Akita Miracle: The Tumor That Vanished Overnight Through Our Lady’s Intercession

Today’s episode tells the astonishing true story of Teresa Chong, a mother of four in Seoul who fell into a coma with an aggressive, inoperable brain tumor. Doctors said there was no chance of recovery. Her family prepared for her death.

Then a simple photograph of the weeping statue of Akita was placed beneath her pillow… and Heaven moved.

Transcript

A woman lies motionless in a hospital bed in Seoul. Her brain consumed by a tumor no doctor can remove. She's slipping into a coma and her family preparing for the worst. Then a simple photograph of a wooden statue is placed beneath her pillow. A statue thousands of miles away in a small Japanese convent known for one impossible claim. It wept human tears. At sunrise, the woman sits up fully conscious speaking alive. Doctors rush in, scans ordered, images compared, and the tumor gone completely. This is the miraculous story of Terresa Jung and how a dying woman in Korea became one of the most powerful confirmations of the apparitions of Our Lady of Aikita. Welcome to episode 8 of Advent Daily where we are exploring Marian apparitions in preparation for Christmas. today. One of the most medically dramatic miracles associated with a locally approved Marion apparition. Her name was Teresa Chen, 46 years old, a mother of four, and a recent Catholic convert. She did not even know about the events in Akita. Her illness began as a headache, then seizures, then the devastating diagnosis, a brain tumor, large, aggressive, and inoperable. Despite treatment, her condition deteriorated. She slipped into a coma or what doctors described as a vegetative state. There was nothing more they could do. Her family gathered, heartbroken, watching her fade away. But then something unexpected. Korean Catholics who had recently visited Akita heard about Teresa's condition. They brought home a photograph of the weeping statue and gave it to the family. Her sister, who was also her godmother, took the picture and placed it gently beneath her pillow. She invited the nurse and friends to pray with her. "Ask our lady of Akita to intercede," she told them. And so they prayed quietly, faithfully, beside a motionless woman whom doctors believed would never rise again. And then came the morning that would change everything. August 4th, 1981. Before dawn, no movement, no sign of improvement. And then she opened her eyes, set up. She began speaking clearly, rationally, fully aware. The nurses were stunned. Her sister burst into tears. No one had expected this. Not even the slightest chance of recovery. And now she was awake, completely restored to consciousness. Doctors immediately ordered new imaging, and they compared the new ones with the ones taken before. The results were unequivocal. The brain tumor was gone. Not reduced, not shrinking, gone. A tumor that had been clearly visible on earlier X-rays had disappeared entirely. No surgery, no medical explanation. The doctor who oversaw her case, Dr. Tong Wukim of St. Paul's Hospital in Seoul, personally confirmed the authenticity of the X-rays. The story of what happened spread quickly throughout the Korean Catholic community. This was not a rumor. This was no exaggeration. It was documented in a hospital and verified by multiple physicians. The Korean bishops formed a committee to investigate. Their conclusion, Terresa Chong's healing was miraculous, granted through the intercession of Our Lady of Akita. They sent official documentation to Rome as part of the cause for the 103 Korean martyrs. For Bishop Johnto, the bishop of Akita, this miracle mattered deeply. He had already witnessed Sister Agnes' own miraculous healing of deafness. He had seen samples of the statue's tears tested and confirmed as human tears. But a medically documented healing from another country from a woman who did not even know about Aikita gave powerful independent confirmation. This miracle helped strengthen his readiness to judge the apparitions. Now, not all miracles are the same. Some happened all of a sudden and some happen gradually. But this miracle is unique because it has three distinct markers. First, a terminal brain tumor documented by imaging. Second, a sudden instantaneous reversal with no medical cause. Third, the healing occurred after prayer to a specific Maran apparition that had itself been under scrutiny. Teresa's healing became one of the clearest signs that the events of Akita were not psychological, not imagined, not fabricated, but from heaven. Terresa China returned home fully recovered to live her life with her husband and children. Her case remains one of the most medically solid miracle claims associated with Mary and intercession. And though she herself was not seeking signs or wonders, heaven met her in the moment of greatest need. Miracles aren't magic tricks. They are invitations. invitations to trust, to return, to pray, to believe that God still moves in the quiet places of the world. A woman in a coma, a family praying, a picture tucked beneath a pillow, and a God who listens to the intercession of his mother. As Bishop Ido would later write of the events in Akita, in my judgment, the events of Akita are of supernatural origin. And the healing of Theresa Chong remains one of the clearest signs of that supernatural love. So, how does this story inspire us? How is it practical to us? Well, immediately I just think like who needs a miracle? And I I think even just off the top of my head, I can think of five people right now in our lives who need a miracle. Yeah. So why not just like put a miraculous medal or put an image of our lady of Akita or request the intercession of our lady of lords? There's so many things we can do. Yeah. The thing is sometimes we hear these stories and we sense sensationalize them. We think well that aid is like maybe you've heard it before and you it's famous or lured is famous and Fathom is a famous place. We'll get to Fatima but away and you're thinking well I don't live in a famous place. Mhm. I think this story highlights how Mary comes just to an ordinary mother. Mhm. In a hospital bed. Uh our Lord knows our needs. He knows our sufferings. Our Lady when invited does come with grace. And so don't exclude yourself from supernatural grace or Mary's help. Mary, whatever your need is, I think Mary does want to intercede for you. So present those needs and maybe you could consider presenting your needs under the title Our Lady of Akita. Our Lady of Akita, pray for us.