Yesterday, I had my 22nd vocal cord surgery. The past 7 or 8 have been performed at the University of Michigan Medical Center. I thought I’d share the thank you note I just sent them.

Dear Dr. Hogikyan and all the doctors, nurses and staff that attended to me on 9-13-21 for my 22nd vocal cord surgery:

As some of you know, I am a Notre Dame alum and my wife, Margy, is a Columbus, Ohio native, a huge Buckeye fan. I mention this only for you to understand the funny context of this note of gratitude.

In my faith tradition – Roman Catholicism – we have a scripture story about Jesus healing 10 lepers on the side of a road. (Lk 17:12-19). The gist of the story is that Jesus healed 10 people but only one of them returned to thank Him. I never want to be the guy who doesn’t say thank you!

Yesterday, when my faithful wife (How faithful? See this post from 5 surgeries ago) drove me home to South Bend after a night of very little sleep and a long wait in the hospital, we got home and both of us of took a nap. When I awoke, I was ready to give thanks.

About a mile from our house at the University of Notre Dame is the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. It is a massive 1896 replica of the cave in France where Jesus’ mother, Mary, appeared to a little girl named Bernadette in 1858. In France, there have been many miraculous healings at or near that Grotto. At Notre Dame, during the past 125 years, the replica Grotto has become an important place of prayer for students, faculty and staff, even non-Catholics. The tradition is to light a candle for someone and then kneel down in prayer.  

Since I cannot return to Ann Arbor to personally find and thank each and every one of you, I instead went to the Grotto to light a candle and pray for each of you. To your candle I affixed my patient sticker from the hospital. I prayed in thanksgiving. I asked Our Lord, through the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes, to grant each of you peace and prosperity. If any of you need to be healed, I’ve asked Our Lord to meet your every need and to treat you with love just like you have treated me.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to say THANK YOU for taking such good care of me. I am grateful.

Go Irish! Go Bucks! Go Blue! 😉 – Robert Kloska