I am a doctor andI am deeply grateful to Pedro for what he did: a miracle in every sense of the word. This summer, in Seville, I got to know Pedro's story through his mother, who gave me a prayer card.

A few days later, travelling to the north of Spain and just starting a long awaited holiday, I fell heavily, hitting my side and back on the rough and sharp edge of a low table. Iwas out of breath from the impact and the pain. I could not cry out and could hardly breathe because of the pain. I could not move from the floor. Moreover, I was 12 weeks pregnant at the time.

We went to the hospital: the ultrasound scan showed that there was no damage to the baby or the placenta. There was also no bleeding in the urinary tract. In the right costal region, the large swelling from the impact was visible and there was a clear cracking and crepitus (popping) on palpating a rib. The doctor explained to me that it was a rib fracture or fissure and that, although it was very painful, I had to try to take deep breaths at certain times of the day to avoid respiratory complications.

The pain was very great. Just with a reflex hiccup or throat clearing I would see stars. I could not take a deep breath, let alone cough because of the severe pain. When I managed to fall asleep at night, the slightest movement would cause me pain and I would wake up unable to sleep. It was explained to me that this would last for about two weeks and then it should get better.  The added problem was that being pregnant, when the belly grows, it normally distends the rib muscles, which would aggravate the pain and could cause difficulties later on.

I then remembered Pedro. The terrible pain he suffered, the joy he always conveyed, the struggle not to worry the others.... I had only been there for two days and it was something banal, but my attitude was unbearable. And although I wanted to, I could see that I wasn’t able to deal with it in any other way. In strictly physiological terms, I saw no possibility of improvement either: the fact that I was pregnant contraindicated the anti-inflammatory drugs and other treatments and the Paracetamol was not enough for me.

And so it was, while still angry inside, that I found the prayercard of Pedro that his mother had given me a few days earlier. Seeing him smiling and happy, I even smiled and said to him: "Pedro, work a miracle, you know about back pain! And I made it even more specific: I would like you to change my attitude. I would also like you to make sure that I don't cough or sneeze for a single day, that I can sleep tonight, that the fracture "heals" faster than normal and that this doesn't cause any problems for the pregnancy.

I passed the prayercard to a close friend of mine so that she would pray with me and from that moment on I knew that the miracle would happen.

And it did. Impressive. That night I slept straight through. I did not cough or clear my throat during the whole holiday. I was overcome with a joy and a way of coping that clearly came from heaven, and it healed extraordinarily quickly. That very week I was hiking in the Pyrenees.

I am now 30 weeks pregnant, and I publicly thank this saintly boy we have in heaven who helps us so much from there.

AA (Seville, Spain)

16 November 2022