Editor's note: this is the truly remarkable story of Daniel, the son of Gabriela, which illustrates the profound effect of flower essences on soul healing and physical transformation.

Daniel B. was born in May 1993, in Caracas, Venezuela. His twin brother died in utero and because the placenta was underneath both babies, Daniel lived throughout the pregnancy attached to his brother. At the same time, the uterus was trying to expel them both.

At birth, the doctors discovered an incompatibility with Gabriela’s blood type that had caused severe damage to Daniel’s blood, so that he went directly to intensive care for three weeks. He was released from the hospital with these words spoken to Gabriela: “Madame, he is going to die anyway, we gave him a complete blood transfusion three times, there is nothing we can do for him. Take him home so he can rest in peace.” During his first year, Daniel’s blood counts still showed undiagnosed abnormalities, but he survived.

Daniel had to learn to walk with a therapist at 17 months of age, and learned to talk with a therapist at age two. Shortly afterward, Gabriela and her husband were divorced. Daniel’s father rejected him because of his limitations (he couldn’t jump, run, or even walk up stairs). Daniel had no friends, and all the other children made fun of him. He lived in his room where he primarily painted, and rarely was invited to play with other children. He almost never smiled, and lived in constant sorrow.

At age 7, Daniel was expelled from a school in Caracas, because he couldn’t learn to read. By December of that year, after changing to a small school, the only words in a letter he wrote to Santa Claus were:  “I want a new brain.”

Encouraging Daniel’s development

Daniel learned to read with a very specialized therapist, and he repeated 1st grade. He learned to ride a bicycle because Gabriela strongly encouraged him, “though he fell thousands of times, and the bicycle was ruined,” but in the end, he was able to ride the bike.

Daniel grew up with one dream only: to have for once, only once, straight A’s on his school report card. He attended regular private schools in Caracas, until grade 7, though he barely passed each year. Gabriela attempted to no avail, to find every type of treatment or therapist that might be helpful for Daniel. Variously, he was diagnosed with different forms of Attention Deficit Disorder, low IQ, etc. However, Gabriela knew there was something that could be done; she just knew that he could heal from his afflictions. “I used to say that I would walk across the United States if I could find what would help heal him, because I knew he could heal.”

Daniel continued to live isolated, without friends, spending weekends with his family. He had a very difficult time formulating ideas and verbalizing them. He could rarely finish a story. He could not remember the lessons he studied, and he was devastated; at night he cried into his pillows so that nobody could hear him. “My heart was always broken. With Daniel, I really learned what it means to be a mother.”

An anguished experience results in compassion for others

For 8th grade, Gabriela contacted a specialist in San Francisco for testing. All the test results showed a maturity of 2-4 years over Daniel’s chronological age, but one test's results showed him as 7 years under. The specialist said that because of his IQ, Daniel needed special education. They recommended a boarding school in New York, Maplebrook School. Gabriela hoped this might be a reasonable choice for Daniel, but soon after he arrived at the school on his own, she became sick and was not able to travel to the United States. What she didn’t know or understand, was that Maplebrook was a school for children who, in the past, were called “retarded.”

While there, Daniel was not allowed to have a cell phone, call home, or use the internet. When he cried to Gabriela, “take me out of here,” she thought he was just homesick, not fully understanding his situation. He now says that he managed the experience by looking at himself in the mirror and repeating 30 times a day: “I am not retarded, I’m not retarded…” At the end of the school year, when he showed her the year book and she saw the photos of the other children, she was devastated with guilt.

During that school year, however, Daniel developed compassion for the children with Down Syndrome, as well as those who had milder mental disabilities. He had friends for the first time in his life, and he loved and became the “big brother” to all of them. He decided he would become a psychologist.

Daniel discovered that coming back to “regular” life wasn’t so easy; he became even more isolated, was constantly sad, and hid his face under his long hair. That summer, he spent two months in his room not wanting to see anybody; sorrow had taken over his life again.

After attending Maplebrook, no regular school would accept him, except for one school in Costa Rica, five hours from the capital, where, again, he barely passed 9th grade.



Rosemary provides the key to starting the healing process

Daniel moved to Switzerland with very little hope of ever finishing high school. At that time, at age 16, he began to receive therapeutic help from osteopath and flower essence practitioner, Bruno Gerard. Dr. Gerard felt that Daniel’s soul had not fully incarnated into his body. Gerard initiated treatment with Rosemary flower essence to provide an entry point for the soul to feel the warmth, safety and security of the physical body. Following Rosemary flower essence, Daniel then received further flower essence sessions to heal countless wounds that had blocked his true self from shining through. He continues to this day to work with the essences.

Gabriela herself feels quite certain that Rosemary alone healed him, though she and Daniel both acknowledge how hard he has had to work “to accomplish things; my social skills, my grades, my sports, my discipline. I study really hard!” Gabriela also believes her experience using Rosemary was qualitatively different: “Daniel had never been disconnected from life, but he never fully incarnated at birth. My case was totally different, and the others whom I’ve treated with Rosemary, too; we were all adults who had been very ill.”

Daniel as he is today

Daniel is no longer sad.

His eyes shine, everybody loves him, he has lots of friends.

He is funny, makes jokes and adapts to everything with a smile.

He is a very deep and mature young man. He is a natural healer.

He now speaks French and English perfectly without an accent. Spanish is his first language.

He attends one of the best prep schools in the world, Leysin American School in the Swiss Alps.

He is taking International Baccalaureate courses that are more difficult than IP courses—studying in English full time. He graduated from the 11th grade with the best grades ever in his life, and is now starting the 12th grade.

His dream came true: once he had straight A’s on a school report card.

The boy that could never run, jump or walk down the stairs is now one of the best snowboarders in the school.

Daniel wrote Gabriela a letter telling her that he has never been happier in his life; she waited for those words for more than 17 years.

Gabriela’s husband, a scientist and neurologist, and two psychologists that tested Daniel before and after he attended Maplebrook school, cannot understand what happened. Her husband says it is a miracle; IQ doesn’t change. In Daniel’s case, it changed from 83 to 119 right after starting with the essences. Gabriela is sure (as many of his current teachers say), his IQ now must be over 130; it will be tested again at some point in the future.

About Daniel B.

Daniel, after his extensive treatments and healing with flower essences, has decided to devote his life to helping other children. This past year, he traveled with his school to do volunteer work in Africa. He was one of 15 students chosen from the whole school. He went to Malawi in Zambia, and met 700 beautiful children. In Malawi, there are 2 million orphans because of the prevalence of AIDs; 200 people daily die from the disease.

View a video in which the children laugh and smile, even though many of them have AIDs and live in extreme conditions. The school in the video is supported by the performer, Madonna. At the end, all the kids hugged Daniel to the ground.

While the bus was departing, kids ran for blocks to wave goodbye; Daniel left his heart there, and is already planning more volunteer trips.