THE faith of a young woman who has suffered from “a debilitating and severe chronic illness” for four years has in-spired a group of women from her Toowoomba parish to make her dream to visit Lourdes come true.
Amelia Brennan, who turns 18 next month, has endured severe abdominal migraines and other complications since she was 13.
Her conditions have left her bed-ridden for almost four-and-a-half years.
She has been admitted to hospital many times, twice to undergo surgery for the migraines and other complications.
Being bed-ridden has meant that Amelia is under the constant care of her mother, Kerri Brennan.
Mrs Brennan said despite her pain and suffering for the past four years, Amelia could always see God’s plan.
“Before she started getting the migraines, she was fit, healthy, and going to school, but it got progressively worse over the years,” Mrs Brennan said.
“At 15, she had been sick for a couple of years, and she said to me, ‘Maybe God allows me to be this sick for a reason?'” she said.
“She’s missed years of school and friends, those care-free years in life, but she can see a greater purpose.
“She has never ever said, ‘It’s not fair; why me?’.”
Jesuit Father Greg Jordan, of the Brisbane Jesuit community, has been a long-time friend of the Brennan family.
Talking about Amelia, he said “she is the loveliest girl” but that her condition was “inexplicable”.
“They have done every test known to medicine, with no explanation as to why she has this illness,” he said.
“It was a joy to see her growing up, and grief to see her become ill.
“I fervently pray that she is cured and resumes a normal life.”
While Fr Jordan said he could not account exactly for what Amelia’s condition had been like, he said the stories he heard revealed a selfless young woman, always concerned for others.
One such story was when Amelia’s mother once saw her very teary, and asked if she was sick.
Amelia said she was just thinking of people who didn’t know God.
It has been God and the Catholic faith that has helped Amelia to endure and, at times, to accept the suffering caused by her condition.
Part of Amelia’s daily prayer regime, which, according to Mrs Brennan, can last up to two hours, is to pray for the souls in purgatory, to ask for the intercession of St Bridget, and to go through a “lengthy prayer list”.
But her main source of strength has been the story of St Bernadette at Lourdes, a place that she has always dreamed of visiting, not least in the hope for a miracle healing.
“This whole time, Amelia has been drawn to Lourdes,” Mrs Brennan said.
“As a young girl, she used to read saints books for children, and she loved the idea of a simple child, humble Bernadette, and that Our Lady appeared to her.
“She watched the old black-and-white movie, and has heard many of the stories about Lourdes.”
A trip to Lourdes has always been out of reach for Amelia, who cannot work to save for a trip.
However, fellow Holy Name Church parishioner and family friend Jane Naug heard of Amelia’s story and was inspired to organise a fundraising event for “Amelia’s Lourdes-France Dream Tour”.
The event is the Alpine Family Festival, to be held at the Toowoomba Showgrounds on June 29, and is open to all.
The festival includes a three-course German dinner, a live German band, a silent auction, and a prize for the best-dressed German costume.
Mrs Naug said the main priority was to make it possible for Amelia’s dream to come true.
“Kerri was sharing the story of Amelia, and I thought why don’t we do this for Amelia,” Mrs Naug said.
“We do a lot of things for charitable works outside of the parish, but we have a young girl in our own parish with great suffering.
“Charity on a grander scale is necessary, but we can sometimes forget the people close by.
“It will be a great night out, but most of all, it will make this dream come true for Amelia.”
Mrs Naug said she welcomed any donations to contribute to the cost of the event, towards catering on the evening, and items for the silent auction.
“This is an opportunity to bring the entire community together,” she said.
“Amelia has kindly been given two donations from some parishioners from Holy Name and so far, we’ve had a positive response from community members we have approached.
“But we have long way to go, and only eight weeks to do it.”
Mrs Naug said if the event were a success, she would consider running it again for other parishioners in need.
“If we do this well, I can think of one or two other people in need,” she said.
Anybody wishing to donate to the festival, to help in any other way, or to enquire about attending the festival, can contact Jane Naug on (07) 4630 9958 or 0437 233 314, or email janenaug@hotmail.com
