A Grandmother’s Story

Dear Patty,

I’m writing to tell you my story, it is about my grand-son who is 13 had a motor bike accident on Saturday October 26, 2002. His bowel was ruptured, his intestines badly bruised. Owing to the ruptured bowel he got peritonitis and was critical. My friend Gwen who wrote to you for the tears of Our Lady’s statue you have, well 2 hrs after I rubbed the tears on Christopher he turned the corner. He was in Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital for three weeks in the intensive care unit. I thank you so much for sending Gwen 2 tears not one as she requested, I must add the Dr’s said Christopher was clinging to life by a thread at one stage. He is at home now in Shepparton very weak but recovering he lost 10 kilos whilst sick.

Now I must tell you about another case Our Lady’s tears helped.

ChristopherThis little 11 year old boy from Adelaide he’d had 3 operations on his heart in the end the leading cardiologist of Australia told the family he couldn’t do any more for Malcolm, I met the grand-mother in one of the lounge rooms, she was so distraught, I told her the story of Our Lady’s tears and asked her had she heard of the weeping statue of Rockingham, she said she had.  I offered her the tears, I experienced this burning feeling in my chest because I must admit I didn’t know how she would react, I had the strong urge to offer her the tears, she took the cotton wool ball with the tears and rubbed it on Malcolm, 2 hrs later he also turned the corner when the cardiologist saw on the monitors the improvement he put both thumbs in the air and said with glee – yes!!

Malcolm was also in intensive care when all this happened, he now has been moved into a ward, when I was last at the children’s hospital his grandmother said he’d had a hamburger for lunch – Malcolm will still be there until he has the rhythm of his heart fixed.  I want to thank you Patty for your generosity in sending 2 tears to Gwen.  So far Gwen hasn’t noticed any improvement in Rosemary’s arm, leg and eye but I’m sure Our Lady will help.

Thanks again I remain

Yours sincerely,

Eileen McDonald

 

June 17, 2003

Patty, just a few lines re Christopher’s progress:

Christopher 2He had several visits to the Dr after being discharged from the Children’s Hospital I’m happy to report he now is playing foot-ball in the under 15’s, he used to play tennis but wasn’t strong enough to play last season, so its great that he can play footy.

He is doing well at school & went up into year 9.  the under 15’s, he used to play tennis but wasn’t strong enough to play last season, so its great that he can play footy.

He is riding his motor bike again on the flat – no jumping.

We all know Our Lady’s tears helped Christopher, he wasn’t responding to the medical help but of course it did play a big part after he turned the corner as the nursing staff sad.

I thank God every-day for Christopher’s recovery through his mothers tears.

Eileen Mc Donald

 

P.S  The photo is his recent school one.

 

 

Angelique’s Story

20th October, 2002 started like any other day.  I had woken up at 6.30 am and made a cup of tea for myself – I usually made Angel a cuppa at the same time as she enjoyed a early morning cuppa.  I decided not to make her one that morning as she had not slept well the two previous nights due to pain.  I decided to let her sleep in for a while and at 7.30 am I left a cup of tea beside her bed as I thought she was still asleep, at 8.30 I went into her room to ask her if she would like any breakfast as I was preparing breakfast for the rest of the family.  I called to her but there was no response – I was shaking her, shouting her name, I soon realised that she was unconscious and was barely breathing she seemed to take a breath that seemed more like a sigh.  I phoned for an ambulance.  Her breathing was not very good she seemed to take a breath and stop.  I kept calling to her – Breath Angelique Breath.  The Ambulance arrived ten minutes later though it seemed like forever.  I travelled with her in the Ambulance to Fremantle Hospital.  It took quite a while before we could see her as they were working on her in Emergency.

The doctors came to see us when Angel arrived in the Intensive Care Unit.  The news was not good.  Because Angel had gone into a Diabetic Coma and had not been breathing properly they said there was a possibility she might have brain damage due to a lack of sugar and oxygen to the brain.  The news got worse, the next day the doctors informed us Angel had brain damage but they could not tell us the extent of the damage.  As the days went by they tried to reduce the sedation to see if there was any improvement.  When they reduced her sedation her arms and legs thrashed around and had all these twisted movements and they had to put her back on sedation to give her body a rest.  They informed us that these movements were due to lack of co-ordination between the brain and the body.  A few days later they took her off the machine that was helping her to breath, and they reduced her sedation to see if she could respond to any commands.  Her eyes would open but she seemed to look past us and there was not response to any commands.  The next day she took a turn for the worse while we were visiting her.  She had a seizure as she had got blood poisoning due to infection from one of the tubes that were inserted into her.  I could see the fight she was putting up and I did not want her to suffer anymore, so I whispered in her ear “Angel, darling if you want to go it’s alright, we love you, you don’t have to fight anymore”.  I just did not want to see her to suffer any more.

I had questioned a lot of things at this time.  Angel has suffered a lot since a young age.  She will be turning 23 soon.  She has a Tumour and Amyloidosis as well as Diabetes.  I know this is not a perfect world but why does a person as good and as innocent as Angel have to suffer.  I know that God in his wisdom has a plan for us all and I thought that he needed her more than we needed her, we kept praying for her and if it was God’s wish then perhaps he would leave her here with us.  My comfort came from my prayers and the knowledge that there were many people praying for Angel’s recovery.  But I left it all in God’s hands.  I prayed through the Madonna in Rockingham.

Two or three weeks prior to Angel falling ill I had visited my friends in Rockingham and visited the church to view the ‘Weeping Madonna’.  I had asked the priest in the church to pray for Angelique.  When Angel was very ill I had thought of asking my friend Cynthia to try and get some of the oil so that I could use it on Angel, but with Angel being so ill I had not been in contact with my friend.  Angel had been in hospital for a week when my friend rang and said she had got some of the oil for me – she must have known my need for the oil as Angel was still very ill.  This was the second week Angelique had been in Intensive Care.  My husband had picked up the oil from my friend on Wednesday, and on Thursday the doctors informed us that there was no more they could do for her in Intensive Care and they needed the bed, and she would be sent to a Special Care Ward the next day.  There had still been no response from Angel.  The next day I had the oil with me when I arrived in the Intensive Care ward but her eyes did not open and there was no response, up to this moment we had not had any response in any way.  When they transferred her to the ward I waited for the staff to settle her in, and when they left I put the oil on her head and hands.  It might have been fifteen to twenty minutes later when she opened her eyes and looked at me and for the first time I saw expression on her face and she tried to speak.  I said to her “Angel if you understand what Mum is telling you touch my face” her hand came up very slowly and brushed my cheek as I was leaning over her bed.  I was not sure if she could really understand what I was saying so I asked her for a hug, she lifted her hand very slowly and put it round my neck.  From that moment onwards her recovery was really remarkable.  Every time I visited her I used the oil.  She improved very quickly and even gave one of the nurses quite a shock when she saw her walking out of the canteen.  She said “Is that Angel?”  and I said “yes” and she said “I can’t believe it”.  You could see the surprised expression on her face when she saw Angel.

Angelique is back home and almost back to normal, most of her memory has returned she is walking, talking and if you speak to her you could not tell that she had been so ill.

For a number of years now I have wanted to become a Catholic.  This whole experience has only made my faith stronger.  Now that Angel is home, I have seen the Parish Priest in Thornlie and I have taken the first steps to becoming a Catholic.

For Christmas I bought a locket that Angel wears around her neck and in the locket is the piece of cotton with the oil from the Madonna.  Angelique bought me a locket and I also have a piece of the cotton with the oil on it that I wear.

Yesterday the Bishop released the results of the investigations of the ‘Weeping Madonna’ in Rockingham and the results have not changed the way I feel.  It has only made my faith stronger.

Thank you for the oil, it made all the difference to Angel’s recovery.  And I hope to visit soon to give thanks.

Regards,

Lorraine Floate