‘Just incredible thanksgiving to God, and His mercy is just astonishing’
She had less than a 50 percent chance of survival twice. Heaven then sent several messages they had her back 
By ANDREW HANSEN 
Editor 

The following story appeared in the documentary, God is Alive, Part 2, produced by the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois and which premiered earlier this year.

ASHLAND — Meeting Colette Gaston of Ashland today, you would never know that in her teenage years, she battled one health crisis after another with doctors telling her she is lucky to be alive today.

“I wouldn’t say I am lucky because I know God took care of me and put His hand on me,” she responds.

The Gaston family describes her story as miraculous, not only because she beat the medical odds, but also because of the several profound and incredible faith encounters that happened along the way.  

It started in 2015 when Gaston was 16 years old. She was rushed to the hospital due to a dangerously high heart rate and was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis, which is an extensive and intense inflammation of the colon. It was at the hospital when Colette’s mom, Joanne, experienced something she’ll always remember.   

“Of course, it was an emergency situation — her heart rate was incredibly fast,” Joanne recalls. “They didn’t even have a room for her. They just rushed her to the back corner of the ER hallways. I was just standing, leaning up against the wall and praying when an elderly man approached me and asked me, ‘Is that your daughter?’ I said, ‘Yes, it is.’ He said, ‘Can I pray with you?’ So, he grabbed my hands, and I closed my eyes, and we prayed. When he let go, I opened my eyes, and he was gone. I looked all around for him. I asked other people, ‘Did you see this man?’ ‘No, we didn’t,’ they said.” 

Just four months after that two-week stint in the hospital, Colette was rushed back to the ER, but this time, it was worse. She faced a series of issues including a collapsed lung and a near-fatal blockage of her femoral artery. After medical personnel attempted to remove a clot, a piece broke off and went into her brain. That alone could have killed her. She was placed on a ventilator and transferred to St. Louis where her kidneys started to shut down.

“I don’t remember a lot at this time,” Gaston said. “I do remember a time when I was laying in my hospital bed alone, and I immediately closed my eyes and as soon as I closed them, I felt a giant hand completely over my head. It made me wake up immediately. It was so close, I almost felt it, and there was no one else in the room, so I know it had to be God. My Mom told me later that she had asked God to put His hand on me.” 

On Palm Sunday in 2016, Gaston’s hematoma ruptured, resulting in her losing several liters of blood. The family later learned Gaston received the last three units of blood in the entire hospital that night — exactly the amount she needed to survive.

Doctors believed Gaston had an autoimmune disorder but couldn’t quite get a firm diagnosis. The medical team also said that she had a less than 40 percent chance of survival. The Gastons spread the news about the dire situation and asked people to pray. During all this, Joanne visited The Basilica of St. Louis in St. Louis.

“I knelt at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in the church, and I said, ‘Lord, I know Colette is not ours to keep. She is just a gift that is on loan to us, but I am begging you for a miracle. I am going to believe whole heartedly that you are going to give us that miracle for her healing,’” Joanne recalls.

A crucifix was placed in Gaston’s hospital room. She was blessed daily with holy water and holy St. Padre Pio oil. Gaston spent the next two months at the ICU, hanging on. Doctors told her that her condition was again ulcerative colitis, and her best chance of surviving was to remove her colon, but that procedure was dangerous. She was given less than a 50 percent chance of surviving the surgery.

“I was laying in my hospital bed, and I had a vision of myself of being up in the air and seeing a hospital hallway, and I saw the hall was just full of saints walking, and I had the feeling they were all interceding for me,” Gaston said.

Gaston defied the medical odds, made it out of surgery, and to the amazement of doctors, she improved quickly. After three months in the hospital and relearning to walk, Gaston went home, but she had to remain on dialysis and blood thinners.

A few months after this health ordeal, Gaston and her mom went to a healing service at St. James Parish in Riverton. At the service, each person received a fresh rose petal that had been blessed. They were told an image most important to each person could appear on the petal. For Gaston, she was shocked when she looked down and saw the image of St. Padre Pio appear on the pedal.

“My mom and I just started crying because it was powerful,” Gaston said, recalling being blessed with St. Padre Pio oil in the hospital. “Padre Pio is interceding for us. He does hear our prayers and intercedes for us to God even though sometimes you don’t really feel it.”

A couple months after that healing service, Gaston was removed from dialysis and blood thinners, something the family believes was miraculous as doctors told them those would be permanent in Gaston’s life. Today, Gaston is healthy.

“My doctors and nurses are just blown away when they see me,” Gaston said. “Some of them don’t recognize me. They couldn’t believe I was the same person.”

“I’ve just trusted God that it has served a greater purpose,” Joanne said. “We’ll never know the people who were brought back to Christ. We had so many medical personnel out of the blue tell us, ‘I am a fallen away Catholic, I used to be Catholic.’ We weren’t even talking about it, but they saw us praying the Rosary. They also heard Colette praying. One day, even when she was sedated, and I was in there, she was saying, ‘Blessed be Jesus. Blessed be Jesus.’ The nurse said, ‘What is she doing?’ I said, ‘She is praying. That’s what we do as a family.’ So, I do think this has served a greater good.”

When Gaston looks back on her story and thinks about the doctors telling her multiple times the odds were not in her favor to survive and even if she did beat the odds, she would have a poor quality of life, and yet today, she is healthy, her response is all about her faith.

“Just incredible thanksgiving to God, and His mercy is just astonishing.”

---

Watch Collette’s story in the documentary, God is Alive Part 2. Watch below: Then, embed this video: