Mar
31
2019
By Anonymous (not verified)
Following one miscarriage, toward the end of her fifth pregnancy, Louise Fecteau of Mechanic Falls, Maine, was having serious complications. "I went before the Blessed Sacrament and prayed to God that if the baby made it to Baptism, I would name it after the Blessed Virgin Mary," she said.
Though she wasn't due until Oct. 4, Louise delivered her daughter on July 7, 1993. She was born with dislocated hips. "They were twisted and her knees bent over her shoulder. Her legs kind of folded over her back. It looked terrible," Louise said. Though her daughter survived birth, she couldn't breathe on her own. After examining her, the doctor told Louise that it would be better if they just let the child die.
"I looked at this doctor and said, 'Are you God? No. You're not. You're a doctor. Do whatever you're called to do to save her life,'" she said. "Everyone was stunned."
As her child was transferred to another hospital, Louise and her husband, Blake, prayed the Rosary and started a novena to St. Padre Pio. "I was begging God for her life. There are so many aborted babies in the world. I asked Him to let her live until at least Baptism," she said.
God answered that prayer and more. Mary Fecteau was baptized in the hospital. "This baby could fit in the palm of your hand," Louise said. Doctors put Mary on oxygen. "Her tiny body would jump at every breath," Louise said. They told Louise that they didn't think Mary would live more than two hours in her state.
Louise told the doctors to leave the oxygen in, assuring them that God would handle it from there. "I told them, 'Just do everything you're supposed to do,'" she said.
Hours passed as Louise and Blake prayed in the waiting room. Eventually, they went home to get a change of clothes. As soon as they arrived, the hospital called them and told them that they needed to come back right away. "They said, 'She's turned grey, and once they turn that color, they never come back," Louise said. "Immediate dread hit our hearts."
The doctor met them at the entrance of the hospital and began apologizing to them. "We thought, 'Oh no, she died.' We were ready to fall down," Louise said. Instead the doctor said, "Fifteen minutes after we spoke, Mary started changing colors. That never happens!"
Though Mary was surviving, doctors told Louise that she would probably be blind and permanently handicapped. "The neonatologist said to me, 'On a scale of one to 10, one being dead, I give her a minus two. If she lives, and her chances are very slim, she will be a vegetable, a burden to society, and a burden to you. What do you want to do?'"
"I said, 'Well, if she is a vegetable, she'll be my vegetable,'" Louise said. "I asked, 'If this were your daughter, what would you do? Would you let your daughter die?' I just kept giving it back to them."
Then another hurdle. The doctor told Louise that Mary had an extra arterial line inhibiting her breathing and that it needed to be operated on as soon as possible. "But she won't survive the operation," he told them. Louise told the doctor she would pray about what to do.
The following day, as Louise and Blake came into the hospital, the doctor approached them. Looking baffled, he said, "Mr. and Mrs. Fecteau! Remember that arterial line we were talking about? It's gone!"
Then things started falling into place. Mary's dislocated hips ended up healing themselves. She was successfully weaned off the oxygen and showed no signs of blindness or any type of handicap. "These great miracles just kept happening," Louise said. "Everything they said she would have - she didn't."
They finally brought Mary home on Sept. 23, the Feast of St. Padre Pio. Thanks to his prayers, the intercession of the Blessed Mother, and the unwavering hope of her own mother, Mary Fecteau survived certain death. Today, Mary is perfectly healthy, married with a child of her own on the way.
Though she wasn't due until Oct. 4, Louise delivered her daughter on July 7, 1993. She was born with dislocated hips. "They were twisted and her knees bent over her shoulder. Her legs kind of folded over her back. It looked terrible," Louise said. Though her daughter survived birth, she couldn't breathe on her own. After examining her, the doctor told Louise that it would be better if they just let the child die.
"I looked at this doctor and said, 'Are you God? No. You're not. You're a doctor. Do whatever you're called to do to save her life,'" she said. "Everyone was stunned."
As her child was transferred to another hospital, Louise and her husband, Blake, prayed the Rosary and started a novena to St. Padre Pio. "I was begging God for her life. There are so many aborted babies in the world. I asked Him to let her live until at least Baptism," she said.
God answered that prayer and more. Mary Fecteau was baptized in the hospital. "This baby could fit in the palm of your hand," Louise said. Doctors put Mary on oxygen. "Her tiny body would jump at every breath," Louise said. They told Louise that they didn't think Mary would live more than two hours in her state.
Louise told the doctors to leave the oxygen in, assuring them that God would handle it from there. "I told them, 'Just do everything you're supposed to do,'" she said.
Hours passed as Louise and Blake prayed in the waiting room. Eventually, they went home to get a change of clothes. As soon as they arrived, the hospital called them and told them that they needed to come back right away. "They said, 'She's turned grey, and once they turn that color, they never come back," Louise said. "Immediate dread hit our hearts."
The doctor met them at the entrance of the hospital and began apologizing to them. "We thought, 'Oh no, she died.' We were ready to fall down," Louise said. Instead the doctor said, "Fifteen minutes after we spoke, Mary started changing colors. That never happens!"
Though Mary was surviving, doctors told Louise that she would probably be blind and permanently handicapped. "The neonatologist said to me, 'On a scale of one to 10, one being dead, I give her a minus two. If she lives, and her chances are very slim, she will be a vegetable, a burden to society, and a burden to you. What do you want to do?'"
"I said, 'Well, if she is a vegetable, she'll be my vegetable,'" Louise said. "I asked, 'If this were your daughter, what would you do? Would you let your daughter die?' I just kept giving it back to them."
Then another hurdle. The doctor told Louise that Mary had an extra arterial line inhibiting her breathing and that it needed to be operated on as soon as possible. "But she won't survive the operation," he told them. Louise told the doctor she would pray about what to do.
The following day, as Louise and Blake came into the hospital, the doctor approached them. Looking baffled, he said, "Mr. and Mrs. Fecteau! Remember that arterial line we were talking about? It's gone!"
Then things started falling into place. Mary's dislocated hips ended up healing themselves. She was successfully weaned off the oxygen and showed no signs of blindness or any type of handicap. "These great miracles just kept happening," Louise said. "Everything they said she would have - she didn't."
They finally brought Mary home on Sept. 23, the Feast of St. Padre Pio. Thanks to his prayers, the intercession of the Blessed Mother, and the unwavering hope of her own mother, Mary Fecteau survived certain death. Today, Mary is perfectly healthy, married with a child of her own on the way.
DDBURG
