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A ROLE MODEL FOR THE WORLD WEARY

by Judi McLeod
November 29, 1999

In the last holiday season of this century, some people are barely holding it together. Yonge Street pedestrians try to blot out snatches of Christmas carols because they are overburdened with the everyday struggle of just trying to make ends meet.

Even in times of worry and trouble, Christmas is all around us.

And even in sad and final obituary columns, so is life.

On Tuesday, Nov. 23, came the bittersweet obituary of a true life soldier; someone who could be an inspirational role model for all of the world weary.

It was Saturday, Nov. 20, 1999, when Michael Sean O'Reilly passed away.

The story of his death, marked by newspaper obituary columns, and coming as it did in the middle of the holiday season, leaves a touch of hope to all those in despair.

With incredible odds stacked against him from the very beginning, Michael O'Reilly went on to conquer every one of them. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis before he was even one year old, and given only a few years to live, Michael decided to never give up. He was soon a sturdy little boy, racing up the hallways at school, and playing lusty hockey down at the local ice rink.

As an adult, he became one of the most respected and in-demand writers in the highly competitive advertising business, winning 'gold' awards for his work in New York, Chicago, Hollywood, Cannes and London, England.

The ticking clocks of his life reminded Michael not of his own mortality, but of all the things that could still be done.

It was at a Toronto advertising agency where Michael met the love of his life, Laura. It was a fairytale romance and a fairytale wedding, blemished only a little by the presence of an illness like cystic fibrosis.

But the couple, who made the most of concentrating on what they had, not what they couldn't have, almost held the illness at bay.

They lived each day of their lives with a winning attitude that centered on the simple belief: "We’re so lucky to have each other."

No matter what happened, they never let the little things in life matter.

In their wedding pictures from the summer of 1996, the bride wore white, the bridegroom the most enchanting of smiles.

But the fairytale wedding did not allow for an out-of-town honeymoon. By now, Michael's illness had started its final attack and he began going in and out of hospital.

Two summers ago, Michael, Laura and Laura's parents bought a little red cottage on Bell Lake just outside Parry Sound. As fate would have it, Michael and Laura would have one fleeting summer there. As described in his obit, "Doctors told Mike that he would have to consider going on the list for a double-lung transplant. It would mean intrusive tests and hospital stays. It would also mean never being able to leave Toronto once on the list, because he had to be less than one hour from the hospital should precious lungs become available."

Sadly, Michael would never see the little red cottage again. Laura would put everything aside in the search for the new lungs.

The couple's 2 1/2 year old yellow lab Fargo, held a special place in their lives. When Michael's illness was at its worst, people stared at the oxygen tank he had to carry everywhere. The tanks didn't matter much to the affectionate and tail-wagging Fargo.

The little red cottage was to become a reminder of Michael's courage in the final days. Laura asked him how he managed to get mentally through "one of the last extremely painful procedures to try to extend his life." Through incredible pain, Mike was able to transport his mental state to where he wanted to be. He went in spirit to the place he loved best. As Michael told Laura, "I went to the cottage."

Even with all the many prayers, the lungs never arrived. After waiting 13 months, Michael's body was ravaged, and on the Friday before his death, Michael said he couldn't fight anymore. Michael died in Laura's arms, at age 37.

Among his last requests was the one to have his ashes spread at the cottage. "On the beach, in the trees, on the water."

Meanwhile, on Toronto streets and in the malls, the world weary are reminded of coming Christmas by the snatches of Christmas carols. Still there even in times of worry and trouble. When I hear the strains of a Christmas carol this season, I will think about all that was accomplished by Michael Sean O'Reilly.

Laura vows one day they will be together again, and says that on her death, her ashes will join Michael's at the little red cottage.

And Michael?

Wherever he is, call it heaven, call it paradise or eden. He will be there waiting for Laura.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com



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