Our Lady Cares for the Sick: A Polio Survivor Shares An Answered Prayer from 1955 [Champion Blog by Roy Rasmussen]
Decades before The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion became an international pilgrimage site, local residents were coming here to ask the Blessed Mother for healings. While the healing reports we receive are not declared miracles without a long Church process, many personal encounters and graces received bear witness to the love Our Lady and Our Lord have for those who struggle with illnesses and disabilities.
Recently we received a beautiful letter from a woman with polio who had generously donated one of her leg braces to The Shrine in a gesture of gratitude for a prayer answered over 70 years ago.
Our friend wrote, “At 4 ½ years of age [I] contracted polio. The year was 1955.” Poliomyelitis is an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord caused by a virus. Symptoms of polio can range from flu-like symptoms to crippling paralysis or even death. There is no known cure, but Dr. Jonas Salk introduced the first polio vaccine to the public in April 1955.
However, at that time, vaccine supplies were limited, and under federal government guidelines, children between 5 and 9 received priority for vaccinations. “I was too young to receive it,” our visitor recalled. Vaccine supplies became more widely available by fall of 1955, but by then, it was tragically too late for her. “I became paralyzed in both legs from the hips to the toes. Hips remained okay and mobile. Also ended up with a double spinal curve on my back.”
Since she could not receive the vaccine, her family tried other treatment methods. “Mom and Dad had me go for PT several times a week, plus my mom did exercises with me several times a day at home,” she wrote. “Hot packs were applied to my legs for days even after I got out of the hospital those early days.”
Medical experts gave a pessimistic outlook. “[I] saw doctors in the ortho department on a regular basis,” she said. “[I was] told it may be a long time before I would get out of the braces, if ever.”
“My mom believed in The Shrine at Robinsonville or Champion,” she wrote, referring to an earlier name for Champion still used locally. “So one day we went to visit it. I walked around it on the lower level and prayed with my family my legs would get better.”
Jesus healed because His Sacred Heart had compassion on the sick, and he taught His disciples that whenever they cared for those who were ill, “you cared for me.” (Matthew 25:36). His Mother’s Immaculate Heart shares His compassion for the sick, interceding with Him on their behalf.
“Within months a brace was removed,” our pilgrim reports, “and by age 10 all braces were removed. Only kept crutches until 12 years of age—could run faster at recess with them.” She was left with “only a limp” for the next four decades. This relief lasted until she was in her early 50s. Then her “legs started to break again” a little over 22 years ago, she wrote.
While moving from her home into apartment living about 10 years ago, she discovered one of her old braces in the garage. “Shocked to see it was even kept and moved with me,” she “decided it should be donated to The Shrine.” She generously gave the brace to The Shrine and shared the story behind it.
The brace “is now at The Shrine among the crutches”, on display in the oratory on the same lower level where she and her family prayed in 1955. It stands alongside over a dozen crutches and braces that have been donated over the years, a testimony to Our Lady’s love for those suffering physical disabilities. This same compassion moved the heart of Shrine visionary Sister Adele Brice, who cared for the handicapped as part of her ministry. Our friend’s letter reminds us how that ministry continues even today, as visitors from all over the world come to The Shrine seeking healing and answers to prayers.
“[I] still visit The Shrine from time to time,” her letter concludes, “especially have prayers that I want answered for myself and others.”
Our Lady of Champion, pray for us!
Servant of God Adele Brice, pray for us!
This pilgrim gave us permission to share her story but asked to remain anonymous. She also asked us to dedicate this blog to her parents, family, physicians, therapists, and others who have helped her out through the years. We acknowledge and pray for her and all her loved ones on her prayers list as we share her story.
God blesses each of us in unique ways, so everyone’s story is different. Some experiences of grace are dramatic, and some are quiet. At Mount Sinai, God spoke to Moses and the Israelites in a thundercloud and a pillar of fire and a trumpet blast, but at Mount Carmel, He spoke to Elijah in a whisper. No matter what your experience at The Shrine was like, if you have a story you’d like to share, please get in touch at https://championshrine.org/graces-received/.