In a previous “Practicing Catholic” episode, on Oct. 11, Anne and Todd Olund detailed their journey through Todd’s leukemia diagnosis and his beginnings in chemotherapy. Todd explained that God brought hope and healing to the couple.
Anne told “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley on the program that will air at 9 p.m. Oct. 18 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM that Todd started a second round of stronger chemotherapy.
“Thanks be to God, that did put him into remission. … In the meantime, they also checked his cerebral spinal fluid and found out that there was some cerebral spinal involvement. Some of the cancer had crossed the blood-brain barrier. We had to have six doses of intrathecal chemotherapy as well.”
During these procedures, the Olunds met the chaplain at the hospital. Upon meeting him, Anne said she was thanking God for healing Todd. The priest told her that is exactly what she needs to do. This prompted her to think of Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus.
“I just remember Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus saying, ‘I thank you Father, that you’ve heard my prayer.’ And then he (Lazarus) came out. I thanked God ahead for healing him. We praised him through it. … I began asking everybody I knew and everyone I didn’t know to pray and thank God for healing my husband. If I (would) get a cup of coffee at a convenience store on my way to the hospital, I (would) tell the clerk, ‘I don’t know if you’re a person of faith, but my husband has leukemia, so pray and thank God for healing him’ and then some of them would look at me with a blank stare. Others would say, ‘I will pray.’”
Todd’s chemotherapy treatment ravaged his body. A nurse explained what was going to happen to him as, “Your organs are going to shut down. We’re basically going to kill you but keep you alive.”
At that moment, Todd thought of Christ being scourged at the pillar. “If he can handle that, then my goodness, Lord, you’ve got me. And I lived on that,” Todd said.
Todd held onto his faith that God would either take care of him on Earth or would bring him home to heaven.
In April 2021, Todd received 2.2 liters of bone marrow from his son, Ben, as a transplant.
The chaplain told Todd and Anne to dedicate their marriage to the Blessed Mother. Together, they also dedicated themselves to Our Lady of Sorrows. Thus began a 30-day journey to consecrate their marriage. At the time, they didn’t know when Todd would be released from the hospital. The day of their consecration was the final day Todd spent in the hospital before going home. It was also the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Because of this journey, Todd and Anne were able to share their faith with others, even people of different faiths or no faith at all. Todd said there wouldn’t be enough time on the “Practicing Catholic” episode to fit the litany of miracles they experienced on Todd’s road to remission.
To hear more about Todd and Anne Olund’s faith-filled journey through a leukemia diagnosis, tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Oct. 19 and 2 p.m. Oct. 20.
The program also includes a talk with Jill King, the executive director of Lakes Life Care Center in Forest Lake, and how she got involved in the pro-life movement. Also, Sarah Kostick dives into how understanding science can deepen appreciation for God.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the program can also be heard after it has aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
