Audrey Santo, widely referred to as Little Audrey, was three-years-old when she fell into the family swimming pool. Rushed to the hospital, Audrey fell into a coma. After three weeks she awoke, but would remain in a condition called Akinetic Mutism. She could not talk and could only make slight movements. The doctors wanted her sent to an institution, but her mother refused. She believed Audrey would receive better care at home.
This is a scenario that neither my mind nor heart cannot begin to grasp. How can a parent survive watching their healthy child become a fragile, completely dependent child overnight? The pain must be immeasurable. Yet families suffer through it and come out on the other side more often than we realize. In Audrey’s case, an entire community suffered and celebrated along with her family, proving that there is value in every life.
From the beginning, family, friends and strangers overwhelmed the family with support through prayers, cards and gifts. So great was the attention given to this little girl that she had to be moved to a private room in the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit.
Soon, Audrey returned home and according to the family began to develop marks on her body in resemblance to the wounds suffered by Christ. Paintings and statues in the family’s home began to exude oil and blood. The objects were studied but no source of the substances was ever found or explained. Thousands of people began the journey to visit Audrey and pray. Healings, not yet proven, were said to take place, and stories of this little girl as an instrument of God began to emerge. The family believed her to be a “victim soul” – one who takes on the sufferings of others, as she would develop unexplained physical symptoms such as a rash similar to someone undergoing chemotherapy, while nearly simultaneously a cancer patient would call the family for help.
Whether or not these signs and miracles can be proven doesn’t matter to the family. When Audrey left this world in 2007, she had a following of supportive friends and strangers attend her funeral. She was the type of person many in our country and our world would disregard because she couldn’t walk or talk. But without a word, Little Audrey, inspired millions and gave hope to the hopeless. Every life, each human has purpose and value.