Sara Vasquez and her children have been a part of Our Lady’s Youth Center for many, many years and knew Fr. Rick Thomas personally. Her daughter Lisa shares this amazing testimony of what happened to her mom earlier this year:
On January 6th, my mom had a high fever and was vomiting. I took her to the doctor and as soon as he examined her, he told me to take her to the hospital immediately. Her blood pressure was extremely low, she was severely dehydrated, and she still had the fever. So I took her to the emergency room.
In the ER they did a lot of tests and found that she had a severe urinary infection and needed strong antibiotics. But because my mom is very sensitive with her veins and it’s hard for them to find them, they didn’t hook her up to an IV until she was admitted upstairs several hours later.
The nurse tried to take a urine sample but my mom was not able to urinate. So they inserted a catheter and blood came out. They said it was a very, very bad infection and the results from the tests showed that the infection had gone to her blood.
My mom’s organs started shutting down. Since her kidneys were not producing urine all the IV fluids my mom was receiving were making her bloated, and she was swelling up like a fish. “We don’t know what to expect,” the doctor told me. “This is very serious, especially when it has gone to the blood and the organs have failed. There are times when people pull out of it but then they have to be on dialysis for the rest of their lives.”
I called my two brothers and told them what was going on, and they came to the hospital with their wives. My mom’s lungs were filling up with fluid and she couldn’t breathe. They gave her oxygen, and we were told to say our goodbyes.
My family left late that night, and I stayed, praying the Rosary. The nurses kept calling code on my mom because her blood pressure was dropping lower and lower. Medical staff would rush in to work on her, and it was all so scary.
When I was alone with my mom, I started crying. I took the holy card of Father Thomas and started begging him, “Please help us! I’m not ready to lose my mom. Please, Father Thomas, please!” I told him that I wanted another chance with her, since my mother and I have had a lot of conflicts in our relationship. I prayed the prayer on the back of the card then I put it behind her pillow because it really didn’t seem like she would pull through. I fell asleep leaning there on the bed while praying another Rosary.
The next morning to our surprise, urine was in the catheter bag. That meant that her kidneys were working again. Out of the blue they had started to work! I was amazed. I thought, “Oh my gosh – that was Father Thomas who helped us.” I mean, it was Jesus’ miracle, but Father Thomas had heard me. I was in shock – bewildered and astonished. When my brothers came back with their wives, I told them what had happened. Everyone was speechless – even her doctor and the nurses. My mom spoke up, “I’m hungry. I want something to eat.”
They kept my mom in the hospital for two more days to monitor her, and then sent her home. She is doing fine. I know that it was Father Thomas interceding because we were told that when organs fail, even if she pulled through, she would have to be on dialysis for the rest of her life. But the Lord healed her organs! No dialysis! All the glory and praise goes to God with gratitude to Father Thomas. — Lisa Vasquez