By Sister Mary Dooley, SSND
In 2014, Sister Kate Kinnally and I were in our glory as administrators of Hope Rural School, a school for the children of immigrants in Indiantown, Florida. We loved what we were doing!
Our lives were filled with new and exciting experiences until Kate woke one morning with a pain under her right ear. After checking with many medical professionals, a dentist discovered the pain was due to tongue cancer.
She was offered two options. She could choose to remove part of the tongue, or to undergo 39 radiation treatments.
Given the extreme choices, Kate chose radiation. The grueling treatments took a lot out of her, but eventually she was able to
return to ministry.
In April of 2015, we decided to start KinDoo Family Center to offer the parents of Indiantown the opportunity to improve their lives through education. We would offer English as a Second Language, Sewing, and Nutrition.
The summer was filled with finding a building, renovating it, and soliciting materials for the different classes. The dedication of the Center on October 6, 2015, was a glorious day filled with hope and joy.
In April of 2016, though, Kate’s cancer came back with a vengeance. She felt as though her mouth was on fire.
The Florida doctor told us that there was no choice now but to have the tongue removed. He said there were very few places that did this kind of surgery, but that Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York was a possibility.
In Miraculous Hands
I wrote a prayer to our SSND Foundress, Mother Theresa Gerhardinger, asking for a miracle. We sent it to our community, families and friends asking them to join us in this petition.
We believe that Memorial Sloan Kettering - and especially Dr. Richard Wong - were the beginning of our 10-year miracle. From the day we walked into the hospital in preparation for this major surgery on June 3, 2016, the miracles never ceased. We knew Kate was in miraculous hands.
Although the surgery took 14 hours and was quite invasive, it was successful.
Kate returned to Indiantown just three months later, able to continue her ministry of teaching sewing to the women and yes, even to some men. She spent the next eight years enabling the Indiantown residents to make clothes for their children, themselves, and for others in need around the globe.
The new sewers also made creative items, including fidget lap quilts for memory care units in nursing homes!
In July of 2023, we moved to Bridgeport CT, to what is now 3030 Park. Kate left no stone unturned and set up her apartment as a sewing center.
Kate now spends her days making all kinds of crafts which are sold here at our residence. The proceeds are sent to our sponsored ministry, Caroline House in Bridgeport. It is a center that offers women and children a chance to succeed in life. Kate's donation has enabled the center to purchase whiteboards and other needed materials.
As she celebrates the10th anniversary of her surgery, Kate felt compelled to say thank you to Dr. Wong in person for giving her a blessed 10 years. We made the trip to Memorial Sloan Kettering. It was an emotional and inspirational meeting.
Kate gifted the department with a handcrafted centerpiece designed especially for the staff as her thank you.
Even though these years have meant changing her daily pattern of speaking and eating - she now has limited speech and must use a feeding tube for meals - Kate’s heart is filled to overflowing for these graced years.
Yes, miracles are fueled by Hope. For Kate, they came in the form of doctors, nurses, aides, family, SSND community, friends, students and the wider Indiantown community.
Thank you, Mother Theresa Gerhardinger, for overseeing this miracle and for making extraordinary things happen in Kate’s life and in our lives as we share this miracle with her!
