By Kelley Kepler
Catholic Herald
Woman credits water from Lourdes for mother's recovery
WEYERHAUSER --In 2000, Rose Eckes, a self-employed woman living in rural Rusk County, received a gift from friends who had made a pilgrimage to Fatima. The package contained a figure of Mary and also a bottle of holy water from Lourdes.
Her friends Kevin and Hank Bachner, brothers living near Chicago, told Eckes that she would know when it was the right time to use the water. Eckes was skeptical of the mysterious healing power often attributed to Marian water, and she couldn't think of anyone who needed healing at the time. She placed the bottle on her dresser and it didn't cross her mind much after that.
The right time came on Friday, Dec. 13, 2002, when Eckes received sudden bad news. Her mother, Betty Heiting, 79, just had a massive stroke. Shortly afterward, there were two more phone calls from Stanley Hospital stating that doctors didn't expect her mother to survive the night.
Defying expectations, Heiting, a longtime parishioner at Holy Family Parish, Stanley (in the La Crosse diocese), did make it through the night.
Eckes remembered the water the next morning as she was preparing to leave for the hospital. "I saw the holy water while I was putting in my earrings," Eckes said. "I thought, if there was ever a time to use the water, now this is it."
When she arrived at the hospital, she found her mother in a coma. Heiting was lying in the fetal position and made no response to any outside stimulus. Her pulse and temperature fluctuated so much that nurses were unable to take a reading.
Also at the hospital were Eckes' husband, Ken, her brother Jerry, who faithfully takes care of Heiting, and her grandson Joshua. Soon after arriving, the men decided they were hungry and went down to the cafeteria. Eckes stayed with her mother.
After they left, she took the holy water out of her purse. She didn't want the others to see her with it and think she was crazy.
Eckes sprinkled some of the water on her mother's forehead and was surprised when her mother responded with a scowl. She tried again, and again, Heiting responded. Finally Eckes put some of the water on her mother's lips and thought "it's like a kiss from Mary."
The others returned after being gone less than 15 minutes. As Heiting's great-grandson walked through the door, Eckes said, "Look, Mom, little Joshua is here to see you."
Eckes was amazed to see her mother open her eyes and say, "Hi, Josh."
Heiting, who had not been expected to live 15 minutes before, was suddenly awake and talking. "The doctors didn't believe it; we didn't believe it," Eckes said. "It seemed like a miracle."
Though the rest of her family was unavailable for interviews, Eckes said Heiting's recovery never ceases to amaze her family.
At first Eckes had searched around for a medical explanation. She knew Heiting was a borderline diabetic and wondered if an insulin reaction could be mistaken as a stroke. The doctors assured her this was not the case. "I went back looking for a logical reason why this happened, and I didn't find one," she said.
Eckes now attributes the healing to her mother's strong faith in the Blessed Virgin Mary.
"I left the water with her because I feel that you need to have faith in order to have something work. This woman does have faith. She's gone through a lot of medical problems, and for her to recover from a stroke and regain all her mobility and her memory, it's a miracle," Eckes said.
"This has also been a rebirth for me," Eckes said, and added that she has prayed the rosary every day since her mother's recovery.
"I think it shows that there is something beyond us, and we have to address this fact," she said. "We often get so busy with everyday life, and we don't give too much thought to the hereafter."
"I was not there 20 years earlier when my dad died," said Eckes. "I was a manager, and I had to be at work. I put my job ahead of my family. ... God gave me a second chance to tell my mom everything I want to tell her."
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2003