The miraculous medal of Paris

I lived in Paris for the first 11 years of my life, and received Catholic teaching both at home and at school. But my absolute conviction of the truths of the Catholic faith was cemented by an actual experience.
Two months before my seventh birthday I became seriously ill, lapsed into a coma and was rushed to hospital, the HOpital St Vincent de Paul in Paris. The coma lasted for four weeks during which time all sorts of tests were carried out, none of which gave a positive indication of the cause of my condition, though all pointed to something similar to meningitis.
During this period many of the hospital staff gave up hope, but my mother refused to do so. She put a medal round my neck (I later learned that this was the Miraculous Medal of the Immaculate Conception) and she arranged for prayers for my recovery to be offered in France, England, Ireland and Australia. Every day en route from home to hospital, she attended Mass at the chapel of the Miraculous Medal in the Rue du Bac.
I have no doubt that it was my mother's constant care, her prayers and the powers of this medal which brought me through an illness which lasted several years, finally diagnosed as a viral encephalitis inflammation of the brain to the layman.
The hospital where I stayed is named after St Vincent de Paul, whose heart is enshrined in the chapel of the Daughters of Charity in the Rue du Bac. There is a legend attached to this place and the creation of the miraculous medal.
In 1831 Catherine Laboure joined the Daughters of Charity as a novice and experienced many visions both of Our Lady and the heart of St Vincent de Paul. On three consecutive days she saw the heart hovering above its shrine; first it was white then fiery and finally red and black when Catherine heard a voice foretelling many calamities which were to befall France, such as the brutal murder of the Archbishop of Paris in 1871. Catherine Laboure was canonised in 1947.
On one occasion, the Virgin Mary appeared to Catherine in celestial robes, standing on a globe and holding another in her hand. She instructed Catherine to have a medal struck with the symbol of her heart and that of her son. This is the Miraculous Medal now worn by many Catholics and which was instrumental in my recovery.
In 1974, I went to Lourdes where Our Lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. There, I met the Irish nun from the Carmel convent in Lourdes who had organised many Masses and novenas for me during my long illness. The sisters of Mount Carmel earn their living by selling small cakes to the pilgrims and tourists.
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception performed a small miracle for me, and I pray that her heart may be appreciated and loved by Catholics everywhere.
Catherine Abate