(somber music)
- I first showed symptoms just before New Year's.
I tested positive, it went through the whole family.
We were about six days in,
really just seemed like it was all over.
I started to feel a lot of fatigue
and started to get concerns, so we called the doctor
and we were measuring my oxygen levels,
and they were dropping.
By the time we got to the hospital,
my oxygen had dropped significantly.
They quickly prepped me and got me in the ICU,
that was really the last I remember.
I got the mask on, I took a selfie.
(somber music continues)
- I called the hospital in the morning,
and the nurse had answered the phone
and she was really distraught.
And she's like, I just finished stabilizing him,
we almost lost him.
He started to crash, he's undergone serious damage.
Patients in his condition need long-term oxygen
and possibly lung transplant.
My world crashed, I wasn't expecting that.
I didn't wanna believe it, I couldn't believe it.
- Megan called me, she wanted to call upon the intercession
of someone who needed to be canonized.
She said, what do you suggest.
At that moment, I really believe
it was just the Holy Spirit,
but I just felt Blessed Michael McGivney.
I really felt that he was the one
to be his intercession for the family.
- We sent the intercessory prayer out
to everyone we knew online in social media, friends, family,
I mean, anyone we could think of.
We were letting everyone know
to seek the intercession of Blessed Michael McGivney.
- I got a message from Megan
that it was a serious situation.
I did what a priest is supposed to do,
I went to the hospital, visited him,
gave him Anointing of the Sick.
- Father Bill came in and I saw him open up
the little blue case,
which contained the relic of Father McGivney
and he held it over me and he said the prayers.
I clearly remember the little image
of Blessed Michael McGivney over the relic,
and I was just really at peace.
I knew that was something special.
(somber music continues)
- I got a late night call from the hospital
that they were preparing him for transport.
They were running me through all the risks
with transportation, so I gave all the permissions
I needed to give and got off the phone.
About two hours later, the hospital in Frederick
had been running blood tests
to prepare him for transportation,
and his blood oxygen level suddenly doubled.
And they couldn't explain
why all of a sudden he had this change,
they hadn't done anything differently.
So that was the day that we had first sought
the intercession of Blessed Michael McGivney.
And from then on, every time we took a step closer
to Blessed Michael McGivney, he showed signs of improvement.
- When I woke up and I got moved to the recovery room,
stuff they tell you how long it's gonna take,
best estimate's for six weeks.
Within a day, I was picking myself up in the seat.
It really surprised the nurses
including one that had her own throat surgery,
and she told me it's gonna be a while,
I couldn't talk for six months.
When I saw her in the morning,
and I said, "Good morning."
I literally shocked these nurses.
- She ran out the room.
- She ran out of the room.
(Megan laughing) screaming she did.
To me, I wasn't moving fast enough.
To the staff, I was blowing them away.
And I went for a follow up
with a nurse practitioner at the hospital.
And the report said, no sign of lung or acute lung disease,
and I asked the nurse, "Was this a miracle?"
She says, "Yeah, this is a miracle."
(soft upbeat music)
- Part of the intercessory prayer
is building up the body of Christ the church,
and you could feel that the entire time.
As soon as we started seeking his intercession,
it was like the body of Christ had been built up around us.
Just everyone went into action, started coming together.
(kids greeting)
We certainly become big fans of Blessed Michael McGivney.
- [Joseph] Yes.
- And we take every opportunity to help other families
learn about him and seek his intercession.