Crossdoney man puts recovery down to healer

After years of back pain and two operations, Crossdoney man Pauric Smith is completely pain-free and able to walk and stand straight. Pauric and his wife, Roisin, say that his recovery is the work of Co. Limerick-based healer, Janice Carrig. Pauric had two discectomy operations on his back, in 2004 and 2009. In October last year, the pain started to return. His condition worsened and he couldn't walk with the pain. "He was literally in a hoop, hobbling around," says Roisin. MRI scans showed that disc five was prolapsed. He was sent to Drogheda for emergency surgery but it didn't go ahead. "The surgery would have been high-risk, with a 50-50 chance he would walk again, and they sent him away to think about it." Caught between a rock and a hard place, Pauric and Roisin had few options left when a friend recommended Janice Carrig. When Janice was eight years old, and living in New Zealand, she travelled on her own to see Billy Graham, the world famous evangelist. After seeing him on stage, she was mesmerised by the power of his words. She knew that this was what she wanted to be when she grew up. Now living in Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, Janice and her husband Moss hold healing sessions, to which you can bring your illnesses and your worries. "We had never heard of her before but thought it was worth a phonecall," said Roisin, who was the one to get in touch with the New Zealand native woman who is married to a Co. Limerick man and living in Newcastle West. Janice prayed over the phone with Pauric listening at the other end of the line at home in Crossdoney. About 15 minutes after the phonecall, Pauric felt a burning sensation in his back. "There was serious heat. I felt I had to go out for air or I'd faint." He stood up - straight for the first time in weeks - and walked outside unaided. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing as he had been crippled and in pain for weeks," says Roisin. Pauric's condition continued to improve and three weeks later he travelled to meet Janice in person in her home. Again she prayed with him, laid her hands on his back and legs, and Pauric says that by the end of the visit his legs were completely level again, even though one had been shorter than the other since his surgery was done. Roisin and Pauric agree that Janice has a special presence. "Sitting and listening to her, she's very calm and there's a soothing and relaxing feeling in the house," says Roisin. Pauric says it's difficult to describe. "You'd nearly have to be with her to feel it... She can't cure everyone but it has worked for many people," says Pauric. News of Pauric's recovery has spread by word of mouth and the amount of phonecalls Janice has taken from Co. Cavan is such that she is now planning a service here. Janice and her husband, Moss, are keen to point out that they are not healers but simply pray-ers through whom a higher power can work. "We are not the healers, we are nothing, Jesus is the healer," says Janice, who says she has always been "prayerful". She says that faith isn't necessary for the healing to work. "You don't need to have faith. One woman called to me and she didn't know why she was there... I believe that Jesus sends people in," she says, adding that she never asks people if they want her to pray with them, but only does so at the other person's request. She doesn't charge for the praying service, but people are invited to make anonymous donations to the couple's charity, Calcutta Aid. As for sceptics, Janice says she understands: "It's fine. It seems over the top and I understand that. But we are witnessing healings and when you are witnessing healings day after day after day... People are ringing and writing letters all the time. I understand the scepticism, of course I do. But I believe that Jesus Christ is still alive, the same yesterday, today and forever. And I know that He is healing people - because I certainly haven't got any power." For their part, Roisin and Pauric are believers. "We want to share the story. We'd recommend that anyone with any ailment go to see her," says Roisin. "I've heard of cures for this and that, but I can't describe the way it worked for Pauric. It's amazing to see him pain-free after all he has been through." Janice and Moss Carrig are to hold a one-off healing service in Ballinagh Community Centre, on Sunday, July 10, at 3pm. All are welcome. See www.calcuttaaid.com.