Miracle Children with Celine Dion - Show Recap

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Oprah opened the show by introducing the story of Kendra and Maliyah, conjoined twins born February 26, 2002. The twins were separated during a 26 hour surgery when they were 4 years old. They first made an appearance on the Oprah Show on January 26, 2007, just 5 months after their operation. The girls are now 6 years old and came out to the stage riding tricycles with big smiles on their faces; mother, Erin, joined them as well. The girls progress has been miraculous - Erin gave one of her kidneys to Maliyah, but they will still face more surgery in the future.

In a few weeks the girls will be fitted for their prosthetic legs, which is a huge milestone for them. In their life outside of their medical condition, Kendra and Maliyah are in the first grade and shared that their favorite part of school is recess.

A clip was shown to showcase a 9 year old boy from China named Lin Hao. Lin walked with basketball player Yao Ming in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, but many people were unaware of what a little hero the boy was. Lin survived the tragic earthquake in China back in May, while 20 of his classmates did not survive. After Lin was able to get out of the rubble, he went back in to help 2 other children out of the building. When he was asked why he went in to help, he stated that he was the hall monitor and it was his job.

When Cody's parents Tina and Mike first saw him after his birth, they knew something was wrong with their son, but they didn't know what. Cody's legs looked different and doctors told them he wouldn't make it through the day. Cody did survive his first day, but ended up having to have his legs amputated at 15 months. Cody was fitted for prosthetics at 18 months old and his movement took off from there. Participating in marathons, swimming and riding a bike are a few activities that Cody enjoys competing in. Cody's parents are proud that their son does everything the doctors said he would never be able to do.

Ricardo and Sara thought they were cursed when their daughter, Milagros, was born with mermaid syndrome. Most babies born with this condition die before they are born or during birth. Having no external genetalia, it was vital for Milagros to have surgery if she were to survive. Miraculously, Milagros made it through the 5 hour surgery and is doing well. Oprah first met Milagros in November of 2005, and welcomed her to the stage again with a special friend. Celine Dion walked Milagros out to the stage and had her show the audience how she loves to dance. Milagros is now 4 and thriving.

Speaking to Celine Dion, Oprah recapped Charice's performance from September 5, 2008 in Madison Square Garden. Charice performed "Because You Loved Me" with Celine and dedicated the song to her mother. Celine expressed what a miracle it was that Charice had dreamed her entire life for that moment and was able to have it come true. Footage was shown of Celine and Charice's rehearsal and Celine stated that she was nervous for Charice. The concert went very well and Celine shared that she felt Charice really deserved to have that moment in the spotlight.

Oprah took a moment to talk to Celine about her family, especially her 7 year old son, Rene-Charles. Celine has received attention for the fact that she has never cut her son's hair, but she responded by saying that he lets him make his own decision when it comes to his hair and that he will decide when he is ready to cut it. Celine also shared that she and her husband Rene would love to have another child, but it took them 6 years to have Rene-Charles so she knows there is a possibility that she may not welcome another child into their family.

Oprah shared the story of Donald, who at 12 was able to survive Hurricane Katrina. Once on stage, Donald shared the moment he almost lost his life. Donald remembered being in his house in New Orleans and water rising to his waist. The windows shattered in the house and when it filled, his mother lost her life. Donald at first chose to sink to the bottom, but something inspired him to swim out the broken window. He climbed onto the roof where he stayed for 13 hours before he was rescued. Donald shared that it took him a long time to heal from the trauma, but that he felt he had a guardian angel that day.

A viewer sent Oprah a YouTube video featuring a father reading letters to his son along with images of a baby. Oprah and Celine both watched the clip for the first time on air of Matt talking to his son Eliot who was born with Trisomy 18. The video started before Eliot was born and progressed through each day - Matt and his wife Ginny took hundreds of pictures of Eliot and celebrated his birth each day at 4:59, the time he was born.

The images showed pictures of Eliot on his 1 month birthday and again on his 2 month birthday - he even passed the 3 month mark. Eliot lived to be 99 days old and at his funeral, friends and family released 99 balloons to celebrate the full life he lived.

Matt and Ginny appeared on the show via Skype and shared good news that they are expecting a little brother or sister for Eliot in about 2 weeks. They started the project by keeping a blog to update family and friends on Eliot's progress; they started taking photos and videos before Eliot was even born and continued for each of his 99 days. They decided early on that Eliot was living on borrowed time and they were going to enjoy every second they did have with him. Ginny shared that early in Eliot's life she stated, "I will be sad later." Matt and Ginny had a friend take their videos and over 3,000 pictures and turn them into a tribute to their son, which was posted on YouTube.

Miracle Children - Celion Dion Performance:

Celine Dion ended the show by performing the song "My Love" from her new album.