FAMILY SUFFERS SPATE OF TRAGEDIES : WOMAN STRICKEN AFTER SON KILLED IN ACCIDENT, HUSBAND HOSPITALIZED.

Byline: Alicia Doyle Daily News Staff Writer

Peter Cordera knows his wife is listening.

In silence, Phyllis Cordera answers Peter from her hospital bed by slight movements of her weakened hands. At times, Peter's quiet words will provoke a flicker of movement behind his wife's closed eyes. Once in a while, she has the strength to open her eyelids.

``She's a strong woman,'' said Peter Cordera, whose wife of 46 years suffered a massive heart attack only days after Peter was released from the same hospital following a kidney transplant. ``Everything hit her all at once. But I'm not giving up on her.''

Less than three weeks ago, it was Phyllis Cordera who held her husband's hand as he recovered at UCLA Medical Center from a kidney transplant. The precious gift came from their oldest son, Brian Cordera of Simi Valley, who died last month after he was critically injured in a motorcycle crash.

Six days after Brian's funeral, Phyllis Cordera, 67, was admitted to UCLA Medical Center where she underwent a five-vessel bypass surgery, said hospital spokeswoman Ruthie Marek. She remained in critical condition Monday in intensive care, Marek said.

It was only a short time ago that Phyllis Cordera sat at her husband's bedside reflecting on their son's death with joy and grief.

``It's been hard . . .'' Phyllis said the day before Brian's funeral. ``But out of this came a wonderful thing.''

Now as family members hold an around-the-clock vigil at Phyllis' bedside, they are praying for another miracle.

``The only thing we can do right now is pray,'' said Leslie Whitney, one of the Corderas' seven children. ``We need many people to pray and keep the faith that God will touch her heart and heal it.''

Peter Cordera, a 68-year-old diabetic, believes he would have been hooked up to a kidney dialysis machine for the rest of his life had his son not signed an organ donor card three years ago.

But Peter's second chance at a healthy future means little to him, knowing his wife is now dependent on a heart and lung machine.

``I feel fine - except my heart is broken,'' Peter Cordera said.

Peter met Phyllis in Connecticut the night he was discharged from the Marines. On his way home, Peter stopped at the local YMCA where he spotted Phyllis dancing. The two were engaged for three years before getting married in 1950. Sunday was their 46th wedding anniversary.

Both were born and raised in Connecticut - Peter in Manchester, Phyllis in Hartford. The couple moved back to New Hampshire when Peter Cordera retired in 1991 from a Canoga Park company that distributed the Daily News.

Though her side of the family has a history of heart problems, Phyllis Cordera was generally healthy and has never been this seriously ill, her husband said. Family members said the heart attack may have been caused by stress from Brian's death and worrying about her husband's survival.

``Everybody else came before she did,'' Whitney said. ``But she was more heartbroken than she showed. It got to be too much for her.''

Doctors said Friday that Phyllis Cordera would not live through the night, her husband said. But the doctors were wrong.

``She's going to walk out of there,'' Peter Cordera said. ``I keep telling her, `I'm waiting for you.' ''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Phyllis Cordera

``Got to be too much f or her''

(2--color) Peter Cordera

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