Pope held sick baby, what happened next is amazing

[cleanhippie]

And if by amazing you mean that a person attributed an unlikely-but-certainly-possible-because-its-happened-before event to the Pope miraculously healing a serious heart condition because he's got magical powers, you win the prize.

"The Pope healed our baby's heart."

Lynn Cassidy has no other words to explain what happened to her 3-month-old daughter Ave. Ave was born with Down syndrome, eye problems and hearing complications. Most concerning were the two holes in her heart.

"It seems like it was really meant to happen," Lynn said. "And it's as close to a miracle as we'll ever see, I'm sure."

In Easter of 2014, the family planned a Rome trip to see Pope Francis in person during the canonization of John Paul II and John XXIII.

"It was raining," Lynn said. "We were told that if we stood on a barricade in St. Peter's Square, the metal fences in front, the Pope would come by in his 'Pope'-mobile."

The Cassidy family waited for hours at the barricade. When the motorcade turned into the square, Lynn's husband Scott held Ave up in the air.

"It was like the Lion King," Lynn said. "The secret service person, Johnny, stopped and took her from Scott and held her up to the Pope. The Pope asked my husband, 'How old is she? What's her name?' He told (the Pope) she has two holes in her heart. When we got home in May, we went back to the cardiologist for a check-up. One of the holes was completely closed and one was half the size."

--snip--

"I mean it's possible that it closes just over time," she said. "But when you see the picture that the professional photographer took, his hand is here and he's a servant of God."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/inspiration-nation/2015/09/23/inspiration-nation-pope-holds-baby/72671356/

Yes, people can believe all manner of things, some more harmful than others. I'm just happy that the child is doing ok because they kept taking her to actual doctors instead of relying on some god.

[Hoppy]

1. That leads us to the question.... God is all powerful and all knowing.

Last edited Thu Sep 24, 2015, 07:59 AM - Edit history (1)

Since God gave her the holes in her heart in the first place, was the pope going against God's will by healing her?

[packman]

2. Good point

Don't you just love it when people who are saved from some disaster - hurricane, tornado, explosion, whatever - thank God and never consider that the big guy was the one, if following that logic, was the creator of that disaster.

[bvf]

4. Not to mention that

god obviously gave a big "fuck you" to those others who weren't sufficiently blessed to make it out alive.

It's astounding what people will believe.

[msongs]

3. baby turned into a perfectly formed 21 year old Miss America winner with a movie contract? nt

[Leontius]

5. Whether or not the Pope had any effect on the childs septal defect the doctors did nothing to heal

them. Miracle, as some will call it, or just natural tissue growth is what's happening not medical intervention.

[cleanhippie]

6. Do you believe the Pope had some magical effect on the heart of this child?

It's a yes or no question.

[Leontius]

7. I'll ask my cardiologist about self healing septal defects at my annual visit next month.

I'll go with what he says about it. The Popes magical effect, No.

[cleanhippie]

8. The CDC says that this condition is typically monitored at first to see if it will self-heal

If a child is diagnosed with an atrial septal defect, the health care provider may want to monitor it for a while to see if the hole closes on its own.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/heartdefects/atrialseptaldefect.html

I guess such an occurrence isn't as unlikely as even I thought. I wonder of the mother here already knew that. I'm sure she did, and attributed it to the Pope anyway.


Glad to hear that you, too, look to actual doctors for healthcare. It's the sane thing to do.

[Leontius]

9. The only thing I know is anecdotal. Mine never closed on its own.

[Heddi]

10. IT'S A MIRACLE

except not really
http://www.pediatricct.surgery.ucsf.edu/conditions--procedures/atrial-septal-defect.aspx
Children who have simple congenital heart defects can survive to adulthood and live normal, active, and productive lives because their heart defects close on their own or have been repaired.

About half of all ASDs close on their own over time, and about 20 percent close within the first year of life.

http://www.mottchildren.org/conditions-treatments/ped-heart/conditions/atrial-septal-defect
About 50% of atrial septal defects close as the heart grows during childhood.