Truly touched by an Angel

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

This is a really good example of the power of hope, love, giving, and survival!

I was really touched by this true-life angel story in this morning's paper. The

story is wonderful, but her favorite quote at the end is a real grabber!

I love angels..have a large collection, and believe in the power of " everyday "

angels, etc. This story is so beautiful that I felt like sharing it with you.

Also, the woman in the story lives in our area (just a couple of miles away) and

the shop is located in the same town as our Angel Doc! Think I will be visiting

her shop to add to my angel collection VERY soon.

Love ya,

Rose

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Saturday | December 15, 2001

http://www.dallasnews.com/metro/northeast_tarrant/news/STORY.eac855a3f2.b0.af.0.\

a4.85611.html

When death called, her angels answered

Cancer patient says faith allowed her to survive, start business

12/15/2001

By AMY ROQUEMORE / The Dallas Morning News

Dyana Fountain was living on borrowed time.

Already 18 months into the three years doctors told her she would be lucky to

survive with a rare skin cancer, she was in the throes of depression.

Unable to focus on much besides the milestones she would miss – her son's

graduation, her daughter falling in love for the first time, her own 25th

wedding anniversary – she asked one of her doctors for help in dealing with the

unthinkable.

He asked her what she had always wanted to do, and she responded somewhat

automatically that she wished to continue her nursing career. Not satisfied with

her answer, he asked Ms. Fountain again what she would like to do more than

anything.

And when she finally spoke the words, she was as surprised as her doctor to hear

them.

" I think it would be fun to own a store ... a little shop ... a happy shop ... a

wedding shop? " Ms. Fountain recalls saying as the fantasy began to take shape in

her imagination.

And then after a pause, she said, " I believe I will be healed by the power of

prayer of others. God knows what is in our heart. I believe there are angels all

around. Maybe it needs to be an angel store. "

When the doctor encouraged her to follow her dream, she laughed hysterically.

" Here I am about to drop dead in a year and a half, and he's telling me to start

up a new business. Yeah, right! "

But that's exactly what she did.

Angelic Touch opened its doors in South Carolina in May 1998, just about the

time she had been expecting her days on earth to run out. A little more than a

year ago, she moved the angel store to Bedford after her husband's career

brought the couple to North Texas.

Beyond expectations

The 22 other people in the United States who were also diagnosed as having

desmoplastic melanoma in the summer of 1995 have all died, Ms. Fountain said.

But, remarkably, she is now cancer-free.

A spokeswoman with the National Organization for Rare Disorders in Connecticut

described desmoplastic melanoma as a rare and potentially fatal malignancy,

which can be cured with early recognition and surgery.

However, because the cancer is so rare, it is often misdiagnosed as other

cancers or benign growths, which require less aggressive therapy. True to form,

Ms. Fountain's cancer was initially diagnosed as a benign tumor and treated as

such.

The radical surgery and experimental treatments she underwent after learning the

correct diagnosis were never expected to save her life, only extend it briefly.

The prognosis was so grim, in fact, that she says were it not for her husband's

desperate pleading, she would have foregone treatment altogether.

Ms. Fountain has tests twice a year to determine whether the cancer has

returned, as doctors expect it eventually will.

" You pray whatever happens in your life is so big that no man can take credit.

Only God can, " she said at her store one morning last week, tears welling up in

her brown eyes.

" If they are right, the day will come when the cancer comes back. But God has a

different purpose for my life until he is ready to take me. "

Spiritual Purpose

That purpose, the 47-year-old woman says, is operating a store that offers more

to people than just collectible angels and other gifts. It is a place, Ms.

Fountain says, that provides visitors with at the very least a pleasant and

peaceful shopping experience and at the most a spiritual awakening.

Angelic Touch employee Cathryn Roney says she has witnessed the latter countless

times.

" People have walked in there and said, 'I have no idea why I am here,' and

they'll have a really shocked, kind of bewildered look on their face, " Ms. Roney

said. " And then, very shortly, they will just pour out their heart. And that is

why they're there. "

Sally Kaspar, a close friend and faithful customer of Ms. Fountain's, said she,

too, believed there was something much bigger than the business and its owner at

work in the shop.

" When you walk into that store, it's like stepping out of all the worldly

frustrations, " she said. " It's soft. It's peaceful. It's calm. It relaxes my

soul.

'Something More'

" There is just a feeling of contentment when you are in that store. It isn't

just the music and the setting. It's definitely Dyana and the aura that's around

her, but there's something more, too. Something so spiritual. "

Ms. Fountain has always referred to the business as " God's store. " She prides

herself on helping customers find the perfect angel for any occasion. Sometimes

it's an inexpensive trinket designed to show thanks for a friend's support.

Other times it's a hand-carved porcelain angel worth hundreds of dollars.

Always, she says, it is just what the situation and God call for.

" It thrills me to meet the people who come through this door year-round, looking

for a moment of peace or an inspiration of hope, whether it be for themselves or

their friends, or their family, " she said.

The store, at 3165 Harwood Road in Bedford, overflows with angels of every size,

shape, and color imaginable. This time of year you will find angel Christmas

ornaments and little snowmen with wings, as well as Ms. Fountain's usual stock

of angel pictures, teddy bears, jewelry, cards, and more. It's all displayed

among twinkling white lights, and Christmas music plays softly in the

background.

On Thursday, she helped a young mother choose an angel to place on her

grandmother's grave. Balancing her daughter on her hip, the mother paid for the

angel as Ms. Fountain carefully wrapped the purchase in tissue and placed it in

a gold gift bag.

When the transaction was complete, Ms. Fountain asked the woman her name and

said she would pray for her and her family. Fighting back tears, the woman

offered her thanks and quietly left the angel store.

A Prayer for All

" It's my job to pray for others as others have prayed for me, " Ms. Fountain

said, adding that she keeps a running list of first names behind the counter so

she doesn't leave anyone out.

" One of my favorite sayings is 'Touch the hearts as angels do.' That's what I

try to do every day. "

Staff writer Amy Roquemore can be reached at 817-410-9602, ext. 4965, and at

aroquemore@....

T.O.I.L. for Lyme!

T=Teach tolerance; O=Overcome ignorance; I=Initiate insurance reform; L=Labor

for Lyme literacy

*Websites*

http://www.angelfire.com/tx3/RoseWriter or

http://www.angelfire.com/biz/romarkaraoke/james.html

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