Never Like This

Feb 28, 2021 | by The Fellowship

In early January, I was clocking out of work at my job in California when I got the call.  My 5-year-old son, Easton, was in Reno, Nevada, on a snow trip with his dad and sister.  They were sledding down a hill and Easton lost control and slid under a car in slow-moving traffic.  A mother’s worst nightmare!  These are the kind of accidents you hear about or randomly stumble upon on social media.  And you know you would not want to live if it happened to you. Well, it happened to me!  It happened to my son! 

I was too afraid to ask for details, knowing they would replay over and over in my head as I caught an airplane to Reno.  I remember walking into the hospital as they were wheeling a bed in the hallway.  It was my Easton.  I almost did not recognize him.  His face was bloody, his head bruised and swollen, his eyes shut.  He lay there unconscious.  I remember telling the nurses, “ I think that is my son.”

The doctors diagnosed him with traumatic brain injury. 

He had two head bleeds that kept increasing in size.  They were affecting his brain, making him unresponsive.  CT scan after scan resulted in a decision to take him to the operating room for an emergency right side craniotomy to drain the blood.  Three hours later, another CT scan revealed that the other side of his brain had quadrupled in size, so they operated again -- this time on the left side. That was the worst night of my entire life!  I remember sitting and pacing in the waiting area, wishing to wake up.  Please let this be a nightmare! 

I started feeling guilty.  Why had I not come with them? Why did I allow their dad to bring them on a trip without me?  Why had no one been there to grab my son before the accident happened? 

Random crazy thoughts ran through my head.  Would he be disabled? Would he ever be normal? Would I need to quit my job to take care of him? Would he even make it? Would I be able to go on living if he did not? My worries took over, and I had to tell myself that it was beyond my control.

I was very new to the Christian faith and just learning how to pray, how to talk to God.  I did not really know how, but remembered hearing these words: “If you are worried, pray!”  And so I did.  I prayed and then I prayed and then I prayed again.  My family prayed, my friends prayed, my church prayed, and my brother’s church, The Fellowship in Katy, Texas, prayed.

God answered all our prayers.  Easton was in ICU for four nights before being moved to the pediatric floor. There were stitches, bruises, swelling and high fevers. Many specialists were called in.  There was a point when they had to remove the drains from his head.  His eyes were still very swollen and he could barely see.  He was so scared and in pain that he started saying, “I just want to die; I want to stop breathing!”

Early one morning around 6 a.m., I was awakened by Easton mumbling something. I rose out of my recliner quickly because the night before he had a fever and was delirious. When I asked him what he said, the answer was, “There is a God!”  I was speechless and even questioned myself.  Had I heard correctly?  It was so early and I was sleep-deprived.  I told myself he probably said it because of the fever.  But that does not matter -- it was loud and clear!  He said what he said ... and I will never forget that moment! 

Improvement was steady, and after one week, we were discharged.  He still had orbital fractures around his eyes, but they will heal on their own.   

After two weeks, he was back to his old self and even able to attend virtual learning on line.  Despite his stitches and bruises, he acted as if nothing had ever happened.  His spirits were high; his energy and appetite were back to normal. I am a nurse and have taken care of patients after surgery.  Never have I seen a recovery quite like this! 

Miraculous is the only way to describe what has happened.  If the car that hit him had been going faster, he would not have made it.  God has shown me how very real He is and how He pours out mercy and grace in answer to our prayers.  Last Sunday I was baptized, proclaiming my new faith in my Lord and Savior!

E.P.

There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.  
1 Samuel 2:2