On December 15 of last year, my parents, sister and I were going to Phoenix, Arizona, for Christmas. We were driving around 75 mph on a highway in New Mexico, when a speeding car rear-ended our Blazer.

Our car did three end-over-end somersaults before it landed on its side. My mom pulled me out of the sunroof, and we lay on the side of the road. My dad was okay, but my sister, Tommi, was unconscious and we thought she was dead. I kept trying to figure out if it was real or a dream. I couldn’t imagine something like this happening.

Tommi finally woke up, but we couldn’t move her from the Blazer, because she said her back hurt. About an hour later an ambulance came and took us to the hospital in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The police said that no one should be walking away from an accident like that—but all of us were alive.

At the emergency room, doctors took X-rays and found my dad had a broken collar bone, and my mom had a broken arm. Tommi had a broken finger, but her spinal cord was very close to being severed. My leg was broken in three places and had some bad gashes. My back was broken, too. They flew Tommi and me to a big hospital in Albuquerque. The doctors at that hospital had bad news. Tommi would be paralyzed if surgery didn’t work. They also said my leg might have to be amputated.

Tommi and I held hands, prayed and talked to each other, saying, "Please don’t die." Christians from all over joined our family in prayer. My uncle from Washington, D.C., came to be with us. People we didn’t know brought us dinner every night. God blessed us through a local church whose youth pastor visited us every day and whose people let our family and friends stay in their houses. Five days after the accident, Tommi and I had our surgeries. They were very successful.

Tommi is on her feet and getting better every day. God gave me His healing touch and doctors were amazed at our quick recovery. Three weeks after the accident, we were back home going to church as a family. God taught me a lot about trust through this accident: trusting Him and other people. The police, people who stopped alongside the road, doctors and lots of other people helped us. Look at Psalm 121:7-8. I have found these verses to be very true. I also wrote this poem about the accident:

Laying on the side of the road,
Thinking you are going to die.
God intervenes, the truth remains,
"Though He slay me, I will trust Him."

Laying in the hospital,
Knowing they will amputate.
God intervenes, the truth remains,
"When I am afraid, I will trust in Him."

Laying in your own bed,
Knowing life is gonna be tough.
God intervenes, the truth remains,
"I can do all things through Christ."

Danica, 11
Colorado

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