Special Heart: A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage and Love by Bret Baier

Author:Bret Baier [Baier, Bret]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781455583645
Publisher: Center Street
Published: 2014-06-03T07:00:00+00:00

That short, to-the-point message was especially meaningful because I knew Tony was not only a person of faith, he was no stranger to hospitals and fears about the unknown. Just two years earlier, while he was still anchoring Fox News Sunday on the Fox broadcast network, Tony was diagnosed with cancer of the colon. His mother had died of the same disease at the age of thirty-eight, so Tony surely knew what he was up against.

But after six months of treatment, Tony’s doctors told him the cancer had gone into remission. Then in April 2006, Tony left the network to become chief spokesman for President George W. Bush. After almost a year at the White House, Tony’s cancer returned and had spread to his liver. Tony made the decision to undergo an intensive, aggressive chemo regimen that took him away from the White House for more than a month.

After being away for five full weeks, and just two months before Paulie was born, Tony returned to the White House briefing room to robust and heartfelt applause from all the gathered reporters, including me. It was an incredibly powerful day to be in that briefing room. Despite all the huge news moments that have occurred there over the years, the day Tony returned is one I will never forget. Network news reporters, producers, cameramen, radio broadcasters, and veteran newspaper and wire reporters alike were all moved by Tony’s triumphant return and the amazing spirit and courage he displayed.

“Not everybody will survive cancer, but on the other hand, you have got to realize you’ve got the gift of life. So make the most of it,” Tony said.

He went on to talk about the roles faith and prayer were playing in his battle. “Anybody who does not believe that thoughts and prayers make a difference, they’re just wrong,” he proclaimed. “I won’t tell you how it’s going to work out, because I don’t know. But we obviously feel optimistic. And faith, hope, and love are a big part of all of it.”

Tony also told everyone in the room that if they ever found themselves in similar circumstances to make sure they didn’t try to go it alone: “The support I’ve received from you and from my colleagues at the White House and people around the country has been an enormous source of strength. There’s no way to quantify it, but you feel it. You feel it in your heart. And in many ways, that may be the most important organ for recovery. To have the kind of spirit and to realize that, in my case, I’m unbelievably lucky and unbelievably blessed—and really happy to be back.”

Caught up in that special moment with all my colleagues, I am sure some of Tony’s insights washed over me that day. Now, just two short months later, and on the receiving end of similarly intentioned good wishes and prayers, I knew exactly what he was talking about. As distraught as Amy and I were about the overall

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