They all cried out, Miracle! Miracle!

In 1968, while descending a flight of stairs in her home in Makurdi, Nigeria, Christiana Wayo slipped and fell on the last six steps, hitting her left knee hard on the floor. Unable to get up on her own, she called her neighbors who came to her aid. She was taken to the hospital where an elastic bandage was applied to her knee and she was discharged.

The history

Back home, she was lying in bed when she was startled. As she struggled, her injured knee somehow got caught in the frame of a chair next to the bed and she screamed in pain. The household members came immediately and freed her knee, which had begun to swell. With the help of some painkilling tablets, she managed to get through the night and the next day, she was taken back to the hospital where she was admitted. 

The knee, now very swollen, was drained and a fluid mixed with blood was removed by a medical assistant. X-rays were taken and the next day, Christiana saw the results: her patella (kneecap) had been fractured into two pieces; a cast was placed on her and after a week, Christiana was discharged from the hospital. Mrs. Christiana Wayo was supposed to have the cast for three months, but because of the great discomfort, she asked for it to be removed after eight weeks. More X-rays were taken, which showed no change. Another cast was placed, this time for six weeks. 

At the end of the six weeks, the cast was removed and another set of X-rays showed that there had been no change in her condition. The doctor informed her that there was nothing he could do other than remove the kneecap. Since the hospital did not have the facilities for the prescribed operation, Christiana was referred to the Orthopedic Hospital in Kano. She was given a pair of crutches and discharged. The swelling had gone down, but because her kneecap was exposed, she could not bend her knee. 

After about seven months at home, Mrs. Christiana  Wayo was visited by a hospital representative who asked if she would like to have the operation. She was told that it would not give her knee any more mobility, but that an artificial kneecap could be inserted at some future date if she wished. She went to the hospital, but being four months pregnant, she was worried about how the operation would affect the baby. When they said no, she left it up to God, gave her consent, and signed the necessary forms.

THE OPERATION.

Christiana was given a spinal injection, but remained wide awake as the operation began. In the spotlight of the operating room light, she watched something bloodstained being removed from her knee and she could hear what the doctors were saying. That was all she remembered, as fear and the effects of the medication had rendered her unconscious. When she returned to the ward a few hours later, the surgeon showed her the two pieces—one smaller than the other—of the kneecap that had been removed. Her leg was now in another plaster cast, lighter than the previous ones and with an opening around the knee for air to speed up the healing process. After a month in hospital, the plaster and stitches were removed. 

The wound had healed well, and she was taught some exercises to straighten her knee. More X-rays were taken, a set of which were given to her along with the documents* to be presented if she chose to have the future operation for an artificial kneecap. But Christiana could not, at the time, afford to travel 600 miles for further treatment. She no longer had any pain, but she could not stand on her left leg, it was stiff when she walked, and it made climbing stairs very difficult. Her condition remained unchanged for the next 13 years. *Unfortunately, after keeping the X-ray and documents for about six years, Christiana, not realizing that they would be useful in the future, discarded them along with some old books and letters when she moved to a new house.

The Journey to Garabandal

On July 19, 1981, Christiana embarked for London with a group of Nigerians led by Mrs. Suzana Oduah. There, they would join Mrs. Nadege Baco's group that was going to Garabandal. After the long flight to England, a boat trip to Great Britain and a bus trip to Spain, they finally arrived on the evening of July 20 in the village of San Sebastian de Garabandal. The next morning, after breakfast, Christiana joined the other members of the tour who were going to Los Pinos to pray the rosary. Two Nigerian girls supported her during the difficult climb up the rocky slope known as the calleja. She managed to get there and, after the rosary, she went down again, helped by the two young women.

"Miracle! Miracle!"

At 4:00 p.m., the group went back up to the Pines to pray, but the two girls who had helped Christiana that morning went ahead of her. Mrs. Wayo tried to go alone, but could not get very far. Trying to crawl, she said a mental prayer to Our Lady for help. Suddenly, she felt a surge of power in her leg! Then, feeling very light (as if someone was helping her from behind), she climbed the steep and difficult path to the Pines. 

Once there, she joined the others in reciting the Rosary – kneeling on both knees! Christiana relates what happened next. 

"I did not know that anything had happened to me. Since the others had already finished their prayers earlier, I had to go back down alone. When I reached the place (in the calleja) where the angel had appeared to the children, it occurred to me that I had walked from that point to the Pines, as if I had been supported. Overjoyed, I called Susanna, our group leader, to tell her what had happened to me. I jumped up, knelt down, bent down in an attempt to sweep like we do at home, and did it all with ease. When I told the group the story of my knee, we all rejoiced and thanked Our Lady! Everyone shouted, "Miracle! Miracle!" and asked Susanna to tell Mrs. Bacchus. 

During the bus ride back to Britain, the healing of Mrs. Wayo's knee was the main topic of discussion. They arrived in London on August 7. The next morning, Christiana got up at about 5:00 a.m. to say her morning prayers. She recounts her experience. As she prayed, an inner feeling seemed to be saying, "Touch your right knee, touch your right knee." I stopped and touched my right knee. 

I felt something hard and moving (the kneecap). So I sat down on the floor and compared the two knees. Each one had a kneecap! I knocked on Susanna's door, but she had gone to Mass. It was around 7:00 a.m. I went back to my room thinking… When Susanna came in, I called her to testify what had happened to my knee. We were both surprised and astonished. 

We returned to Nigeria on August 11, 1981. Since then, I have been able to kneel comfortably, stand up without any support, and can pray on my knees for any length of time. What I feel in my knee now I did not feel before August 7, 1981. In fact, I now have more strength in this leg than in the other. An X-ray of the leg showing the kneecap was sent to Prof. Manuel Lopez-Linares in Madrid, who was in charge of collecting data on cures associated with Garabandal. 

We can all rejoice and thank God for Christiana Wayo's inexplicable healing, and for seeing how and where it occurred. May it be for us a sign, a premonition, of the countless miracles that Our Lord will perform in that same place on the day of the great prophesied Miracle.

Translated by Garabandal Apostolate, August 2024