Two days later, Sydney received the sacrament of the anointing of the sick from Father Peter J. Sheahan, the assistant pastor at St. Philip Church.
On Feb. 27, with Sydney’s condition not improving, doctors performed a lung biopsy.
“Her lungs were just collapsing,” her mother recalls.
The next day, with doctors about to have a discussion with the family about their wish to fit Sydney with a tracheal tube to help her breathing, Bishop Tobin visited Sydney in the hospital.
As he prayed over her, he held in his hand a relic of Blessed Mother Teresa. It was a gift from a priest friend back in his native Pittsburgh who had obtained it in Rome where he worked with the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order founded by Blessed Mother Teresa.
What happened next was remarkable.
Both of Sydney’s parents and Bishop Tobin witnessed the young girl’s body convulse during the prayers for her recovery.
“Very quickly after that, she got well,” Michele said of her daughter’s health. “He did the blessing and she didn’t need the tracheotomy.”
While he is cautious about attributing Sydney’s recovery solely to divine intervention, Bishop Tobin says the day he visited her in the hospital was a powerful day indeed.
“I always tend to be skeptical of these divine interventions, but it is very clear to me that something very special happened that day,” Bishop Tobin said.
“When she was blessed with the relic, her body reacted and she opened her eyes,” the bishop recalls.
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In order to ensure any possible recurrence of cancer is treated immediately, Sydney must undergo an MRI every three months. Her most recent test showed that she is still in remission.
“Her spirits are great,” Sydney’s dad, Ken, said of his daughter.
In addition to the unwavering support of family and friends throughout, the Khourys say they cannot thank the St. Philip school and parish community enough for helping the family navigate through their crisis, as well as the continual support they give.
“Our family and friends had one of Sydney’s hands, and the school and the church had the other,” Michele said.
“The way they got involved, it was like they were doing it for their own families,” Ken said of the St. Philip community.
Students and teachers held a 24-hour vigil for Sydney.