Proteinosi Alveolare

In its March 1981 issue, ‘Genie’ [People], a very popular Italian monthly published in Milan, printed an illustrated article on Baba’s Life and Message from the Italian journalist, Renzo Alleghri. The following excerpt narrates an astounding instance of Bhagavan’s compassion curing an incurable lung disease that had attacked a senior officer of the Italian Army.

The most incredible thing that happened here one year ago relates to a highly-placed military official from the Italian Army. The gentleman wants to be anonymous because of his position. His wife told me the story of what happened to them, and l shall relate it here exactly, quoting her own words:

“At the end of 1979, my husband started having lots of difficulties in breathing. So I took him to specialists, who told me after screening (x-rays) that his illness was in a very advanced stage as he was suffering from ‘sarcoidosi’ [severe inflammation of the lungs]. A few days later, my husband visited his military hospital and there they gave the following diagnosis: Your lungs are in such a bad state that it won’t be possible for you to continue in service. Anyway, try to cure yourself and come back after 90 days. We will see what to do.

It was a rude revelation that gave a tremendous shock to my husband, who was only 47 years old and very much attached to his military career. A very intensive treatment was given, but without any results. He had to be admitted to the hospital. The doctor who was attending on him was a famous specialist. He was checking his progress and his first treatment did not have any favorable response. He told my husband that he had to perform a biopsy on him, for only then he would be able to find the right treatment. My husband was in a terrible condition by that time, his lungs were only working 20 percent. There was not enough oxygen in his blood to allow any operation, and oxygen therapy had to be administered.

So for two weeks my husband had to wear the oxygen mask for12 hours a day. Even this proved useless. `Anyway there is no hope,’ said the doctor, ‘so we will try the operation.’ Very skillfully he would perform the operation and take away a piece of the lung for his examination. The result proved catastrophic. My husband learnt that he was suffering from `proteinosi alveolare’ [severe accumulation of proteins in the air sacs of the lungs]—an illness that is completely incurable. The doctor told me frankly that it was a very rare disease. He said: `In my lifetime, I have come across only three patients suffering from this illness and all the three have succumbed. The one person who could live longer survived only for one year. I have contacted some foreign specialists, friends of mine, whether in recent years any treatment has been discovered to combat this dreadful disease. But the answer is in the negative.’

I went back home in a state of desperation. I had to inform my three children about their father’s condition. My eldest daughter was going to an English school, and her teacher was an Indian lady from Bombay. When she saw my daughter crying, she asked her the reasons and on knowing of our family tragedy, she told her, `Ask your mother to ring me up.’ I called her and she invited me to her house. There she started talking about Sai Baba, who was completely unknown to me. She told me that if I had enough faith in Him and if I was praying, that person would be able to help me. She gave me some vibhuti [sacred ash] and a book on Sai Baba.

We are practicing Catholics, but my pain was so great that I could not pray. However, that person of whom the teacher talked to me gave me a lot of confidence and serenity. He appeared to me like a friend, who could help me to turn myself toward God. I came back and told my children what I heard and I started reading the book she gave me. The day after, I talked to my husband in the hospital about Sai Baba and he felt at once an instinctive attraction to Him. Every night I used to read one chapter from the book and give my husband some vibhuti to eat.

After sometime the hospital asked my husband to go back to the house to pass his last days peacefully, because they were sure that his end was very near. He came back home. We went on reading about Sai Baba and taking vibhuti. After 10 days we went back to the doctor for a check-up and there we discovered that a miracle had happened. My husband’s lungs were completely normal! The doctor could not believe it. Doubting his first x‑ray prints, he said, ‘we will do a new x-ray, but I have the feeling that something incredible has happened.’

The next day my husband went to another specialist—the one who had taken x-ray photos in the beginning and who knew his condition. The results of the new x-ray photos were bewildering. There were no signs of damaged lungs or of any disease! The doctor said, ‘There must be some error’ and he did another examination. While he was announcing the results, the doctor started crying in witnessing such a miracle.

So I took my husband again to the other doctor, who said, ‘I know everything already.’ The radiologist rang me up. He examined the radiographs he had before him for a long time and said that there was a complete reversal of the illness. ‘Two weeks ago, you were using your lungs up to 20 percent and they are working now at 80 percent,’ he said. That means you are breathing like a perfectly normal person. `Did you undergo any treatment without telling me’ queried the doctor? We told him, ‘We just prayed to the Virgin Mary for help…’ Of course, I did not mention Sai Baba because I did not know how to explain who He was. The doctor seemed to be thinking deeply and he said, ‘If this Virgin Mary does such miracles, please pray for me also.’ Then I asked the doctor, ‘Do you think that my husband can resume his duty again in the army?’ He said, ‘Of course, he can. He is in a perfect condition of health’.

One week later, my husband went to the military hospital carrying with him his x-ray photos. There the army doctor told him, `I do not know who gave you the impression that you are cured. But you cannot fool me. I know how your lungs are. We will do the x-rays again.’ When the results of the new x-rays were seen, he excused himself because he did not believe what he saw straightaway. I cannot imagine that such a miracle can take place’ he added.

This was on a Saturday and next Monday my husband was working as if nothing had happened. More than one year has passed, he is doing well and the couple are full of gratitude to Sai Baba.

Source: Sanathana Sarathi, May 1981