“There is a reason you’re still here.”
Those words conveyed by Christina McNasby’s neurologist during a December appointment were followed not by a medical explanation – but rather a nod to her unyielding faith as the reason for her perseverance.
Born with cranioectodermal dysplasia (CED), also known as Sensenbrenner syndrome – a rare genetic disorder that can cause bone, facial and organ abnormalities – Christina is one of just over 40 documented cases worldwide – with most patients dying in infancy, and very few living to young adulthood.
Whether it has been through enduring several dozen surgeries, countless visits to doctors and specialists, multiple serious health scares, or her current quest for a much-needed kidney transplant, Christina – now 26 – has repeatedly turned to her devout Catholic faith.
“My whole body hurts every day. Why should I complain? There’s always someone who suffers more than [me, and] I have a whole parish family supporting me,” Christina said. “Jesus suffered for all of us, and he would have just for me. He never complained, so why should I?”
Christina is a member of Church of the Incarnation, Mantua, and has been an altar server for 16 years. Her parish community, clergy from her parish and beyond, and the Knights of Columbus have rallied around her and her family over the years – with Holy Hours, blood donations, fundraisers, and even neighbors shaving their heads in solidarity after she had to do the same.
“I do not know what we would do without our parish,” said Christina’s grandmother, Rose Daly. “Our parish is a family, not just a parish.”
In need of a kidney
Daly and her husband, John, have raised Christina, whose mother, Tina, died in 2005. Daly never leaves her granddaughter’s side, attending every medical appointment and being her constant advocate.
In a recent interview, Daly shared that Christina is in dire need of a kidney transplant. While the disorder has attacked Christina’s own kidneys, doctors have determined that it would not attack a donor organ.
Two members of her parish stepped up to be considered as donors, and Daly said that one is a match for Christina’s blood type. Additional testing in the coming weeks will help determine if a transplant would be possible.
“If she gets a new kidney, it would be like she has a new life,” said Daly.
Even reaching this point is something of a miracle, if you ask Daly. She recounted a particularly frightening episode that took place in March, during Lent. Christina had gone to church to participate in the Stations of the Cross when she began experiencing symptoms of her retinas detaching. Her head began to ache and soon after, she started having seizures and became unresponsive.
Father Shaji Muttathottil, parochial vicar at Church of the Incarnation, gave her last rites on the floor of a parish bathroom.
In the days that followed, Christina was placed in a medically induced coma and was not able to breathe on her own. The prognosis from doctors was grim.
“They told us she would probably not be coming home with us,” Daly recalled.
Gift of presence
Christina received frequent visits from the hospital chaplain as well as priests and deacons she had gotten to know. One of them was Father Timothy Byerley, pastor of Saint Peter Parish, Merchantville.
“She wasn’t showing any life support,” Daly said. Then, Father Byerley arrived for a visit. “He was going to anoint her, and all of a sudden, she went to pull her arm up to bless herself.”
Christina also surprised doctors when she smiled upon hearing the voice of Father Raymond Gormley, current pastor of Saint Brendan the Navigator Parish, Avalon – formerly her pastor at Incarnation.
She was ultimately released from the hospital on Palm Sunday, and was able to attend Mass in person on Good Friday.
Without insurance coverage to go to a rehabilitation facility, Daly helped support Christina’s recovery at home. Christina was able to achieve her goal of serving during the first Mass celebrated by Father Timothy Mulranen, who was previously an altar server along with Christina, in May.
Since leaving the hospital, Christina has not had a single seizure, and neurologists are stunned to find no signs of brain damage.
“Christina’s faith has always been very strong, even as a young girl,” Daly said. “She didn’t speak until almost the fourth grade, but she always wanted to listen to the Rosary. I believe Mary has been with her since the day she was born.”
An example of love
Father Byerley got to know Christina and her grandparents through a liturgical and catechetical apostolate that he had been directing, The Oratory of Our Lady.
“Christina was an infant then and had serious congenital conditions that threatened her health,” Father Byerley recalled. “Everyone in our community prayed intensely for little Christina and rallied around her family. We visited her constantly in the hospital. It was nothing short of a miracle that she survived.”
Like so many others in her orbit, Father Byerley has witnessed Christina’s strong faith, as well as her love, compassion and service for others.
“In the face of many ongoing health problems, which she has endured and overcome, these virtues have grown immensely,” he said. “Despite her challenges, she has achieved great accomplishments in education and work. Above all, Christina has invested herself in her parish, especially as an altar server. She has become an icon of love and service there, inspiring the entire parish.”
Father Stephen J. Rapposelli can attest to those virtues, too. He has gotten to know Christina since becoming pastor of Church of the Incarnation in 2024.
“Christina gives a great example of what a follower of Jesus should be,” he said. “She loves Jesus and Mary. She is loved by our parish family, and reciprocates that love to each one of us. She is a good example of loving God with her whole strength and will, as well as loving neighbor.”
In addition to having a great sense of humor, she draws strength from her close relationship with Jesus and the Blessed Mother, Father Rapposelli said. “Her life is intertwined with both of them. This is shown by Christina’s living example of the fruits of the Holy Spirit: kindness, love, peace, patience, generosity, chastity, modesty and her ability to carry her own cross.”
“Christina certainly is a model for me,” he said.
‘Jesus isn’t done with me’
Christina recalls feeling God’s presence from a young age.
“My faith started, I feel, before I was born. God knows us before he hands us into this world,” she said. “When I was born, I was given 24 hours to live. God had different plans for me.”
She has also always felt drawn to the altar during Mass, and feels at home as an altar server. “When I carry the cross, I wish I could hold it higher than I do. I don’t think people understand what it means to me – I can’t explain it in words.”
She knows in her heart that she has been able to persevere because of her faith and God’s will.
“I am still here because of prayer, and Jesus isn’t done with me yet,” she said. “I’m OK with what is wrong with me, and I’m OK if I don’t get a kidney. I only ask for prayers to help me so I never complain, and I will still be able to be an altar server.”
Christina continues to stay active – serving during multiple Christmas Eve Masses, volunteering at an animal shelter twice a week and attending Rowan University – where she is an honor student.
“Our parishioners are blessed to know her,” Father Rapposelli said, adding that even for those who have never met Christina, “just hearing about the obstacles that she has overcome, or continues to deal with regarding her health, is inspiring.”
Those wanting to help Christina McNasby can contact her grandmother, Rose Daly, at 856-332-6334.
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