The Miracle: A True Story of Faith

I first heard of the Haleigh Poutre family in early September, 2005. On a Sunday night, I received a call from my friend; Ed. Ed was attempting to bring Haleigh’s younger sister, Samantha, into a good family environment. He had asked me for a reference for the DSS so he could take temporary custody of Samantha. He briefly talked about the pending investigation of child abuse in the sister’s home. He, and everyone else, believed that Haleigh’s abuse was self inflicted. The DSS, doctors, police, lawyers and friends were all fooled by Holli Strickland, Haleigh’s adoptive mother.
Haleigh was transferred to Bay State Medical Center from Noble Hospital on September 11th with traumatic brain injuries. Holli and Jason Stickland were arrested after a ten day investigation by the police. After being released, Holli was presumably killed by her grandmother who then turned the gun on herself. The DSS took custody of Haleigh and within eight days, proceeded to pursue court permission to remove her life support. Two doctors declared Haleigh to be in a “permanent vegetated state”. It was reported in the newspaper that Haleigh was in a coma with a severed brain stem. This, in a sense, is a death sentence. Ed had said that no one was allowed to visit Haleigh, whether it is a friend or family member. This whole thing is a very tragic mess. No one appeared to be representing in Haleigh’s best interest. No loving mother, no loving father and the state just interested in covering their tracks by using secrecy and rushing to remove her feeding tube. The state, with their ‘right to kill the innocent’ was up against an abused 11 year old girl’s ‘right to live’. She is so small and powerless and the state is so big and powerful, it looked for sure that she did not have a chance. To have such a thing happen in this country is morally shameful and is an indication of how far we have declined as a society. How can anyone accept this?
I was given many holy healing clothes over the pass few years by Father Ralph DiOrio. In 1976, Father DiOrio was given the gift of healing by God. The healing clothes were blessed by Father. All clothes were offered to me over a period of about three years. For nearly a decade, I have attended Father DiOrio’s healing services and have witnessed many miracles. I had given the clothes to friends, family and strangers as well as bottles of healing oil. There were various degrees of miracles that took place. With some of them, I was unaware of the ‘results’ of the condition of the patients. To learn more about Father DiOrio go to his website: http://www.fatherdiorio.org
I began my up hill pursuit to get the, second to the last one that I had, healing cloth to Haleigh before the state could remove her feeding tube. I knew, per DSS, that Haleigh was not allowed to have visitors. I had read in the paper that a seminarian named Raymond Drewnowski from St.Mary’s had led a candle light vigil for Haleigh and that he had been able to visit with her, presumably because he was a member of the clergy. I called him the next day and told him that I wanted to get the anointed cloth to Haleigh. He told me that he was not allowed to talk to anyone about Haleigh and that he was no longer able to see her. Mr. Drewnowski was not able to help me. He did mention though, that he thought I was a good man for trying to get the cloth to her.
I was not sure on what to do, as this was such a unique situation. Knowing that the DSS has custody of Haleigh, I figured I would call them. I first called the Springfield office but I came up empty. All I wanted to do is get a meeting with someone of influence, someone that I could give the holy cloth to. I then tried the Holyoke office but then again I was not successful. They would ask me questions about the abused child, her address and other things. It was becoming rather frustrating. I did not know where to turn. I know an employee at Bay State Medical Center that I could have called. But then I thought that she was just one of a thousand and that she would not be able to help. I know the Westfield Chief of Police and I almost called him a few times but once again I didn’t see how he would be able to help. Time was running out. The feeding tube court case was lost and it was being appealed to the State Supreme Court.
The suspense was tremendous and nerve wracking. I prayed very intensely to Jesus Christ everyday. I asked that, just as he rose up Lasarus 2,000 years ago so that others would believe, I asked that He would cure Haleigh with a miracle, so others would believe today. I felt like I was asking Jesus for allot and I felt that asking for a miracle for Haleigh was like asking to raise the dead. I feared if the state can get away with playing God with this case then they would do the same with a whole bunch of others. I feared the state had already lined up more ‘Haleighs’. And that the state planned to do the same to them that they did to her. I felt strongly that I was fighting for all the other abused little children. I was so enraged. I did not know if the anointed cloth was going to perform a miracle or not but I did know that there was a chance. And that was good enough for me. I had to get into the ring and wrestled with the devil. I knew that the devil did not want me to get the healing cloth to Haleigh because he did not want her to be blessed. I got into the ring and I wrestled with the devil and anytime that I would face a set back, I would become more determined to get the cloth to her. I prayed intensely to Jesus and also I prayed to St. Stella, the patron Saint of babies and my mother.
It came to me, to call my friend at the Springfield Diocese, Jayne Dougherty. After I had explained to Jane what I wanted to do, I asked her if she would speak to the bishop and see if he could pave my path for me. Jayne said that he was too new and did not have enough “connections”. I was disappointed and upset. I asked, “How can whether an eleven year old girl can be saved or not, be determined on whether or not I have connections? Who would be against this?” The state has no authority to play God but the state thinks it does. The state was very quickly willing to prove this. That’s what this is all about. The DSS is too ‘pagan’ to be acting as a loving parent for anyone. They are not qualified. They are drunk with power. I was determining, with God’s help, to stop them. Jayne told me that a Springfield Newspaper reporter by the name of Bill Zajac might be able to help me. He has been a reporter for twenty years and he has lots of “connections”.
Around this period of time, I had a divine vision. My Guardian Angel had told me that Haleigh was ‘going back’, meaning that she was going to be cured. That gave me a great sense of relief. It was difficult for me to reach Bill Zajac. Once again I felt a tremendous amount of frustration. More intense praying as I searched and as the feeding tube pulling neared. I tried calling the newspaper; I looked in the yellow pages. I finally got through. We met across the street at a donut shop.
On Dec 1, Bill Zajac and I talked at the Donut Whole for a couple of hours. I told him that it was important to have a “believer” lay the holy healing cloth onto Haleigh. He suggested I go to the Hospital’s Chaplin. I asked if that meant a priest. He said yes. But he did say I would need to talk to his superior. When I was leaving, Bill said,” you know that if Haleigh was to die that she would go and be with someone that truly loves her. She would be with Jesus and all her suffering would be over”. Hearing that really meant allot to me, as it had a calming effect on me, it was a great relief.
I felt the inner strength of all the ones who were praying for Haleigh and I felt their encouragement. They gave me the ability to be determined and persistent.
Some of the inspiration that I had received during the month of December came from a 16 year old girl’s new Christmas CD. It was Meghann Fahy’s CD that I would play it almost every day, especially on my trips to Bay State Medical. I drew inner strength from those songs as I asked God for a Christmas Miracle. God works through the innocence and He calls on all of us to protect the innocence.
Also in December, I remember that I had told my oldest daughter, Becky, about what I was doing. She is a student at Springfield College and is studying in physical therapy. She asks me not to get the holy healing cloth to Haleigh. And so I asked, “Why?” She said “that Haleigh may get the miracle that just keeps her alive and that she can wind up always dependent on others and in a wheel chair for the rest of life. This would not be a good quality of life for her”. My response was that I would continue to pursue to get the anointed cloth to Haleigh and as far as what happens then to her after that…it would be in God’s hands.
Bill told me to contact Father Mark S. Stelzer who is head of Elms College in Chicopee and in charge of BSM. Yet once again it was difficult to contact him. But I finally got through and he told me to see an African priest at BSM, he said that he had made contact with him. This was on December 5th. There were no Chaplin in the phone book and Baystate Medical is huge and once again I came up empty in my search. I decided to just go into the hospital and ask for directions to the chapel. I ran into a clergyman, who was not Catholic and I requested a meeting with a Catholic priest. He gave me Father Tony’s number. I made many attempts to reach him. There were more frustrations and more intense praying. I would wake up with a sweats and a headache in the middle of the night (around 12 times). I did not know why this was happening but they did stop when I learned of Haleigh’s miracle. When Father Tony called me at work, I asked to meet with him. We met and I told him about Father DiOrio and the healing cloth. He was not really warm to the idea. He asked lots of questions about him, me, my parish and my pastor. He said he would call me in a week to let me know if I would be granted permission to bring in the cloth. I did not receive a call, so I called Father Tony. I reached him and asked him if it was OK to bring in the cloth. He said yes. I said I will also bring healing oil that was blessed by Father DiOrio. He said that there was no need to because he already had plenty of oil, I did not let that comment pursued me. We set up an appointment (on Tuesday) to have me bring it to him (Thursday). I called on that Thursday to confirm the time – 6:00 p.m. I told Father Tony that I had the oil and the cloth. And he implied that I would be bringing the cloth into Haleigh’s room myself. I was kind of stunned. But I prepared myself to do just that. I thought that if this is what God wants me to do, and then I’ll do it. So I wrote down what I was going to say. I wrote it down on a piece of paper because I thought that there might be a chance that when I entered into the room and saw her, I might become overwhelmed and might not be able to think clearly. But when I met with Father Tony, to bring the cloth and oil to Haleigh, he told me that I would not be allowed to enter the room. I told him that I understand and that it was not necessary for me to go in. I told him what I had prepared to say and I asked that he would say those words when he laid down the cloth and oil. I said to him, take the oil and as you sprinkle it onto Haleigh, from head to toe, say, “Lord Jesus, May the precious and mercy blood that was shed on Mount Calvary be sprinkled onto Haleigh so a miracle would take place and she would be healed.” And then take the cloth and lay it onto the area where the brain stem is damaged, if you are able to… if not, and then lay it on her forehead and say “Lord Jesus, please grant Haleigh a physical, mental and Spiritual healing. Amen.” And that’s it.
After I gave Father Tony the anointed cloth and oil, I felt that I had finally accomplished what I had set out to do and now it was in God’s hands. I was relieved because the holy healing cloth and oil that was anointed by Father DiOrio got to Haleigh before the feeding tube was pulled by the state. I continued to pray for a miracle for Haleigh.
I gave the holy items to Father Tony sometime at the end of the year and the beginning of the New Year.
I was extremely delighted and spiritually up lifted by the news that Haleigh had begun to improve. This is what I read in the newspaper the day after it was reported that the state’s Supreme Court had decided to allow the feeding tube to be removed. I believed strongly then as I do now, that the power and mercy of Jesus Christ with the point of contact of the Father DiOrio’s anointed healing cloth and oil is what cured the little girl of the severed brain stem.
I really didn’t know for sure what to do next. In January, my friend Beatrice had said that Bill Zajac had been trying to get a hold of me. I called his office and we talked about Haleigh and her improved condition and how the newspaper said that she was “full of miracles”. He had asked me if I believed that it was the healing cloth and oil that had cured Haleigh. And I said “yes”. He replied that he wanted to do a story on it and asked if I would be interested. I said OK and we agreed to meet at 3:00 that afternoon. The interview lasted two hours and he said he would submit the story to his editor. At the end of the discussion, I told him that in this very sad and tragic event, that, at least, I provided some good and also answered the question of ‘how?’ How did a eleven year old girl go from a irreversible condition, a “permanent vegetative state” and go to breathing on her own and responding? I also provided an answer to the question of ‘why?’ But for some, this is debatable. I said that I am glad that I was able to provide some good news in a very sad and tragic event. I also asked Bill; doesn’t this miracle get the two doctors that gave Haleigh the diagnosis that was in effect a death sentence, off the hook? I told him that the doctors had been correct in their evolution and all machines and medical instruments were correct. And I asked, what are the doctors and nurses thinking what caused the cure and improvement. Bill said the (now Haleigh is in Boston) people who are caring for her, don’t have a clue of what’s going on.
I do know that the ones that don’t want to see the innocent abused and the state to kill are fighting back through prayer.
Two days after I was interviewed by Bill, he called to tell me that the editor had turned the story down and it will be put on the shelf for now. He said the reason was due to privacy. He did mention that it had nothing to do with me. I didn’t think much about it because it was not my idea to do the story in the first place and I thought that it just wasn’t meant to be.
I called Father Tony back in February and asked him three questions. 1. How is Haleigh doing? He said, “Pray for her”. I told him that I do and have been doing so everyday. 2. Did you lay the healing cloth and oil onto Haleigh? He said “yes”. 3. Do you believe that the healing cloth and oil is what cured Haleigh? He replied, “I want you to continue to pray for her”. I called him again a week or two later to asked if he knew if Haleigh had the healing cloth and oil. He said he did not. I asked if he knew where they were. He said no and appeared to be a little bit bothered. So we said God Bless and good bye.
Non-believers have been attacking believers since the beginning of time.
Everyday, every person that has ever lived is confronted with the question, “do I need to get the Devil’s permission to worship God? This comes in the form of different kinds of intimidation and fear. And it keeps us from doing the right thing when we know that we should.
People can not bury their heads in the sand and allow the abuse of God’s children to continue. America, you have lost your way. The people need to rise up and stop it.
We need the “God” solution.
The non-believers will throw stones at the very thought of miracles ever happening and they will ridicule that which is sacred. They do this because such event presents them with a spiritual mirror that they don’t want to look at.
Oh yes, by the way, I would like to introduce someone to you and it is someone that I try to avoid, in case you didn’t already know him. Earlier, I said that this was a battle between ‘the right to kill the innocent’ against ‘the right to live’, a battle of two forces. The spirit that was behind ‘the right to kill’ was a demon that I was up against. I proceeded to stop him and I fought back. This is the demon that I got into the ring with and wrestled. And with God’s Almighty power the demon was defeated. The mercy and power of Jesus Christ pinned the devil. The cloth and oil, which was anointed by Father DiOrio, are “points of contact” of the miracle. Jesus and Father Ralph DiOrio are the ones who produced the miracle. My role was just someone taking the time to care.
I told a friend of mine, Laurie, about my involvement in Haleigh’s miracle. Towards the end of our conversion, she asked if I would like to some day meet Haleigh. I thought about it and said, “I would like to sit in the audience of Haleigh and watch her dance on stage with the other dancers. And I would like to have Haleigh become the poster child for all the other abused children, to bring attention to a very uncomfortable and serious problem. And as far as what I would do if I had a chance to meet her, I would wrap my arms around her and give her a big hug and then probably ball my eyes out”, just knowing what the state tried to do to her and almost did.
I would like to bring Haleigh to Father DiOrio so he could lay his hands on her for a blessing. I am very driven to have this happen.

Greg Gawron

562-5755
ggawron1@comcast.net