Despite serious health challenges — multiple sclerosis and ovarian cancer — Terrie Schrank operates with a joyful trust in God and a childlike sense of wonder. Those driving forces are nurtured by her love of the outdoors. She wakes up humming “Canticle of the Sun.”
A retired nurse, the 66-year-old now serves as president of Capable Partners, a group of Minnesota volunteers who help people with disabilities enjoy hunting and fishing. Schrank and husband, Jerry, have 13 grandkids and belong to St. Michael in Prior Lake.
Q) You’ve always felt connected to nature — from the very beginning.
A) I already was part of it, I thought. My dad brought me pheasant hunting when I was 3. My grandpa took me fishing. As a girl, I was playing in the woods all day, collecting frogs, bringing home all sorts of critters. I’d climb trees and name trees. I had free range to go wherever, many miles. Now we are so cautious with our children. We didn’t have that. We had the freedom to be kids and to be out in the woods.
Q) What did that time in nature do for you?
A) You found out who you were. You didn’t have any outside influence or TV. It was you and nature. You learned things from just being in nature.
Q) How does your love of Catholicism relate to your love of the outdoors?
A) My answer would be: the Trinity. God the Father made all this creation on this beautiful earth. Jesus came to show us how to live, love and serve on this earth. And the Holy Spirit is very powerful, whispering through every little thing, the breath of the wind and the sound of the babble of a brook. I just drink it in every day, knowing that that’s the Holy Spirit — and that God, the Trinity, is with us.
There’s a great book called “The Divine Dance” that explores it. The Trinity is such a beautiful mystery, the perichoresis. It continually feeds me — knowing what it’s all about, being blessed by the beauty of nature, tiny little things. I’ve never not been in awe of that.
I’m a nature nut. It is my life, it’s how I praise God, by appreciating his glory.
Q) Do you feel that awe running through you?
A) Absolutely. It maintains your childlike wonder. I raised monarch butterflies. It doesn’t matter your age — it’s still the most amazing thing to see a caterpillar transform into a butterfly with that beautiful green chrysalis. That’s my favorite color.
When you read the Bible, it’s fun to see all the nature things. I have this habit, I call it the Bible Thing, where you just open it up and whatever you open up to, that’s going to be pertinent to your day. I never really learned about the Bible when I went to Catholic school. Now, I continue to open the Bible for my source of strength and trust that whatever I hear is going to be right. I just open up and trust.
Q) Many adults lose that sense of wonder. What’s the difference in you?
A) A lot of adults have the weight of the world on their shoulders. They try to fix things that can’t be fixed. I’ve always had this trust in God where I don’t need things to be fixed because I know they’re there for a purpose and God is in charge. People are so worried about rules and regulations and being on time. We need certain guidelines to keep us safe, but in order to really live, we have to maintain that joy and gratitude.
Q) You don’t let others define your outlook.
A) I was a neonatal intensive nurse for 24 years at Children’s Hospital (in St. Paul). When a baby (was born with a disability), the parents were devastated. I would say, “God made your baby just the way he is! Don’t let your handicap become your baby’s, because your baby is perfect in God’s eyes.” That’s why, when trials and tribulations are all around us, I take them as a gift to help us grow.
Q) It sounds like the NICU was a sacred space.
A) Children’s Hospital is right below the Cathedral (in St. Paul). I would look out the window and honor the cross at the Cathedral and say, “Make me a channel of your peace — for my babies and all my parents and coworkers.” Things were in God’s hands, not mine. Days that should’ve been hectic weren’t hectic. I would pray for the babies and talk to them and tell them where they’re at on their journey, blessing them for being here on this earth so early, telling them what miracles they are.
Q) That faith-focused lens has been crucial as you deal with MS.
A) I remember being angry when I was first diagnosed. I was still climbing trees at that age. I went into this self-pitying, “Woe is me! I don’t want MS; I want to enjoy nature.” But Father Rick Banker — he was a new priest — had this beautiful sermon when he talked about his love of nature. He said your smile can have a profound impact, like a dew drop of water into a lake that makes a ripple effect. His saying that flipped how I thought about my MS: “Wait a minute! I can still make a difference. I can be kind and smile still.” Then I went into a deep period of gratitude, and I was able to heal quicker or get back on my feet quicker.
Q) Are you still mobile?
A) I can walk around fine. I do tend to sleep a little longer than I used to. Sometimes I get weaker talking. The fatigue is the worst. It’s hard to be on a computer or any screen because I get dizzy. My husband is my internet secretary.
But I try not to let MS define who I am. My neurologist said: “Do not read anything on MS. I don’t want you to get any notions of what it’s about because it’s different for every single person.”
Q) Capable Partners seems to understand that, making the outdoors more accessible.
A) I have learned so much about the endurance of the human spirit from the members of Capable Partners. There’s one gentleman who’s blind and goes on deer hunts. He got a 10-point buck. Capable Partners for him are his eyes that line him up, but he ultimately is the one (who) harvests an animal.
Q) Last summer you were diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer.
A) The doctor gave me the prognosis of six weeks to three months. I had surgery last October, and I healed quickly. My cancer scans are all negative now, and my numbers have dropped from the high 700s to 117 now. We’re going to check them again and determine treatment plans. It’s a wait-and-see game. The prayers from so many family and friends are really powerful.
From day one, I said, “OK, cancer is going to be a new part of life that’s going to be fun.” I actually said that word: It’s going to be fun. We’ll get through this. I’m going to praise this for what it’s teaching me, and I’m going to do treatments for what I can.
Q) Again, you’re defining things on your own terms. You’re trusting God and trusting yourself. Is not worrying what other people think also part of it?
A) Yeah, I think that’s part of it. I’ve always been a bit of a rebel. I’ve taught confirmation classes for many, many years and been a sponsor for many candidates. I always tell them: “Jesus was a rebel. He broke his law — Jewish law — to teach his law, capital L, God’s Law.”
Q) So: trust in God, a little rebellion and confidence in yourself?
A) Well, confidence that there’s always help around. I still doubt myself. But so many unseen things are real to me. People don’t understand sometimes.
Q) What do you know for sure?
A) God loves us unconditionally, and we each have a guardian angel — or two or three. I’m confident in that. I know that for sure.
