A teen survived miraculously after a prayer from a devout family friend. The girl was initially declared brain-dead following a serious accident.
Several years ago, a freak accident left the family of then-14-year-old Taylor Hale making funeral arrangements for the high-school cheerleader. But thanks to the healing power of God and the faith of her family and friends, Taylor is preparing to graduate high school, alive and fully healed.
Taylor was just 14 years old when her life was forever changed. In just the blink of an eye, what began as a fun outing with friends turned into a night she’ll never forget.
Taylor was at a friend’s house on Sept. 11 after the first Waukee High School football game. A friend was leaving, and Taylor and another friend teased him. They didn’t want to leave. They sat on the hood of his car to stop him. He backed up.
Taylor was carried slightly farther, then slipped off and hit the pavement – hard. She didn’t get up again.
Someone called 911, and another person called Taylor’s mother, Stacy Henningsen. Doctors and nurses fought to save Taylor’s life but at the end of a grueling session, Taylor’s brain sank part way into her spinal canal.
Doctors told her family for the worse saying her brain had “turned to mush” and nothing else could be done for her. Her family was even told to start making funeral arrangements.
Taylor’s family started to pray and a chiropractor, Jeff Stickel, who knew the family asked if he could visit and pray with them. They agreed and he visited Taylor, laying his hand on the back of her neck as he led the prayers asking for God to heal her.
When the heartbreaking moment to turn Taylor’s life support machine came something happened that was nothing short of a miracle.
“A couple of hours later, the doctor came in and basically told us, ‘We don’t know how to medically explain this to you, but she’s breathing on her own,” Taylor’s mom told NBC News.
“It was the hand of God at work,” Taylor’s dad Chuck said. “That’s the only thing that can explain it.”
Seeing this, the medical staff reconnected life support and watched as, slowly but surely, the high school freshman’s condition began to improve.
Soon she was responsive, sitting up, talking, and walking around.
Taylor’s recovery was a long one, filled with many difficult challenges — like re-learning to walk and talk, and catching up on lost days at school. But without a doubt, the biggest obstacle was her lack of memory: Prior to her near-fatal accident, everything is a blur. All memories from her childhood have been erased.
But despite that, Taylor has fought her way back to life, and she’s proudly thriving as a normal teen. She’s learned how to drive, she attended prom, and she’s going to graduate on time with the rest of her class.
Sources: OpposingViews, Daily Mail, KCCI, NBC News
