BY GWEN HAYES

Sentinel Editor

Throughout her interview, Ms. Shirley Norman kept referencing the year 2010 as the year for her family. She gets overjoyed when she thinks about the goodness of the Lord and his blessings upon her.

“I’m speaking from a mother’s point of view,” she says of her 39-year-old son, Diaad Numan, who is still going through the infant stages of a double lung transplant 4 months ago.

At 71-year-0ld, she chokes back the tears when she thinks about she may not have been here to see her son get better from the ailment that he suffers.

Numan suffered from Sarcoidosis for the past 10 years, which led to pulmonary hypertension. His ailments started when he was 29 years old, but it took 2 years to diagnose his condition, his mother explained. His life expectancy was 2 years. He was put on Floan (medication he took intravenously), that he took for 7 years.

“When they told us what it was, none of us knew what it was or how to treat it,” she says. Since then, Mrs. Norman has spent numerous hours researching the disease, and has even connected with the local support group after reading about it in the Sentinel. That was in February, 2010.

[private]She met Emma Carroll, who she says has been a blessing to all of her family. Ms. Carroll established a foundation after the death of her daughter from Sarcoidosis. Just as she found out about the support group, Ms. Norman would like for others in despair or don’t know where to turn to know about Janine Sarcoidosis Outreach Foundation (out of Houston, TX) and to reach them at 832-248-6621.

Mrs. Norman’s birthday is on August 4th. Her daughter, Michelle Whittington, wanted to take her mother to Orlando’s Holy Land. She knows I’ve talked about going to ‘the’ Holy Land. That visit was such a blessed, anointed event. The praise was in the air – I felt it and so did Michelle,” she explained.

The following morning, Tampa General Hospital called and said they had the lungs for her son. Dr. Cedric Sheffield was the surgeon.

Diaad stayed in ICU for a month, flat on his back. Eventually, he was moved to the 8th floor. A mother’s constant prayer and the prayers of others, along with her faith, saw her son get up and begin to take steps.

“This has been a blessed year for us and a mother’s prayers were answered. I didn’t know if I’d make it to see my son recover, but I prayed that the Lord would heal him. He’s not out of the woods, yet,” she cautions, “because his surgery is in infant stages, but he’s much better than he was.”

Diaab is the father of 2 daughters, Derrielle and Janae.[/private]