Written by: Mike Wilson, CEO & Co-Founder of myLIFEspeaks
You can listen to the audio/podcast version of this story, here.
“Don't be afraid, Just believe.”
I was in the commUNITY center in Haiti talking with some visiting team members about their day. I remember a commotion was happening outside and a crowd of people had gathered around. I stood in the doorway and saw a young woman holding a child on the back of a motorcycle. She was screaming and asking for someone to help. I knew he must be injured.
I’m not great with medical issues. I don’t do well with blood or injuries so I stayed inside the commUNITY center. I really didn’t have anything to offer this mother or her son so my decision was to stay out of the way.
When I saw my wife, Missy, her eyes told the story. This child was severely injured and needed immediate help. He had head trauma and our small clinic couldn’t offer him any help. He needed to get to a hospital immediately. At that moment one of our medical interns came in with a look of grave concern.
Our medical intern shared with the group inside the commUNITY center the story of what had happened. The little boy, Kerwens, age 3, had been hit in the head by the handlebars of a fast-driving motorcycle as it rounded a corner. The driver of the motorcycle evidently hadn’t seen him when Kerwens ran across the street to a family member. The driver of the motorcycle never stopped.
When he was struck in the head, Kerwens immediately fell to the ground. His mother was called and she immediately flagged down another passing motorcycle and brought him to the one place where she hoped she could get help for her injured son. She brought him to the myLIFEspeaks commUNITY center in the next village.
When he got to us, Kerwens was unconscious, his eyes were fixed and his breathing was shallow. His face had zero signs of life. The memory that sticks out the most though is the “dent” in his head. Our medical intern described it like that. It was a dent and the skull was shattered into pieces. When she pushed on it his whole head dented in.
The horror of the situation was immediate when we heard the story. Missy went into action immediately and told Kerwens’ mother to take him to a local hospital. As they drove off the heaviness of the moment begin to sink in. Kerwens was going to die because the hospital he was going to wasn’t going to be able to do anything for his severe injury.
I remember someone in the room encouraged everyone to pray. The group of people there began praying for Kerwens, his mother, his family, the driver of the motorcycle taking him to the hospital, and the driver of the motorcycle that hit him. At that moment the sounds of people praying and those prayers brought peace and comfort as I’ve rarely experienced. At that same moment, Missy remembered an ambulance service that could potentially get Kerwens to a hospital in the capital city of Port au Prince. She began calling them and within minutes they agreed to meet us at the local hospital.
We jumped in the car and drove to the hospital. When we got there we jumped out and ran to the counter and asked to see Kerwens. The nurse at the desk said he wasn’t inside. We were crushed. Had the mother just given up? Did she not bring him to the hospital? Why?
The nurse then asked us if we were possibly talking about the woman and child sitting in the corner of the waiting area. They had shown up just a few minutes earlier but didn’t have any money and therefore couldn’t be seen inside the hospital.
We turned our attention to the corner of the room but while the woman looked familiar the child on her lap didn’t. This child was sitting up asking his mother for a drink of water. There was no way this was Kerwens. Or was it?
Our medical intern rushed to him and began to look him over. His eyes were focused and his breathing was normal. Then she touched his head. I will never forget that moment in my entire life. She touched his head and began to cry out loud. She held her hand in the place where the dent was and exclaimed, “I just felt the dent go away. I felt his head heal with my hand over it. I just felt that.”
“I just felt the dent go away! I felt his head heal with my hand over it. I just felt that.”
What do you do in that situation other than give thanks to God? We laughed, cried, prayed, and stood in amazement. When the ambulance showed up they took him to the hospital in Port au Prince to make sure things were ok. We already knew the answer.
The hospital ran scans and images of his head. Kerwens was completely fine as if nothing had ever happened. He was not a toddler on the verge of death, instead, he was a toddler running around. The hospital even asked if we were sure the accident we described had actually happened.
Kerwens was completely fine as if nothing had ever happened.
I had the chance to see God perform a miracle. I was there and I give testimony to God’s Greatness at that moment.