Marcos Saldaña hugs a close friend during a trip to Bishop Lynch Catholic High School April 13. Saldaña, who suffers from cystic fi brosis, surprised friends with his visit after spending more than three months in the hospital. JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

By David Sedeno
The Texas Catholic

Marcos Saldaña, his mother Julie by his side, entered the chapel at Bishop Lynch Catholic High School on April 13 and knelt down to pray.

“Our Father, who art in Heaven …” he said, his prayer audible to a few standing nearby. Finishing that, his fingers and his hands still interlocked tightly, he closed his eyes and recited a “Hail Mary”. Mother and son then thanked God for this lucky day.

Marcos, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, received a double lung transplant on Jan. 7 after more than three months in the hospital. On April 12, he left his hospital room and his first wish was to surprise his former classmates from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School who were attending Bishop Lynch and who he had not seen in months.

“God, thank you for this day and for allowing me to be back with my friends,” Marcos said. “I am so happy to be here.”

A few yards away, the freshmen who had attended St. Thomas Aquinas were being assembled in a coordinated group-photo ploy arranged by Bishop Lynch parents, teachers and administrators.

As several photographers and videographers posed the students in the bleachers for the photo, Marcos entered the gym.

“Hey guys!” he said, waving and chuckling as he walked toward them.

His friends were in shock, their eyes and mouths in animated shapes and sizes depicting the “surprise” that had been pulled on them. And as Marcos walked closer to them, continuing to chuckle, they jumped out of the bleachers and rushed like a pack toward him.

“Can we touch you?” said one.

“You look great, Marcos!” said another.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” another said.

And Marcos seemed to bask in every second of it, including sitting in the middle of his friends for the group photo and sitting and talking with many of them during the three lunch periods.

His mother watched from a “safe” distance and said that seeing her son’s anticipation and the surprise on the students’ faces was priceless.

She said that Marcos’ medical journey while at St. Thomas Aquinas had been rocky, but that teachers, students and parents embraced him and the family. They not only protected him from those who would tease him about the incessant cough associated with cystic fibrosis, but by becoming part of “Captain Marcos and his Pirates,” a team organized to walk annually to raise funds for research for a cure.

Marcos, who is enrolled in a Dallas public schools homebound program, struggled with the notion that someone’s life ended so that his could continue. So he has vowed to be positive, prayerful and thankful.

“Life means more to me now and I want to live it the best way that I can,” he said.

SEE THE VIDEO PREMIERE OF MARCOS’ HOMECOMING ON MAY 13 AT TEXASCATHOLICYOUTH.COM.

St. Patrick Catholic School second-graders Adrian Alvizo, left, Emma Fisk, Miette Visneau and Jorge Rios sit with the flower pots they painted for new cancer patients with teacher Anne Hill. PHOTO BY JENNA TETER

By Jenna Teter
The Texas Catholic Staff

When Anne Hill found out last Christmas that she had cancer, one of her first concerns was that she would not be able to work as a teacher while undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

Today, Hill remains in her second grade classroom at St. Patrick Catholic School with new reasons for hope, provided by her students.

For their Catholic Schools Week service project, the class decided to do something that would give hope to sick people like their teacher. Erin Prendergast, a St. Patrick parishioner and a nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas whom Hill had met during a mammogram, started an organization called “On Butterflies Wings.”

Students were given a small flowerpot to paint and decorate using their fingerprints. The shapes they made, butterflies and ladybugs, were later outlined in black marker and the word “HOPE” was written at the top.

The pots are going to be donated to the Breast Cancer Alliance to be given to people who have just learned they have cancer.

The project is especially dear to Hill, who struggled with her thoughts and emotions following her own diagnosis.

Hill admits she was self-conscious about her hair falling out and changes to her appearance. She said she was deeply inspired by a homily she heard at Mass about living from the inside out. She thought about another student at the school who has persevered with a disability.

And Hill said she has become closer to God.

Today, Hill is more observant of the little things He is connected to, such as an owl watching over her as she sits in her yard or through words in a book.

“This has caused me to let go,” she said. “I am not in charge; someone else is.”

Hill told her students about her cancer during a science lesson about the seasons. She explained that, like the changes in the spring, she would be going through some of her own.

Some students, like second-grader Miette Visneau had mixed emotions.

“I feel sad my teacher has cancer, but I do think she is going to get better because I think she is very brave,” she said.
Brooke Badger, an eighth- grader at the school, said she is inspired by her former teacher’s dedication.

“I feel like God is putting this in her life so that she can see how strong she is and how many people really love her,” Brooke said. “And how God is going to protect her.”
Hill said that it did not make sense to get angry with God because she knows that this is the path God has chosen for her.

“I am just trying to live it the best as I can knowing that I have this in hopes that He’ll be proud of me and go, ‘good job, Anne, that is exactly how I would have wanted you to handle it,” Hill said.

Cancer patients who receive the student-designed flower pots will be encouraged to grow a butterfly garden that symbolizes the beginning of a new life, similar to the new life a caterpillar begins when it transforms into a butterfly, Hill said.

Hill, 48, recently completed her first four rounds of “really hard and ugly” chemotherapy. She will go every week for the next three months and is scheduled to finish her treatments during the last week of school.

She said she’s not discouraged.

“Wouldn’t it be great if I can be celebrating like the kids are at the end of the year?”

St. Monica Catholic School eighth-grader Mabeth Diaz, right, fights for a rebound against a defender on Feb. 18 at St. Monica Catholic School in Dallas. Diaz plays on the team with a prosthetic leg, after injuring his right leg and having it amputated following a 2010 ATV accident. Ben Torres/Special Contributor

By Cathy Harasta
The Texas Catholic

DUNCANVILLE — When it was over and the St. Monica Catholic School team had won, Mabeth Diaz’s basketball teammates high-fived him with the same unbridled vigor they bestowed on every member of the eighth-grade Bearcats “White” squad.

They congratulated Mabeth (pronounced muh-BETH) with perhaps an extra measure of gratitude. His crafty passing and deft defensive stops had helped in the decisive fourth quarter.

But their admiration transcended joy at his guard play in this single game, on this single rainy Saturday in February. Their backslaps reflected their high regard for Mabeth’s determination.

His teammates and the St. Monica community had been with Mabeth every step of the way since a July 2010 all-terrain vehicle accident ended up costing him his right leg below the knee.

Now he was back.

His adjustment to a prosthetic leg and his return to sports participation rallied classmates, teachers and parishioners.

Mabeth Diaz waits for an inbound pass to begin play during a game Feb. 18 at St. Monica Catholic School in Dallas. Ben Torres/Special Contributor

“They are all my friends,” said Mabeth, whose blue athletic socks made his artificial limb barely discernible. “I’m really happy now, not happy that the accident happened, but happy in that I think it was meant to bring me closer to God.”

As his team prepared for the Dallas Parochial League Basketball Playoffs, which run through March 8, Mabeth said that the past 20 months have deepened his faith. Since that fateful July 4, when his family’s vacation in Oklahoma took a woeful turn, he said that his challenges have sharpened his awareness of everything around him.

Mabeth said that he noticed not only the St. Monica community’s generosity, but also its steady concern for his family, which felt overwhelmed by medical costs.

He said that he gives thanks for his doctors and medical treatments. He felt proud when his mother, Gina Arcos, started a Rosary group to pray for people enduring hardship, Mabeth said.

Mabeth, whose brother Nathaniel has Down Syndrome, said that volunteering with groups that help people with Down Syndrome has proved a blessing.

“They are fun and cheerful,” Mabeth said. “And they are full of love.”

St. Monica principal Patricia Dulac said that the way Mabeth tackled his recovery inspired the school community.

“It has been an amazing journey for all of us to watch,” Dulac said. “We’ve been able to see the energy and the spirit with which he has taken hold of what was a tragedy and done the best he could with it.”

After Mabeth’s accident, his classmates, teachers and St. Monica parishioners visited him, tutored him in his academic subjects and held fundraisers to help with his medical costs. He had numerous leg surgeries and menacing infections before his amputation in late 2010.

Playing a full sports season marked an important milestone for Mabeth and his family, his mother said.

Mabeth Diaz after the game at St. Monica. BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

“We went through a lot of difficult moments,” said Arcos, who is from Ecuador and whose husband, John, is from Costa Rica. “We don’t have family here, but we have the very good St. Monica community. Every day, I ask God for strength.”

He said that the prosthetic leg felt “different” when he received it in December 2010, but that he began walking on it within three days. His doctors cleared him to play sports last year, St. Monica athletic director Tom Hood said.

“He’s no different from anybody else out there as far as what he can do,” said Phil Bauer, the Bearcats volunteer basketball coach. “If I say, ‘Run 16 laps,’ he runs 16 laps.”

Mabeth said that he had no memory of his accident for several months, but that he recently began to dream about the collision. He said he dreams about his ATV, a Monster truck and the Red River.

The accident engendered another dream: Mabeth wants to be a doctor.

But for now, he aims at refining his game. “My shooting was kind of off today,” he said with a smile.

charasta@cathdal.org

Notre Dame students, from left to right, Marcella Chavez, Emanuel Deslarzes, Alicia Castillo and Chrissie Allison stand in front of one of the school vans that takes them to their vocational school jobs. JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

By Cathy Harasta
The Texas Catholic Staff

From where Donyele Carter stood, Dallas appeared to work like a dream.

The sun-dusted cityscapes she viewed from an office tower’s 37th floor on a recent morning gave her a new perspective and feeling that nothing seemed impossible, she said.

It was another day at the office, but far from a humdrum experience for Carter, who is one of 44 students in the Notre Dame School of Dallas’ Vocational Center program for young adults with developmental disabilities.

The program received a boost when The Catholic Foundation awarded the school $35,000 to buy a new van to bring Notre Dame’s fleet to seven. The grant came during the foundation’s Nov. 22 ceremony to present more than $869,000 to 18 Dallas-area organizations.

Since 1973, the vocational program has provided training in a variety of workplaces for students from 18 into their early 20s. The off-campus jobs range from document-shredding to setting up nursing homes’ dining rooms.

Carter’s smile never faded as she went about her job at Dean Foods’ corporate offices in The Tower At Cityplace. She applied herself to tidying the conference rooms and scouring the white boards in meeting areas.

But the skyscraper’s aura of boundless potential might have taught her more than her tasks. Carter looked out on landmarks, new construction and busy freeways—all emblems of the working world.

“It’s gorgeous up here,” she said, pointing at the panorama beyond the window. “You can see so far.”

Aaron Bryant, also a Notre Dame student, grinned as he boarded a van at the school at 9:15 a.m. And he flashed a smile at everyone who passed as he restocked coffee supplies at Dean Foods.

“I love my work,” he said with conviction. “I’m busy. I do a good job. I have a good job.”

Carmen Fernandez, Notre Dame’s Upper School Coordinator and Vocation Center overseer, said that the program produces a win-win for students and employers. She said that Notre Dame is grateful for its community support.

Fernandez said that she learns of potential employers from Notre Dame board members, parents and volunteers.

She said that most of the program’s jobs are unpaid, but when a student with one of the paying jobs gets that first paycheck, the whole school rejoices. Some unpaid jobs lead to paying jobs, she said.

“Our students are doing real jobs and important jobs,” Fernandez said. “They are happy to do repetitive jobs that might be boring to some people.”
Austin High, who works at Ruibal’s Plants of Texas, said that he never will forget what it felt like to receive his first paycheck.

“It was cool,” he said. “At work, I move the plants, water them and do a lot.”

Owner Linda Ruibal, whose company has participated in Notre Dame’s program for more than 20 years, said the student-workers have heightened her employees’ understanding of special needs.

“It exposes both [groups] to more of the world,” said Ruibal, who grew interested in the program when her daughter was a Notre Dame student. “The students are always delightful. Our customers seem to appreciate them.”

Her company hired a Notre Dame graduate to work fulltime, as did Dean Foods–Jeremy Criswell.

“Jeremy is part of the corporate culture now and a shining example of the program’s success,” said Jamaison Schuler, Dean Foods’ Senior Manager of Corporate Communications. “Just seeing the students in action is a visual reminder of how it takes everyone to make the machine run.”

The Notre Dame students who work at the Strasburger & Price law firm restock supplies, sort office materials and participate in special events, said Tina Grantham, the firm’s human resources manager.

“Having them here really helps us,” Grantham said. “We feel like we’ve provided them with a good work setting, and that’s rewarding for us.”
Notre Dame teacher Anita Bagnall, who accompanies the students to Dean Foods, said that her students amplify the concept of the dignity of work.

She said that the business setting offers the students chances to learn specific skills and to become familiar with workplace expectations.

“I watch them grow with the feeling of acceptance that they get,” she said. “They light up my life.”

charasta@cathdal.org

We invite you to take a few moments out of your day to pray along with the students and administrators of John Paul II.

Deacon Reuben Chen participates in a candlelight procession during Youth For Life Boot Camp 2011 at the University of Dallas on July 29. (RANDY ELI GROTHE/Special to The Texas Catholic)

Editor’s Note: The following is an edited version of a talk given by Deacon Reuben Chen during Eucharistic Adoration at the Pro-Life Boot Camp July 29. 

By Deacon Reuben Chen
Special to The Texas Catholic 

Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.” 

How many of your parents are active in the church and in your home parishes? I’m sure many of your parents are pretty active in the parish because they really love our Lord and want to serve Him. 

Now how many of you have heard your parents complain about how it always seems like they are doing all the work? Or maybe for yourself, that you feel like everyone else is not working as hard as you are? It’s pretty frustrating. But today is your day, because you are a busybody, just like St. Martha! 

You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Which one is better… Martha or Mary? Because I want to be the best one!” In the Gospel we just heard, it certainly seemed like Mary was the better one because Jesus says to Martha that she “…has chosen the better part.” But I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I think that they are both good. They are both the “better part.” What makes the difference between Martha and Mary is something that Martha does. 

Martha is the one who welcomes Jesus into her home. It is her responsibility to make sure that Jesus is well taken care of. And everything was going just fine until Martha started looking at what Mary was doing! And that’s when she started to feel envy and jealousy. 

When I first entered the seminary, I was young and did silly things. I wanted to do my best and so I wanted to pray extra hard, because you can’t be a priest if you don’t pray! So after Mass, I would stay just a little while longer to pray and thank God for the many gifts he had given me. I would close my eyes and pray this long and beautiful prayer to myself. 

One day, when I opened my eyes after my long and beautiful prayer, I saw that many of my brother seminarians were still in the chapel praying too. So I closed my eyes again and started praying some more; I didn’t want to be outdone! 

A little while later I took a peek after I was done and looked around. There were still seminarians praying! I was getting really frustrated. I wanted to be the holiest one, so I prayed some more and some more until finally when I opened my eyes, everyone was gone. Finally! Satisfied that I beat everyone at being holy, I got up to go to dinner and guess what? Dinner was over! Because I tried to show off and comparing myself with others, I went to bed hungry. And you know what else? I didn’t feel any holier either. 

When we are doing the work of God, we are honoring Him and doing His work. But when we start looking at what other people are doing, we have the temptation to fall into sin. 

When we are doing the Lord’s work — as we are doing this weekend — we are here to bring ourselves into the presence of God like Mary was at the foot of Jesus. We are here to listen to Him and see what He would have us do. The ministry of pro-life is so important because we can easily be distracted by what others are doing. 

We are here this weekend to further the pro-life cause, to be a part of the culture of life and not the culture of death. This Holy Hour tonight is not only spent in adoration, but to strengthen you and give you the courage and wisdom to face the world tomorrow. 

For some of you, praying in front of an abortion clinic and being active in the pro-life movement is a new thing, which can also be scary. When I was growing up, I always thought that praying in front of abortion clinics was for those “religious nuts.” Now I know that I would be nuts for not praying for an end to abortion. 

You are here because God has called you to be at His feet. He has called you to be faithful in keeping His mission of bringing the gift of Life to everyone in the world. And you have answered His call. 

There are times when we are called to be Martha. There are times when we are called to be Mary. Whether we are Martha or we are Mary, remember that you must never lose sight of the Lord and forget why you are doing what you are doing. You are not doing it for yourselves, you are not doing it for other people; you are doing it for the Lord. 

Only when you are doing it for the Lord, you are choosing the better part. And the better part is always with the Lord. 

Deacon Reuben Chen is scheduled to be ordained in 2012. 

RELATED COVERAGE: Read the Texas Catholic’s story on the Youth for Life Boot Camp.

Participants walk in a pro-life candlelight procession at the Youth For Life Boot Camp 2011 at the University of Dallas on July 29. (RANDY ELI GROTHE/Special to The Texas Catholic)

By Mary Sedeño 
The Texas Catholic Staff 

They walked. They prayed. And they sweated. 

Even with record heat this month, more than 60 youth from the Diocese of Dallas prayed the rosary in front of several abortion centers as one of several activities in the annual Pro-Life Boot Camp sponsored by the North Texas Catholic Pro-Life Committee. 

The camp is dedicated to bringing youth into the pro-life movement and to bringing awareness of the Catholic Church’s stance on abortion. 

The students gathered July 29 at the University of Dallas campus, where they went to Mass several times, walked in a candlelight procession, heard from a seminarian about the importance of standing up for life and spent time in front of the Blessed Sacrament. 

From its start in 2003, with eight campers, to now having more than 60 campers and two summer sessions, the camp’s success is a testament to the zeal and dedication of the youth, said Jacquelyn Smith, the CPLC’s director of Youth for Life. 

Smith makes it clear that she could not do it alone. A major part of the growth of the camp is attributed to the partnership with the Diocese of Fort Worth and her counterpart, Sue Laux, coordinator of Youth for Life Fort Worth. 

“The most amazing thing for me is to see some of the young people who first started out here as campers, but who are now serving as leaders and chaperones and helping the new campers,” Smith said. 

From all across the DFW area, youth and chaperones gather to dedicate five days for a “total pro-life immersion.” 

Campers are exposed to the reality of abortion through talks from women who had an abortion and talks from women who decided not to abort their children. 

However, several campers said that they better understood the Catholic Church’s stance on abortion after praying at abortion clinics. 

Not only did they pray in front of the abortion centers, they also visited nearby Catholic-sponsored pregnancy resources to see the work those agencies do. 

Participants at the Youth For Life Boot Camp 2011 at the University of Dallas walk in a pro-life candlelight procession July 29. The landmark Braniff Memorial Tower can be seen in the background. (RANDY ELI GROTHE/Special to the Texas Catholic)

Kelsey Olohan, 16, said she found it encouraging as a first-time camper to be with other pro-life teenagers. 

“Praying in front of the abortion clinics is very powerful because it’s one of the most powerful weapons we have in the Catholic Church,” she said. 

Jonah Peña, 17, a third-year camper agreed. “It is one of the highlights of my summer,” he said. “Not only do I get to hang out with my friends, but we are also doing God’s work by saving babies.” 

Mary Kristin Toates, 21, who was a camper for three years, returned this year as chaperone. 

“It was important for me to come back as a chaperone because as a camper I loved growing with my friends and growing in my faith,” said Toates, a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Dallas and a junior at Benedictine College. 

“I wanted to share my experience and enthusiasm for the pro-life movement with others.”

RELATED COVERAGE: Read Deacon Reuben Chen’s address to the youths during Eucharistic Adoration.

Miceala White and Anna Basso shared common bonds. The childhood friends attended the same elementary school and the same church. They also shared a common foe — cancer — and they supported and inspired each other, even as one battle drew to an end.

By David Sedeno

The Texas Catholic

This is a love story.

Not one of those sappy, sugary ones that is short-lived because its characters inevitably move on to something, or someone, else.

No, this is a story that pierces mothers’ hearts, brings fathers to their knees, moves sisters to unbridled tears, and reveals in brothers a maturity in order to cope.

It also is how a local Catholic church and two school communities are following the teachings of Christ in supporting two families whose love of Jesus and unwavering faith is an example for others to emulate.

More importantly, this is about Anna Basso and Micaela White, who first met in the days of berets, missing front teeth and white First Holy Communion dresses and who will be linked forever because of their families’ faith and perseverance and their own sweet pure love for each other.

Pigtails to Prom

It was second grade when Micaela remembers Anna coming to Prince of Peace Catholic School in Plano. Not long after those first days of getting to know each other they became close friends. Playing at recess, sitting next to each other as often as possible in the lunchroom, giggling on the way to Mass. For the next several years those became the norm.

“We were inseparable,” Micaela said of her friendship with Anna.

As they got older, in their junior high years, and although different subjects and activities separated them, they remained close, spending time together or talking or texting each other.

After their eighth grade confirmation and graduation, they enrolled at different high schools — Anna at John Paul II Catholic High School in Plano, and Micaela at Ursuline Academy, the all-girls private Catholic school in North Dallas.

Now, even as schools and time separated them, their friendship remained strong. It would soon be tested.

On Nov. 25, 2009, the day before Thanksgiving Day, David and Carol Basso received news that Anna had Stage 4 Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer that afflicts about 250 people a year. The cause is not fully known, but the damage that it wreaks on a body is.

For the next few months, Anna underwent rounds of tests, biopsies and chemotherapy at Children’s Medical Center. And prayers surrounded her, from the Prince of Peace Catholic Church and JPII school communities to the Bishop Lynch Catholic High School campus and to others who didn’t know her but knew her story.

Friends created a blog site, 1million4Anna.com, to register that many prayers for Anna. Supporters raised money for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disoders at Children’s Medical Center.

Last fall, Anna, and Micaela, entered their senior year, preparing for homecoming, prom and other highlights of their last year in high school.

As Anna struggled and her family coped, others tried to bring normalcy to them last winter.

“An awesome boost to Anna’s spirit came in the form of a “Secret Santa” gift,” Carol Basso wrote in a blog entry on Jan. 5.

“An amazing, generous couple chose Anna and our family for their annual Christmas gift. Without having met Anna, but knowing about her, throughout the past year this couple has been praying faithfully for her. This Christian couple believes in sharing their blessings to honor the Lord and want Him to receive all praise, honor, and glory. 



“We spent a week at their home in Colorado, our family and four of Anna’s friends. Anna’s happiness that week was the best Christmas gift! The escape from our normal life was fantastic! May we all share our gifts and blessings, all unique and special, in 2011.”

That blog posting also included another notation.

“A very special friend of Anna’s, Micaela, was diagnosed with leukemia a few days before Christmas. She is being treated at Children’s Medical Center, as well, with the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Please add Micaela and her sweet family to your prayers. Thank you.”

About a year later after her good friend had her cancer diagnosis, Micaela complained of not feeling well. Within an hour of taking her to an emergency room, Danny and Sharon White were rushing to Children’s Medical Center to begin treatment for leukemia.

“When I found out, Anna was one of the first people that I told,” Micaela would later say. “I knew she could relate, because she had already been dealing with cancer for a year when I got diagnosed.”

After that diagnosis, Anna was a constant friend. When chemotherapy took Micaela’s hair, it was Anna who showed her how to put on a wig and how to brush on the makeup.

When they were in the hospital at the same time, they would visit often, sometimes ending up in the same bed.

When they were apart, they talked on the phone, checking up on each other or leaving a voice mail, text, reflection or a reminder that the other one was there.

Micaela and Anna pose for a photo together during treatment at Children's Medical Center Dallas. (Courtesy White family)

They wanted their senior year to be special, and it was. Micaela’s family had created “Micaela’s Army” and Ursuline students adopted “Micaela Mondays” during which they would pray and raise funds for her.

Anna would attend school as often as possible in between treatments. She was crowned homecoming queen and she went to her senior prom.

Both went to their respective graduation ceremonies, receiving standing ovations from each crowd.

Micaela, with the help of her father, took her final curtsy at Ursuline Academy and received her diploma from Bishop Kevin J. Farrell.

For once, she was doing what everyone else was doing.

“You don’t feel normal because you hear about all the normal things,” Micaela said. “Graduation was my big goal, because I didn’t get to go to Prom or do any of the senior year stuff.”

At the same time in Plano, Anna received her diploma in front of her fellow classmates at the JPII gym, a thunderous applause on her entrance in a wheelchair and a standing ovation when she was wheeled across the stage to receive her diploma from Auxiliary Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel.

Quinn Wolfe-Jones watched from his seat with his fellow 2011 JPII graduates. He said it was an inspiration to see Anna roll across the stage in a wheelchair with the help of a teacher.

“It showed me that my hardships are so minuscule compared to other people in the world,” he said. “Anna was stricken with cancer — a terrible cancer — and she was able to make it through all that time.”

After graduation, Micaela went home with her family and had barbecue.

Anna spent the evening with friends watching her favorite band, Manchester Orchestra, which serenaded her. She said it was the best night of her life.

Eternal friendship

A few days after graduation, and after her blog recorded more than 1 million prayers, Anna’s condition began to deteriorate. Her doctor had to make house calls because she was too weak to get out of bed.

“I think she used up all her strength on that day,” neighbor Mark Hall said. “She achieved what she wanted to.”

Anna died on Wednesday, June 8, at home with her family at her side.

“I saw a piece of Christ in her,” family friend Joanie Scott said. “I saw what He wants everyone else to do for everyone, which is to reach out to everyone.”

At her rosary at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Anna’s friends talked about a girl who was more concerned about others than herself.

“She was one of the most genuine loving people I have ever met,” said friend Ari Mendiola. “God had to work through Anna to teach all of us that life is too short.

“I don’t think anyone else would have been able to handle it like Anna. She has made me a stronger person,” she said.

A photo collage of Anna Lee Basso is displayed before the prayer vigil for Anna at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Plano on June 13. (Ron Heflin/Special Contributor)

Because Anna was so concerned about others, especially Micaela, the Bassos asked that in lieu of flowers for Anna that prayers should focus and donations be made for Micaela, who had entered Children’s Medical Center in early June for the painful bone marrow transplant.

In early July, Micaela had a reaction to the O-negative platelets that she received and a community-wide effort is underway to search for A-negative platelets.

“She, we, still have a long road ahead of us,” Sharon White said. The 1million4Anna.com site is now flooded with pleas to help Micaela.

“Their tremendous support is not surprising because this is the kind of family they are and always will be,” Sharon White said of the Basso family.

She also said that Micaela continues to mourn her friend’s passing, but knows that Anna is free from pain and suffering.

“Micaela knows now that Anna is watching over her, supporting her and still taking care of her as she did before,” she said. “They could just look at each other, smile at each other and know what the other was feeling and meaning.

“This can never be replaced and is a huge loss for Micaela,” Sharon White said. “She knows what Anna would tell her and she knows what Anna wants for her to do. This gives Micaela strength.

“These two beautiful girls are such an example to us all in their strength, spirit and will.”

dsedeno@cathdal.org
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A framed photo of Micaela White, Anna Basso and other friends sits on a table at the White family home in Plano. (JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic)

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After hours of hard work, dedication and study, the Class of 2011 attained the ultimate goal of high school: Graduation. In ceremonies at Catholic high schools throughout the diocese, students crossed the stage. The Texas Catholic salutes the achievements of students at Bishop Lynch Catholic High School, Bishop Dunne Catholic High School, Cistercian Preparatory School, Jesuit College Preparatory School, John Paul II Catholic High School, The Highlands School and Ursuline Academy.