank you is big enough to express the deep satisfaction of being near our beloved brother, making our peace, affirming our love and commitment to him just before he went to be with the Lord. Thanks to Stella’s Wish and the grace given us we can humbly say, “It is well with my soul”.
In Christ’s Love,
Sofie Stillpass & Robert Flores