Posted on 06/13/2014 4:04:55 AM PDT by rhema
No one guessed little Giselle had a heart problem until a routine doctor’s check-up at seven months old. But her short, joy-filled life ended with visions of Jesus and heaven, a comfort to those who loved her most.
“I don’t know why Giselle was born this way,” says Tamrah Janulis, Giselle’s mother. “That’s one of the questions I will ask God.”
At seven months, doctors discovered a congenital heart defect known as tetralogy of Fallot, the most common cause of blue baby syndrome. Tamrah and husband Joe were completely surprised when doctors informed them that Giselle lacked a pulmonary valve and arteries.
“I thought there was nothing wrong,” Tamrah recalls. “I wasn’t prepared. I was at the hospital and my world completely stopped. I was in shock, speechless.”
Some medical experts said Giselle — the youngest of four children — could live to be 30, others said she should not be alive at all.
Two months later, doctors performed heart surgery and discovered the connections between Giselle’s heart and lungs looked like “a bowl of spaghetti” or “a bird’s nest,” with small thread-like veins that had sprung up, attempting to compensate for the missing arteries.
After this surgery, experts recommended a variety of additional surgical options, some rare procedures considered risky.
Tamrah and Joe decided against further surgeries, but followed doctors’ prescriptions for a litany of medicines. “I gave her meds every other hour and shots twice a day,” Tamrah says. “I carried her everywhere and never let her out of my sight.”
A bright child, Giselle learned the alphabet at 10-months-old. “Nothing stopped Giselle,” Tamrah says. “She loved going to the zoo. She rode horses with me. She did everything.”
“We’re a very musical family and Giselle was always singing,” she adds.
As the months went by, Giselle’s hands, feet, and lips began to exhibit a slight bluish hue, telltale signs her heartGiselle 1 was not working properly.
After her second birthday, she had her first vision of Jesus. It happened in their family room, only a few weeks before her passing.
“Hey Jesus. Hi. Hi Jesus,” she said, to her mom’s surprise.
“What do you see, babe? Tamrah asked.
“Hi Jesus. Hi,” little Giselle continued, her eyes wide with delight.
“Where is He?
“Right there,” she pointed.
Giselle had at least two more visions of Jesus in the weeks before her graduation to heaven. One happened in the car while they were driving and another in a store.
One day in the car, Giselle began to spontaneously sing, “Rejoice! Rejoice! (E)mmanuel…” She had not learned to pronounce ‘E’s’ so it came out as ‘Manuel.’
“How does Giselle know that Christmas song?” sister Jolie Mae wanted to know.
According to Tamrah, Giselle had never heard the hymn before. Also, in the weeks leading to her passing, she would suddenly begin singing “Hallelujah” as she walked around the house.
Cindy Peterson, Giselle’s grandmother, believes the veil between heaven and earth was pulled back slightly, in preparation for her ascent to heaven. “She had a foot on earth and a foot in heaven,” Cindy believes. “She was joining with the worship in heaven.”
A week before her passing, Giselle was lying in bed, not feeling well. As Tamrah studied her daughter’s face, Giselle pointed up at a corner of the ceiling. “Hey horsey. Hi,” she said.
“Where’s the horsey?” mom asked.
“There…” she pointed.
She also pointed to a “kitty cat” but Tamrah is convinced she saw a lion, a glimpse of the wondrous menagerie of creatures inhabiting heaven.
A few days later, Tamrah and husband Joe still didn’t know her passing was imminent. But four days before the time, Giselle’s condition deteriorated.
“She was getting weaker and weaker,” Tamrah says. “Her hands and feet started tingling and the tissue started dying. Her feet, hands and lips were increasingly blue.
Little Giselle left this world March 24th, in her mother’s arms, at home. Joe was embracing both mother and daughter on their king-sized bed.
In the minutes before her home-going, Giselle let out a soft wail. Joe thought she was crying because she was going to miss her family.
“My miracle is that she lived as happy as she did,” Tamrah says. “Every day with her was like a miracle to me.”
“It gives me hope that she saw the Lord and she is in heaven with Him. I know she is up there and she is waiting for me.”
The song belowwas written and sung by Tamrah, accompanied by Joe.
I have a friend whose daughter was diagnosed with tetralogy of Fallot during prenatal ultrasounds. At birth, the baby was whisked away for surgery, and has had several surgeries since. She is now in elementary school.
Such a shame that the diagnosis for this little girl in the article came so late.
wow.
Thanks for posting, some good news was in order with all other going on.
PING!
That was a very sweet story. I’m glad I saw it!
My youngest son was also born with Tetrology of Fallot. At 6 months old, he became one of the first non-emergent total repairs done on an infant that young.
Sadly, our Johnny had a stroke before the reparative surgery. He lived, but the stroke did leave him with cognitive disabilities.
Well, he’s 16 now, over 6’4”, and healthy as a horse. He is also one of the most singularly spiritual people I’ve ever met.
It is interesting that he, too, tells me he’s seen and spoken to Our Lord and His Blessed Mother (she doesn’t look like the holy card pictures but she is beautiful).
I will pray for little Giselle, though I doubt she needs my prayers. Perhaps she will pray for me instead.
Regards,
I believe she is now praying for all of us and for our very, very troubled world right now.
Thank you for posting the story.What a sweet little girl.
Oh death where is your victory, oh death where is your sting... Praise be to Jesus who said “let the children come to me...”
Sumthin’ wrong with my monitor.
Bump!
Wow...wet eyes after reading this article.
I completely share the grandmother's belief. The same thing happened with my husband's grandfather during his final illness. The nurses and doctors said they'd never seen anything like it.
Happy to read Johnny is healthy. Are you able to divulge what Our Lord and His Blessed Mother said to him (or did he just speak to them)?
Glenn Beck told the story of his father's recent passing when he looked up to the ceiling and said his last words:
"Okay. I understand.I have heard a few other first hand stories like these both from friends and from strangers. I once had doubts, but not now.
I'm ready.
Take me with you."
All I know is, "Heaven is for real."
Lizzy, I wish I could tell you more, but because of his stroke, Johnny remained essentially non-verbal until he was about 6. He only had a few words he was able to say, though he understood most of what was said to him. He was NOT uncommunicative — he was just non-verbal.
The first time he spoke of it, though, was at my Nana’s wake. It was his first time going to one, and I went up to the coffin with him to make sure he wasn’t afraid.
As we knelt by Nana’s side, he looked up at me and said, “She’s happy.” I thought he meant Nana, but it turned out he was speaking of the Blessed Mother. When I asked him more about it, he just shook his head and shrugged — that was his way of letting me know that he didn’t have the words to say any more.
As he grew older, I’d ask him every now and then if he remembers what he used to tell me. He says he does remember, but still cannot say what he heard. He always smiles about it, though.
I wish I knew more.
Regards,
What a beautiful story; thank you for telling me. I’m on my way to adoration shortly, and I’ll light a candle for you and for Johnny. And if it’s appropriate, please tell him he made my day. I love Our Blessed Mother (and of course, her Son), and hope to see her too. :)
Thanks for this heart-warming testimony from Giselle’s parents.
Oh, thank you, mlizzy! Johnny is always thrilled when someone lights a candle for him. I will be sure to tell him about you. I know he will say a prayer for your intentions.
Regards,
Thanks for this heart-warming testimony from Giselle’s parents.Me too, rhema! What a powerful message.........from such a sweet innocent child. God be with her and her beautiful family.
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