"The Miracle Story of Madison County"
by
Jim Chris Mouyeos
Radio Station WEKY
(written approximately 1964)

A fairy tale is a story of make believe in which a miracle happens to the hero and heroine and the involved live happily ever after. Most people don't believe in fairy tales, but the good citizens of Madison County and most certainly little Becky Ann Howard do ....because they lived one.

Most fairy tales have a heroine and a villain. Ours is no different. The heroine is Becky Ann Howard and villain the dreaded disease encephalitis.

This story also entails how the good people of Madison County, Kentucky, banded together and in a time of need in a world where it's everyone for himself showed their hearts were big enough to include a small child who desperately needed help.

WEKY first had the story made known to them on August 12th, 1964. WEKY learned the appalling plight of little seven-year-old Becky Ann Howard. Her condition was what the doctor called a "creeping paralysis," which was slowly impairing her speech and use of the limbs.

It was learned that the Howard family had completely exhausted their funds in the fight to save their seven-year-old daughter's life. Becky Ann's only and final chance was surgery and that's where the worthy citizens of Madison County showed their goodness.

The only known hospital in the world which could perform the brain operation that Becky Ann required was the Montreal Neurological Institute. The cost of such a specialized operation was over-whelming, not to mention the cost of a hospital bed.

WEKY immediately spearheaded a drive to get Becky the necessary funds to finance all expenses. The people of Madison County responded with amazing alacrity and almost instantaneously contributions began rolling in. The fund mounted to a thousand dollars, three thousand, five thousand and then over the incredible sum of ten thousand dollars.

...only God can fully comprehend and interpret the whole meaning.

Becky Ann Howard was now ready to go to Montreal, Canada, for the most important trip of her life. The Honorable Governor of Kentucky, Edward T. Breathitt, donated a state-owned plane to fly Becky to Canada.

Although a great deal has been said about the citizens of Madison County and rightly so; you cannot overlook the determination, the pride, the never-ceasing smile of Becky Ann Howard. She was the one who underwent countless hours of painful examinations and never once gave up the idea of getting well. This young lady deserved to live because she had the will to live.

Becky Ann was admitted to the Montreal Neurological Institute on Sunday August 16, 1964. She then went through a series of examinations to determine the exact extent of her illness by some of the world's most skillful and competent physicians.

A spark of hope was rekindled...

Then tragedy almost set in when it was learned and conveyed to WEKY that a virus had spread to both brain lobes and the brain stem, for which there was no known cure. Surgery was ruled out as useless. Becky Ann, it was decided, would return home.

Fate then took a hand in things and doctors at the Institute, after much deliberation, spoke in favor of the operation.

A spark of hope was rekindled in the hearts of forty thousand Madison Countians.

On September 4, 1964, Becky Ann Howard underwent surgery for nine, long, tedious hours. Only twenty minutes after the operation, Becky opened her eyes and spoke, another example of her strong inner fortitude.

Becky lapsed into a coma from September 7 through September 17 gaining consciousness for just seconds at a time. But Becky Ann fought on fiercely, still grasping for life she had come so far to retain and she slowly started regaining many of her displaced reflexes. Becky would be going home soon.

On October 15 she entered the St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, just twenty-four miles from home. She underwent more examinations at St. Joseph's but of a more routine nature and finally she was able to return home to Richmond, Kentucky.

Mrs. Howard, Becky's mother, told WEKY that Becky Ann is in her own bed and improving slowly but satisfactorily. Becky didn't speak for many weeks; however she now is beginning to say the cute things small children her age are apt to say. She can eat through her mouth ... anything put before her.

Before she is completely normal though (which she will be eventually) Mrs. Howard went on to relate that Becky will have to go through many, many hours of therapy at home and the hospital. Her next appointment with the doctor will be in the first part of November for a routine check up.

...the conglutination of the people at Richmond is truly a miracle.

Shortly after Becky Ann came home, Mrs. Howard came to the studios at WEKY to try to express her gratitude to the wonderful people who helped save her child's life ... in a sense their child. But how can one express herself when the task is of such great magnitude? This story, Mrs. Howard's gratitude, is bigger than any one person, bigger than all the citizens of Madison County... only God can fully comprehend and interpret the whole meaning.

The story of Becky Ann Howard, how she conquered death and the conglutination of the people at Richmond is truly a miracle. Becky Ann Howard could have given up and died but she didn't; in a way the ordeal is just beginning.

The story of a miracle is now becoming a reality in the hearty of the people of Madison County, the staff of WEKY, the Howard family, and most of all little Becky Ann.

~ ~ ~ Thy will be done. ~ ~ ~