Tears of Blood - A Medical Condition Or a Miracle?

Are tears of blood a miracle or a medicalmost likely stop as spontaneously as they began.
condition? There have been many interestingWhy is it such a taboo to consider this to be a
accounts of such tears with people from all overmiracle? There might not be a medical explanation
the world, but it is obviously more difficult tofor this simply because it hasn't been researched
prove a miracle than it is to rule out possibleenough since it alone doesn't seem to be
causes for this. There is more of a focus on thelife-threatening. Perhaps it is something that is
scientific explanations for such occurrences and abeyond our grasp of true understanding.
sense of doubt pertaining to religious explanations.Some believers may say that this is a result of
We want an immediate answer for things like this"vicarious suffering" which is believed to be the
but we don't always get one. Anyone who bringsact of involuntary suffering for other people's sins
up the religious angle is destined for ridicule andso they can be forgiven. There is a 13 year old
bound to be called a "religious nut".girl named Twinkle Dwivedi in India who is
I was listening to The Early Show on CBS thecurrently experiencing such tears and is displaying
other morning while I was getting ready for workwhat is believed to be stigmata. Her palms, head
and something I heard grabbed my attention.and feet all emit blood yet she has no wounds.
"Stay tuned for our next story with a 15 year oldNational Geographic will air her story on
boy who cries tears of blood." What? This has toSeptember 13th with Dish Network.
be a unique story to say the least. I dropped myThere are two religious statues of The Virgin
makeup and dashed to the living room to see theMary that cry tears of blood and are deemed to
interview with the boy and his mother. Calvinobe genuine miracles according to the Vatican
Inman of Tennessee and his mother Tammy(others turned out to be staged). The two
Mynatt brought the video of him crying tears ofdocumented statues are the weeping statue of
blood hoping to reach out to someone who canThe Virgin Mary in 1949 in Syracuse, Italy and
help them with this situation. His tears did notOur Lady of Akita in 1988 in Japan. Religious
appear to be diluted in any way, they were purebelievers who feel that this phenomenon is a
blood! Calvino said that he thought he was goingmiracle are not sure why it's happening. Some
to die when he began crying the bloody tears. Itbelieve an occurrence like this is a sign from God
happens randomly about 3 times a day and lastsand are unsure as to whether it is good or bad.
for up to 15 minutes. The crying is not provokedSome believe that the weeping statues are
by emotion as Calvino is not feeling sad when thisreflecting sadness for these difficult times of war,
happens or doing anything that would inducepoverty and violence.
normal tear production.Calvino's story and the occurrence of weeping
There is a condition called Haemolacria that causesstatues remind me of the young girl Audrey Marie
people to shed bloody tears, but the doctorsSanto in my home town of Worcester, MA who
cannot yet say for sure if he has this condition.was in a coma for 19 years before she passed
Calvino went to five doctors with his mother andaway. Audrey was found in her pool at home
his condition has each of them baffled. He had anwhen she was three and never regained
ultrasound, CAT scan and an MRI which were allconsciousness. Doctors informed her mom that
normal. Haemolacria is usually a result of a largerAudrey would only live a few years and
underlying medical condition but he seems to be insuggested she place her in a nursing home. Her
good overall health. Calvino and his mom aremom is a believer and decided that if the doctors
continuing their search to find a diagnosis for hiscan't help, perhaps a miracle can. She took
condition. He claims that the tears burn and areAudrey to the shrine of Medjugorje. Audrey had
annoying. His peers at school teased him at firsta moment where she began to move and
by calling him names and saying he wasattempt to speak, which did not last very long
possessed but they have since apologized realizingbefore she returned to her previous state.
that Calvino cannot control his situation and hasAccording to her parents, many religious
visited many doctors in a quest to find itsexperiences occurred in her room such as religious
diagnosis.statues that wept oil and blood. One might think
According to information provided by CNN, athat the parents saw things they needed to see
doctor from the University of Tennessee'sat a very sorrowful time, but this story reached
Hamilton Eye Institute has studied this conditionneighbors and eventually the newspaper and
extensively and said that there were only fournews. Soon enough, people from all over the
cases of this mysterious occurrence betweenworld came to visit her and to pray for her
1992 and 2003. He is amazed that it is happeningrecovery and for miracles. Many visitors also gave
to a healthy young boy. He claims thattestimony that they were present when such
Haemolacria can be caused by deep emotionalmiracles had occurred. Audrey was said to have
trauma or a head injury, but agrees that Calvinoresponded to one man's prayers for a loved one
doesn't even fit the bill for this disorder. Anotherwith a tear. Perhaps there was a miracle at the
doctor at the same institute said that theshrine of Medjugorje, not only for obvious
condition that Calvino has can be something veryreasons, but for the fact that Audrey lived to be
miniscule in size which can be difficult to pinpoint23 years old. She never had a bed sore, even
with any of the tests he has undergone thus far.with the fact that she was bed-ridden for 19
He claims that they may have to wait for moreyears.
symptoms to surface to get the full picture ofCalvino Inman is from Tennessee which is a state
what the cause might be. Evidently, the conditionwell known for the amount of churches housed
can be the result of anything from a tumor to athere in the Bible belt. Could there be a miraculous
simple infection. It may be a repeat occurrence ofconnection with Calvino and the religious beliefs of
the four cases from '92-'03 when the bleedingthe people in his community? Could it be
mysteriously stopped on its own.something even larger than that? I'm not stating
This is claimed to have no religious significance. Itthat I believe this is a miracle, but I would rather
is spelled out that religion is not a factor on mosthear that than find out this young teenager has a
of the websites that I visited to gain moreserious medical problem.
information. Could it be better for each of theseThere is no scientific explanation for why this boy
unexplained cases to be a religious phenomenoncries blood and there was none for Audrey Marie
rather than a medical condition? I understand thatSanto who survived until the age of twenty three.
people want closure, especially the children andThere were no tangible explanations for what
their parents. I also realize that it has to beoccurred with the religious statues in Japan and
extremely difficult to deal with this in yourItaly. Will we ever know the reason behind these
everyday life but history has shown that itphenomena or will they forever remain a secret?
doesn't last forever as the tears of blood will