Karry: I studied at a Catholic school called La Presentación. Marie Poussepin is the founder — French Dominican Sisters. I had a Catholic education. When you reach adolescence, it’s like you’re not as Catholic anymore — you don’t really know and then comes the rebellion. I went to a Catholic university too. So the principles stayed with me. I got married, had two children, then got divorced.

Later I met Carlos and we started dating. The first day we went out — from that day on we’ve been together. We never separated. Never. 

And we have three kids together, plus my two — so five total.

Then Carlos was diagnosed with cancer in 2019.

Before he was diagnosed, he called me and said, “The doctor wants me to see another specialist because of my red blood cells and white blood cells…” and he was talking about all that. You know how men are — they get a headache and think they’re dying. So I thought, “You’re being dramatic.” But he kept insisting. At one point I said to myself, “Carlos has leukemia.”

The day came to see the doctor. They did all the tests, and we went to hear the diagnosis. The doctor took out a piece of paper, a pencil, and started explaining — drawing as he spoke.

Carlos: The explanation lasted about an hour.

Just to say one single word.

Karry: And I said, “Carlos, you have cancer.” I told the doctor, “wait, I’ll explain it.” And I said to Carlos, “You have cancer.” Carlos looked at me — but his look told me he didn’t understand. You know, when someone tells you you have cancer — that word hits you.

He was in shock. He didn’t really understand what the doctor was saying, or even what I was saying. Then we left the appointment, and he started to process it. That’s how this whole story began. 

I became very closed off. I didn’t want to talk to anyone or explain anything. I didn’t want to feel like a victim. So one day a friend came over, an older lady, and said, “I brought you this statue of Our Lady of Fatima. She’s miraculous.” I said, “Thank you.” And I placed the statue beside Carlos, on the side of the bed where he sleeps.

Then another friend came and said, “I don’t want to know how Carlos is — I want to know how you are.” I said, “I’m fine.” She said, “Well, I brought you holy water from the grotto of Fatima. My brother took his wife there…” and she told me the story and gave me the water. I told Carlos, “Open your mouth and drink the holy water.” And Carlos, he did everything I said.

Days and months went by. And I don’t even know why, but I decided to go to Fatima.

We go — the older kids, Carlos, and I — to Fatima. When we arrived, it started to rain — a lot — like a downpour. I said, “Let’s get out and run! We’re in Fatima already!” So we got soaked, went into the church — perfect. But when you go in… you want to feel something. At least that’s what I wanted. But I didn’t feel anything. I don’t know if he felt something. I didn’t. But anyway, we were there.

We went back to the U.S. Time passed. Carlos kept taking his medicine. He kept playing  baseball and everything seemed fine. He said the medicine made him tired. 

I tried to forget — I threw parties every day. I invited friends daily. I wanted to disguise that nothing was happening. Then he got traded to the Mets. He was going to play against the Miami team, in Miami… let me tell you — we happen to have a foundation that works with children with cancer — long before his diagnosis. We started it because one day our daughter saw children at the hospital without hair, and she cut her own hair and said, “Daddy, take it to the kids.” That touched our hearts, and we decided to do something. We have to do something for those children, and your daughter is asking you to.

 Well he had a game in Miami, I’m going with the kids, and I invited a friend. She has a program. She’s very Catholic. Her story was nominated for an Emmy. She has a show called Raíces. She helps Venezuelans who arrive here. She came to the stadium — I invited her. We were in a suite, several bottles of wine, and she drank wine like water.

I had just gotten back from Dubai, Turkey, Istanbul, Cappadocia, and she said, “You were so close to the Virgin!”

“What Virgin?” I said. She talked so much — she was already tipsy. She kept talking and talking, and I was like, “Yeah, yeah, sure.” Then she takes off a rosary that she has in her hand… and she said, “Give this to Carlos. I’ve tried to go to this place many times,” and she starts talking about the apparitions. To this day I can’t pronounce it — Medruj… Medrugor… Medrujo. That’s as far as I get. She kept talking about the Virgin — she called her “la Gospa,” 

I was half-listening. She gave me her rosary and said, “Give it to Carlos.” I said, “Okay, perfect.” She said, “I want you to know her story. I’ll give you a book.” A week later, the book arrived at my house “My Heart Will Triumph” by Mirjana. She wrote, “She’s waiting for you. Not everyone can go to her — only those who receive the invitation.”

I thought, “She’s crazy.” I didn’t pay attention. She said, “She’s not inviting Carlos — she’s inviting you.” I said, “Yeah, yeah, sure, I’ll go.” I was tipsy, so I just said yes to be polite.

The book stayed in my house for months. I never read it. One day I went to see Carlos in New York, opened the drawer looking for — I think masks for the trip — and found the book. “Oh, I’ll take it,” I said. On the plane, I started reading it. From that day, I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t close it. It didn’t even talk about the Virgin yet — it was about the persecution of the children. That’s what hooked me. The way it was written — so fast-paced — it just pulled me in.

It forces you to keep reading. You don’t get bored. I’m very hyper. For a movie or a book to hold my attention, it has to be really good. And that one was. I finished it in one day. Then the next day, I read it again. Then a third day — again. I spent a whole month reading it over and over. I was fascinated by the war, her brother, her worries…

It was like, wow… I kept explaining everything to Carlos. He wouldn’t listen. He’d start reading and fall asleep. So I was like my friend now — the one I thought was crazy when she told me! That’s how I was. I would talk to him, and he thought I was crazy.

So we decided to make the trip. We take a couples’ trip every year, just us two. This time, for the first time, he didn’t know where we were going.

I texted my friend, “Thank you for the book — it’s the best thing I’ve ever read.” She said, “She wants you to go. She insists. It’s been months.” That was around late September or early October. She said, “She’s inviting you.” And I said, “You know what? I’m going.”

It was 10:30 p.m. I hung up and told my mother-in-law, “I need to see the Virgin. I don’t know who she is or what she’s called, but I have to go.” I called the travel agent: “I need you to include this place in our itinerary.” She said, “You’re crazy — everything’s already booked, the tickets bought!” I said, “No, make it happen.”

Two hours later, at 1 a.m., she called back: “Okay, you’ll land in Dubrovnik. From there, someone will pick you up.” Perfect. “Where will you stay?” she asked. Then someone from Miami messaged me on WhatsApp — a total stranger — saying, “I’ve contacted someone there who will host you and take you on a tour tomorrow.” Okay. I told the travel agent, “Don’t worry, I already know where we’ll stay.” She said, “Are you sure?” “Yes.”

When the driver dropped us off, he said, “You’re staying here? This isn’t a hotel.” I said, “Yes sir, drop us off here.” We stayed there — and when I saw Marko, I said, “Carlos, he’s the one from the book!” I was so excited.

Right away — I knew it was Marko. I was thrilled, like I was in Hollywood.

For me, the one who impacted me most was him — when they told him he couldn’t marry her. And her brother too — that part really touched me.

When we arrived, Carlos had no idea where he was. It was a surprise. At the New York airport, the airline agent said, “Carlos Carrasco!” and started checking us in. I told him, “Please don’t say where we’re going — it’s a surprise.” He had no idea until we landed in Dubrovnik. He loved it — beautiful city, the sea, everything.

When we arrived here, he was like, “What is this place?” I saw Marko and was in awe — I immediately knew it was him. Then Carlos started watching videos about everything and fell in love with the story too. That same day, we went to Mass — it was packed. But somehow, we got in easily. It was raining again. I remembered Fatima — it had rained there too. And I remembered the book: “What begins in Fatima…”

Carlos: “…ends here.”

Karry: Do you think it’s a coincidence we had to go to Fatima first? Not at all. 

— and now it’s his turn to tell the story.

⸻

Part 2 

Carlos: Like my wife said, she would start reading the book [My Heart Will Triumph] — she would finish it, then read it again, again, again… maybe five times. Then she started explaining it to me, but every time she did, I fell asleep. Or I changed the topic. Until she finally brought me here. Immediately I started watching videos on YouTube — many videos — and I began to love it more and more. I finally understood what she had felt reading the book. I’d finish one video and start another, over and over.

Karry: He understood.

Cimela: But were you watching the videos here or before coming?

Carlos: In the room!

Karry: Before dinner. And that’s when he understood who Marko was.

Carlos: Yes — and I told my wife, “That’s the man from the book!” I was talking to Marko — it was amazing.

I recognized him right away from the photo in the book — at dinner.

And what impressed me most was my new friend Don, a man from Colorado. He said, “What are you doing at this table? This is a very special table.” I said, “I don’t know — they just seated us here.” He explained that one of the apparitions had happened at that table.

We were amazed. We talked for hours, got to know each other. Then Mirjana herself came to the table. We spoke with her for a bit — and then [her husband] Marko.

Karry: But Mirjana made a gesture — she took out a rosary and gave it to me.

Carlos: Then I looked at the videos, at the photo in the book — it was the same rosary she had been using. And my wife — even today — she always carries it.

Karry: Since that day, the rosary is always with me.

Carlos: Yes, since that day. It’s very special.

Karry: We go to sleep. 

Carlos: Well… we get to the room. As spouses, we always sleep together. When we get to the room, we see two very small beds. 

So I said, “Okay, honey, you sleep there, I’ll sleep here.” I lay down. I don’t know how much time passed — two, three, four hours, twenty minutes — no idea. I was sleeping on the left side. Then I moved to the right side of the bed, and right in the middle — I stopped. The room was dark. And in the darkness, I saw a woman wearing a black mantle, holding a baby.

Look — my whole body gets chills when I say it. I saw her, turned over, and went back to sleep. In the morning, when we were getting ready for breakfast, it was the first thing I told her.

Karry: He said, “I saw the Virgin with a baby last night.”

Carlos: Yes. She appeared completely in black — it was incredible. I told my friend Don, and Marko, and everyone.

When I moved, I was fully awake — I saw her clearly. The next morning they told me, “Whenever that happens, pray a lot — pray and ask.” It really impressed me.

When we went back home, I kept rereading the book, looking at the pictures, and at the rosary my wife carried. I told her, “After my baseball season ends, our first trip will be back there.” And here we are.

Exactly a year later.

Karry: But something even more amazing happened. We got back to the U.S., months passed, he kept working, and he received news from his doctor.

Carlos: Every six months I have to get a cancer test.

They took my blood. Three weeks later, the doctor called and said I had absolutely nothing.

He told me I have absolutely nothing. The numbers all came back… all the same — 000. The previous ones had always come back as plus 01, 02…something like that. But in this test, they were all zero. Completely zero, zero, zero.

Cimela: And what did you feel at that moment?

Carlos: A lot of happiness. So much happiness. Because it’s not easy when someone tells you that you have cancer. The moment you hear that word, “cancer,” you start thinking about so many things — am I going to die? What’s going to happen to my life, my family? Things like that. But my family was always there. Those thoughts went through my mind for maybe ten seconds, and then after that, I forgot everything.

And thanks to my wife, thanks to God, they gave me a different mindset. My wife would tell me every morning, “You don’t have anything. You don’t have anything. You don’t have anything.” Inside — like any human being — I felt a little different…

Like, “Why me? Why me?” But on the outside, I had to be the happiest man, because that’s what I had to show my family — my five kids. Never let them see me defeated or sick. Always, always keep moving forward.

And with my teammates too — I had to tell them myself before they heard it somewhere else. So I called the team, we had a meeting, and I told them what was going on with me. Their support helped me so much. And I always say this — I truly believe that God put me on this path. I believe He put me here because I’ve connected with so many people who have also had cancer. Even more so because before I found out about my illness, we used to visit hospitals for children with cancer — and afterward, I felt even closer to them. Much closer.

Last year, the year before, and this year too, I’ve worked a lot visiting children in hospitals in New York. The joy that you can bring to a child just by visiting the hospital for a day and making them smile. I really believe that’s the most important thing. It’s not easy for them spending 24 hours in a hospital bed. Cancer is something very strong. But just going there and making them smile, that brings me so much happiness. And as long as God keeps giving me health and life, I’ll keep doing it. That’s how it’ll be. I’ll keep doing it.

Karry: And we’ll be here every year.

Carlos: That’s right. I’ll keep coming.

Karry: This is our commitment.

And it’s incredible, today we discovered something we hadn’t seen before (the Risen Christ Statue) which means that meeting you wasn’t a coincidence — it has a purpose.

Look how you said, “Let’s go, I’ll take you.”

And that’s how things start to happen naturally.

Just like we didn’t know how we ended up staying where we are now. It was all very strange.

Carlos: I actually asked my wife about that today, and she said, “I don’t know.”

Karry: I can’t explain it.

Carlos: And the same man we met that day, Don, he asked me, “How did you get here? It’s almost impossible for most people to arrive here.”

Karry: We don’t know. We can’t. I don’t know how to explain it. My friend Patricia put me in contact with someone, but I don’t even know who that person is. But anyway, we got here, we stayed here and I think we’re now committed to coming every year.

Cimela: Yes. It’s so beautiful to come here and do that. That’s how I grew up — when something good happens, you go to Guadalupe and say, “Thank you, Blessed Mother, for everything that has happened.” It’s so beautiful to go on a pilgrimage to give thanks. Okay, let’s go. But to give thanks for everything.