The Miraculous Infant

By Jose Rodriguez Sanjuan and Earlene Gayle Escalona

My life was forever changed on June 14, 1985. I was finishing my third year of medical school that summer and expecting my firstborn child in a few weeks. My idealistic world was shattered abruptly that day, and it led directly to experiencing a miracle firsthand.
It has become my mission to relate this miraculous, divine intervention to as many people as possible, and that is the basis for writing this book. It has taken me years to write about this most painful time in my life as well as the most glorious. It is still painful to even read what I have recounted here for you.
I hope that I can bring some sense of peace and understanding to people who are suffering from a lack of reasoning or explanation for what they may be going through in their own lives.
My son, Nicholas, was born unexpectedly that summer morning without any signs of life. He endured an extended cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the operating room and a prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) hospital course in a deep coma, with full life support on 100 percent oxygen.
This true story is the description of a miracle that led to his complete and sudden recovery, with no signs of brain injury or other adverse sequela. I am in a unique position to evaluate the events surrounding this miracle because of my medical background.
The purpose of this book is to bring the message of Divine love and intervention to those most in need of understanding.
The devotion to the Miraculous Infant Jesus of Prague has been around since the seventeenth century and will continue until the end of time. It should be no surprise that this icon of regal divinity should be found in most of our Catholic churches throughout the world, centuries after the devotion first began.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493181063

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Jose Rodriguez Sanjuan, MD.

Cover Illustration by Earlene Gayle Escalona

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014904050

ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-4931-8105-6

Softcover 978-1-4931-8104-9

eBook 978-1-4931-8106-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 04/16/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

603817

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

PART I

JUNE 14, 1985

CHAPTER I

SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT

CHAPTER II

THE BIRTH

CHAPTER III

THE TRANSFER

CHAPTER IV

THE NEONATAL ICU

PART II

OCTOBER 8, 1629

CHAPTER V

THE INTERNAL STRUGGLES OF CYRILLUS A MATRE DEI

CHAPTER VI

FORGOTTEN AND LOST

CHAPTER VII

THE DEVOTION RETURNS

CHAPTER VIII

GIVE ME MY HANDS

CHAPTER IX

THE DEVOTION AND MIRACULOUS NATURE OF THE STATUE IS ESTABLISHED

PART III

JUNE 16, 1985

CHAPTER X

BACK TO THE PRESENT

CHAPTER XI

BACK TO PONCE

CHAPTER XII

DEBBIE’S ESCAPE

CHAPTER XIII

REUNITED

CHAPTER XIV

FAMILIAL SUPPORT

CHAPTER XV

THE REALITY OF THE DISMAL PROGNOSIS

CHAPTER XVI

THE MIRACLE

CHAPTER XVII

A COMPLETE RECOVERY

CHAPTER XVIII

EPILOGUE

APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

APPENDIX C

APPENDIX D

APPENDIX E

APPENDIX F

APPENDIX G

Dedicated to Debbie, my loving and devoted wife,

who is the definition of the words soul mate,

To Nick who was saved by God for a higher purpose,

And to my two other sons, Lucas and André, for completing me.

The following account is based on true events.

PROLOGUE

My life was forever changed on June 14, 1985. I was finishing my third year of medical school that summer and expecting my firstborn child in a few weeks. My idealistic world was shattered abruptly that day, and it led directly to experiencing a miracle firsthand.

It has become my mission to relate this miraculous, divine intervention to as many people as possible, and that is the basis for writing this book. It has taken me years to write about this most painful time in my life as well as the most glorious. It is still painful to even read what I have recounted here for you.

I hope that I can bring some sense of peace and understanding to people who are suffering from a lack of reasoning or explanation for what they may be going through in their own lives.

My son, Nicholas, was born unexpectedly that summer morning without any signs of life. He endured an extended cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the operating room and a prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) hospital course in a deep coma, with full life support on 100 percent oxygen.

This true story is the description of a miracle that led to his complete and sudden recovery, with no signs of brain injury or other adverse sequela. I am in a unique position to evaluate the events surrounding this miracle because of my medical background.

The purpose of this book is to bring the message of Divine love and intervention to those most in need of understanding.

The devotion to the Miraculous Infant Jesus of Prague has been around since the seventeenth century and will continue until the end of time. It should be no surprise that this icon of regal divinity should be found in most of our Catholic churches throughout the world, centuries after the devotion first began.

PART I

June 14, 1985

CHAPTER I

SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT

What a glorious day in paradise it had turned out to be. The Friday in mid-June on the Caribbean side of Puerto Rico was truly a gift from God. I had just finished a block of exams, and the excitement of a free weekend after three grueling years of medical school was difficult to contain. My wife, Debbie, and I had planned the day retreat to the beach with our only other family on the island, Brownie—our two-year-old Doberman pinscher. This retreat was planned with the exacting detail that comes from an almost delirious desire to cram as much as we could into a three-day weekend vacation. We wanted to take a breather from what had become the daily slavery to constant study that is necessary to be successful in medical school.

The beach day was going to be the gateway for the magnificent weekend that we had anticipated.

It was early morning, but the Caribbean sun was already heating up the day, as it evaporated the dew from the balcony furniture. The view of the Ponce skyline from the balcony looked like a painting, and the sharp contrast hit me like a cold slap across my face as I realized that I was studying to be a doctor in one of the prettiest locations for a U.S. medical school. I was usually so absorbed in my classes and books that I rarely took much stock of my idealistic surroundings.

Not so today—I was brimming with excitement. Bouncing off the walls of our meager apartment and preparing for a day on one of our favorite places on Earth, I was usually oblivious to anything else that was going on around me; but for some reason, today, I was keenly aware of my environment. Perhaps the unloading of all the information for the exams that had just finished had made some room in my brain to grasp the more mundane details of daily life. Debbie had prepared for the beach day with toys for Brownie and picnic items for us. I could smell the suntan lotion, the bread, the luncheon meat, and the fresh towels that she had packed. It seemed as if the dog toys had become newer with more dazzling colors than I had noticed. Everything seemed absolutely perfect in my life. At that moment, I could not imagine doing anything different from what I was living at the time. I had come through the basic sciences portion of medical school with flying colors, and the third year had passed with the feeling that I could take care of almost any medical problem.

It’s incredible—the audacity in my heart and mind to think such thoughts. Obviously, my number one ranking after three years of medical education was going in my head. Nevertheless, I felt blessed that, with the coming year, I would earn my medical degree and move back to the mainland, as they say in Puerto Rico when referring to the continental United States.

I was on my way to bigger and greater things. Debbie was in her seventh month of gestation with our first child. The block of exams had gone well after all, and I could not imagine how things could possibly get any better than they were right then at that moment in my life. Life for me seemed utterly perfect. I had married the woman of my dreams, my soul mate, and my high school sweetheart. She was the most beautiful woman that I had ever seen, and the pregnancy seemed to make her glow with that maternal mystique that flowed from every pore.

Debbie was born in Florida to parents who had moved from Ohio in the early 1950s. She was the eldest of three children and had finally