Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP has moved to a specialist rehabilitation facility to continue his recovery from Guillain Barré Syndrome.
The archbishop was struck down with the immune-related condition just prior to Christmas and until recently was in St Vincent’s Hospital.
Sudden and unexpected, the condition includes varying degrees of muscle weakness and temporary paralysis.
However, day-by-day improvement allowed Archbishop Fisher to be transferred to the rehabilitation facility where he spends most of the day exercising and working with physiotherapists to regain muscle strength.
Last week, he received a picture from the children and staff of Platinum Pre-School, featuring the words ‘patience’, ‘courage’ and ‘hope’.
The archbishop thanked the school and all who have been praying for him in his recovery.
“I had asked the archdiocese to pray for these three virtues for me as I enter my new phase of rehabilitation,” Archbishop Fisher said in the message.
“I’m now well enough to have left St Vincent’s Hospital and am in a rehabilitation facility where I spend much of my time in the gym.
“I am walking further and further each day and doing many other exercises for my lazy muscles. Keep up the prayers. God bless you all.”
Catholic Youth Services (CYS) has issued a message of its own, an invitation to all youth and young adults to contribute their messages of support and prayer for the speedy recovery of Archbishop Fisher.
The archdiocesan youth agency says that all messages will be compiled into a book to be presented to the archbishop.
CYS director Bernard Toutounji said: “We have sent a bulletin notice to all the parishes of Sydney, Parramatta, Broken Bay and Wollongong diocese inviting their young people to send in a message of support for His Grace. While we are encouraged that His Grace is making good progress, we also know that recovery won’t be overnight, and we want him to know that we are behind him with prayer and support for the long term.”
Young people can email their messages, including their name and suburb, to [email protected] until mid-February.