Miraculous Healing of Brain Tumor Strengthened My Faith in God, Says Comedian Jim Gaffigan's Wife
To prominent comedian Jim Gaffigan, his wife's brain tumor is definitely no laughing matter.
But after his wife Jeannie successfully underwent a nine-hour surgery last month, which completely removed the tumor wrapped around her brain stem, Jim can now afford to smile.
Just weeks after her surgery, Jeannie, 47, told PEOPLE that the entire medical ordeal she underwent was "a miracle."
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"There's just going to be so much to come out of this for me," the comedy writer said.
Jeannie said the experience has brought her closer to her Christian faith, pointing out that she has absolutely no doubt that "supernatural powers" guided her and her family through the ordeal.
"Everything has completely strengthened my faith in God, because I told God, I said, 'God, I'm not ready to go. I have work to do. Please help me,'" she said.
Jeannie also said that they have been overwhelmed by a "complete outpouring of love and spirituality."
Her husband Jim also calls his wife's healing a "miracle" and praises her for persevering through it all.
"Jeannie went through so many procedures," he told PEOPLE. "Like, she got an X-ray three times a day that — you would take a day off from work if you got, like, one of these."
The Gaffigans have openly shared their faith before, with Jim discussing the Christian theme of "The Jim Gaffigan Show" with The Washington Post in May 2015.
The Post reviewer noted that the show was "built around the juggling act of this wholesome, churchgoing, no-swearing, no-artificial-birth-control-using family" who "aren't painted as oddballs, but hip Manhattanites living in a cool loft and hanging around with people like Chris Rock."
The reviewer asked the Gaffigans why they chose a Christian theme for their show.
"We played off the notion of being outed as Christian, that being Christian in entertainment is like being gay in the '50s. It really touches on my fear surrounding being known as a Christian," Jim replied.
For her part, Jeannie said they simply wanted to show how they live their faith. "You can be Catholic and your best friend can be gay, you live in this world where that's reality. You can keep your traditional faith but you don't have to be categorized into some box," she said.
