IT WAS February 18, 2017, when GMA segment host Sarah Hilomen Velasco shared the miracle in their small family's life: the healing of her and her husband Alexander's daughter Xandrah.
It was suspected that Xandrah had a congenital hole in her heart during her first check-up after birth. This was confirmed by their pediatric-cardiologist, who through a 2D-Echo test found a 0.35 to 0.39-cm hole in her heart.
"She has ventricular septal defect, a type of congenital heart disease and the hole rarely closes, her pedia said. And if it does, only a miracle can make it happen," Sarah wrote in her Facebook status last February 18.
She left the heart station crying, she said, but didn't lose hope. She shared her heartache to very few friends "because I don't want people to feel sorry for her."
"I asked them for prayers -- and for a miracle," she wrote.
Sarah said she was a long-time devotee of the Divine Mercy.
Sought out to give more details of how she started her devotion, Sarah said that it started during here elementary days.
"Kay naa may 3 o'clock habit sa TV, mag-pray kog apil ana. That time, walay specific intentions akong pag-pray, basta lang maka-pray. Until nagka-work ko (There was a 3 o'clock habit on TV, I'd pray along although I didn't have any specific intentions then. I did that until I was already working)," she said.
She started attending mass at the Divine Mercy Church in Marilao, Bulacan in 2002, but her devotion strengthened when her mom was diagnosed with lung cancer in June 2014 and given just one month to live.
"I prayed over her through the Divine Mercy every 3 p.m. or 3 a.m., whenever I was the one watching over her," she said. Her mother lived on for six more months.
"But there's nothing we could do because what she had was stage 4c. She died January 28, 2015 at 3 p.m. -- the hour of the Divine Mercy," Sarah said.
The miracle of life would come to their family through Xandrah.
After finding out that there was very slim chance of her daughter's heart ever closing, she prayed to the Divine Mercy, night and day, "for that one miracle."
"Along with that, I exclusively breastfed my daughter after reading how powerful a mother's breast milk is, fed her fish, rice and veggies, and just made sure she's always a happy baby," she said.
The next 2D Echo exam showed the hole got bigger at 0.41 cms.
At that point, she and her husband accepted whatever fate may befall their daughter, but they hung on to their faith.
"Last February 7, a friend of ours told us the original image of the Our Lady of Fatima from Portugal will visit the Immaculate Conception Church in Mintal, Davao City. It wasn't our plan to pay a visit that time but my husband and I decided to see the image and pray for our daughter's health and heart since she was scheduled for her third 2D Echo 11 days later. Arriving home, I placed my hand over my daughter's chest and prayed with all my heart," she said.
Six months since the last 2D Echo, they returned, February 18, 2017, that was when her pedia-cardiologist Dr. Monina Pasumbal could not find anything amiss in her daughter's heart.
Sarah and Alexander were expecting the worst, but instead got the unexpected.
"During the test, the pedia was silently scanning over my daughter's chest to see how her heart is doing. It took her about five minutes scanning and suddenly asked her staff: “What's her case? She has a hole right? VSD? But I can't seem to find any hole!” She grabbed her stethoscope and listened for a murmur, “There's NONE. The hole has CLOSED,” she said.
“At the sound of those words, I burst into tears, thanking God over and over again,” Sarah added. “Yes, miracles are true, and we believe we have one proof of it -- Xandrah.”