Audrey Marie Santo: December 19, 1983-April 14, 2007
Audrey with the missionary image of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Today is the anniversary of Audrey Santo’s accident, August 9, 1987. She fell into the family pool when she was three years old…she was rushed to hospital and revived, but due to the drowning and an overdose of phenobarbitol given to her at the hospital(as the family claimed), Audrey was left in a state known as "akinetic mutism"; non-speaking, non-moving. She could communicate through squeezing your hand or her eyes, her breathing, etc. Her mother and caregivers said she was quite aware of her environment; she knew when those close to her were in the room and seemed happier when they were there, she cried at the proper times in movies, and would sometimes set off one of her medical alarms if she felt the nurse was taking too long in another room.
What made Audrey extremely special is that miracles were found to manifest around and through her. Her family, devout Roman Catholics, insisted she come home to be cared for, against medical advice that said she’d be "dead in two weeks" if her mother, Linda, took her home rather than placing her into an institution. They said even then, Audrey would likely die within three years.
Undaunted, Audrey ‘s mother said, when asked where she was placing Audrey (meaning an institution), "I’m placing her in my arms-she’s coming home with me". The family worked hard to provide Audrey with round-the-clock care (by themselves, mainly, at first) and to bring their house up to code and outfitted for Audrey’s medical needs. The community responded with overwhelming support and, as Linda said , "God seemed to want Audrey known from the very beginning"; her story was continuously in the papers, and so many people came to pray for or visit Audrey when she was in hospital that they had to secure a private room for her.
Audrey came home in November 1987,and a year later, on the anniversary of her accident, her mom took her to Medjugorje, Yugoslavia, where the Virgin Mary was reportedly appearing to young visionaries and miracles were happening. Linda packed Audrey’s sandals for the trip, convinced she would be able to run down the apparition hill site after being cured.
Amazingly, despite the throngs of people there, Linda was able to get entry into the room where the Virgin Mary appeared in the local church of St. James. The night before, she heard people outdoors excitedly saying, "American baby’s face in the moon!" . Linda looked outside and to her astonishment, there was Audrey’s face on the moon. Linda prayed for the Virgin Mary to "heal her or take her".
In the apparition room, where Ivan, the young visionary was experiencing a vision of the Virgin Mary, surreal things occured. There was no air in the stifiling loft and everyone was perspiring; except Audrey, and Linda knew that Audrey could perspire normally. Audrey’s hair was also blowing like a breeze was in the room, but there was no breeze.
Audrey reportedly moved her hands and head as if saying "Yes" and Ivan knelt down and spoke to her in Croatian. Linda said she never asked what he said, as it was between Mary and Audrey, and if she was meant to know, she would.
That night, Linda and the RN who had come with her were excited to see that Audrey was suddenly very animated. Her pupils seemed to equalize and she was tracking her nurse’s movements. She was moving her head and hands and everyone was rejoicing, saying she was going to wake up.
Then something awful happened…Audrey coded. Despite overwhelming odds,as they were in a very limited area of Yugoslavia with primitve medical care, Audrey survived a few cardiac arrests and they obtained a med vac flight back to the States.
It seemed like a failure and a miracle in itself that Audrey made it home still intact and in the same condition as when she left. Some people thought Linda had been irresponsible.
But more was coming.
The religious articles in Linda’s home started weeping copious amounts of oil and blood. There was no known cause proven as to why this was happening when investigated. Four hosts consecrated in the family home wept blood and the blood was found to be human. One host bled during a mass as it was consecrated, with no possibility of fraud.
Then came the people. People began flocking to the Santo home after hearing of the miracles. Miracle cures happened, such as the time Audrey was visited by a cancer patient, and later, Audrey developed a vivid crimson rash on her legs of unknown origin. When tested by a dermatologist, he said that the only causation of such a rash was a certain kind of chemotherapy. Audrey had never had chemo, and the woman was healed of cancer. People smelled roses around Audrey when none were physically there. Several nurses converted to Catholicism, or returned to their faith, through Audrey and her mother’s example. Audrey was immaculately cared for, and despite all predictions, was relatively doing quite well; she had no bedsores despite several years being bedridden. She grew and entered puberty totally normally. Her blood and urine samples were normal, and the very fact that she was kept in such a healthy condition was a miracle in itself. Audrey appeared so peaceful and beautiful, with her long flowing chestnut hair, clear skin, and blue-green eyes. Her caregivers kept her in beautiful clothing and styled her hair. It was and is obvious that her family went above and beyond to care for her.That’s also evidence of however one sees God, if there ever was one and as the investigators had stated.
So, we get to why this matters to me. I was once a Catholic and am now Wiccan. What could Audrey mean to me?
I don’t know, but for some reason, I feel a great connection to her. I’ve dreamed of her and have had situations/issues healed by her a few times. The night before she died, I had a vivid dream of her and was shocked to read that she had died when I checked the internet the next day.I’ve written to the family. I recieved oil from the family, on an ordinary cotton ball, and it stayed wet for over a year, despite being in a normal ziplock bag.
Audrey is very special to me. I questioned and debated her story, like anyone else, but something deep in my soul and gut told me that the story was absolutely true. I believe it wholeheartedly and am very glad Audrey has blessed me. Maybe I will never know why. All I know is that people in Audrey’s situation, many of which I worked with at my former employer (and Audrey had something to do with me being hired there, I’m convinced of it, but that’s another story), seem to be dialed in to a higher plane.
I wondered how I could reconcile this with my Wiccan beliefs. An Aboriginal Elder gave me the answer..she was speaking at our pow wow last year and said that people who are profoundly disabled are "in the spirit world" most of the time and that they are "earth angels", to use Christian terms. Aboriginal culture believes those who are in a state such as Audrey’s are blessings and are a mediary between our world and the spirit plane. I believe that, after working with those in this state, particularily children. They have a special aura about them. It’s hard to explain until it’s experienced. The Elder said that people choose to live this way, to minister to others and to be spirit people.
I had wondered that…who would choose such a life? But I don’t think that’s up to us to answer.
All I know is Audrey has blessed my life, and many others. The Church began a rigorous investigation into the claims and said that they could not prove or disprove the miracles officially, but they said there was no evidence of chicanery, which is an amazing verdict by the Church as their investigations are very intense.
Audrey’s mother was contacted after Audrey’s death of cardio-respiratory failure on April 14, 2007, at age twenty-three by the Vatican. Right now, they are beginning the process to make Audrey a saint. I sent the family an email with my information in the hopes that it may help.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreampt of in our philosophy"..as Shakespere said. Who’s to say we have to stay within our own strict religious boundary? Healing, miracles, and truth occur within all of them, and sometimes, blessings come from where we least expect them to…and we should remain open to them. As William Blake said:, "cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door".
I sent the family a bouquet of white roses for Audrey’s memorial, and a card. I didn’t feel wierd about it, even though I’d never met them. It seemed like the right thing to do.
If you want to learn more about Audrey, I provided a link to her official website, in the blue-colored header at the beginning of my post.
Thank you, dear Audrey. Rest well and may you continue to inspire others.
Audrey Marie Santo, rest in peace. 
, so it gives a decent picture of some of the things that make up who I am. Just some of them. To elaborate even still..
