I was very excited to hear we were going to have the traveling Our Lady of Fatima statue coming to our parish. I have always been interested in the three messages given to Jacinta, Lucia, and Francisco. I never thought I would get close to a replica of the statue. It was a beautiful statue and I was looking forward to spending time with her.

Let me go back a few years, my brother was diagnosed with the early stages of kidney disease about six years ago.  It was controlled with a strict diet for the first two years but the time came to make a decision on dialysis. He had two shunts put in, one for hemodialysis and one for peroneal (abdominal) dialysis. He chose the abdominal dialysis and has been on it for close to four years.

So on Friday I went to the church. The lights were low and a spotlight was shining on the statue of Our Lady of Fatima. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. I sat and prayed. I noticed a small intention box in front of Our Lady. I wrote two intentions, one being “Please help my brother who has kidney disease and is on the waiting list for a kidney transplant”. I put my intention in the box and left the church at 2p.m.

Saturday, the next afternoon, my brother received a telephone call at 2p.m. It was the transplant team. They told my brother to stop eating and drinking anything, they thought they had a match for a kidney. He reported to the hospital at 8p.m. He was retested and was on the way to the O.R. at midnight. He was not only getting one kidney, he was getting two. It is extremely rare for a two kidney transplant.  The kidneys started to work immediately in the O.R. He was home in three days. He still has a long ways to go, but to us it a miracle from Our Lady of Fatima.

Just wanted you to know!

We pray that the international community may commit in a concrete way to ensuring the abolition of torture and guarantee support to victims and their families.