Family Faces Tragedy After Car is Hit by Semi-Truck

Grant Carroll says, “One moment I have a memory of just driving the car and my next memory is lying on the ground with a firefighter leaning over me.”

Grant and Nikki Carroll and their children were stuck in traffic on a Texas interstate, when Nikki remembered a terrible dream she’d had.

Nikki says, “I had a dream we were going to be hit from behind. And so I remember turning around, seeing no cars whatsoever in our lane and just being relieved.”

Seconds later a semi truck drifted into their lane crashing into the back of their car at 73-miles per hour.

Nikki remembers, “We were hit and then we flew into another 15-passenger van and the first moments were just eerily quiet.” Nikki assessed their situation. “The very first screams that happened was when I turned around and saw Cadyn unconscious. There was no life in Cadyn at all. He was foaming at the mouth, totally slumped over. I remember just begging Jesus not to take my firstborn son, Jesus, don’t take my son. Please don’t take my son. I went to go hold his head because of course the very first thing I thought was stabilize his head and then I just remember having to make a choice because we smelled gas to let go of his head to get all the other children out of the car. And from my point of view, when I let go of his head, I felt like I was letting go of my son.”

Emergency personnel arrived soon after and began intubating seven year old Cadyn. Nikki turned to God for hope and began singing. “They took him out on the stretcher and they had him out on the ground, and I just kind of laid down beside him in the –on the pavement and just kept singing.” She says.

Grant had been knocked unconscious, and woke up concerned about his children
He says, “The feeling of being helpless and not knowing, it was the worst feeling, one of the worst feelings I’ve ever had in my life. I was worried that I’d lost one of them or that one of them was dead. It was terrifying.”

Cadyn was rushed to McLain Children’s Hospital. Doctor Lisa Chapa and a team of doctors diagnosed Cadyn’s injuries.

Doctor Lisa Chapa says, “He had something we call diffuse axonal injury. So it’s essentially just shearing of the neurons in the brain. And it doesn’t happen in just one spot. It kind of happens globally.”

Nikki remembers, “Their diagnosis was dire. And they were trying to prepare us for the fact that we shouldn’t expect Cadyn to be himself ever again.”

“We did not expect a great neurologic recovery at all. We expected probably prolonged, if not permanent, neurologic deficits that would be quite limiting for the rest of his life.” Says Doctor Chapa.
“It was terrifying.” Says Grant, “it was heartbreaking, the thought of losing him, or him being in a vegetative state, just, you know, I lost it—we both lost it, we were both weeping.”

Despite the poor prognosis Grant and Nikki say they both had a supernatural peace knowing God was in control of their son’s recovery.

Nikki says, “I would say within like ten minutes of kind of hearing that news and being alone with God in the hospital room, I clearly heard God say, ‘Claim it. You’re right. They’re right. He’s not going to be the same. You’re not going to have the same son. Ever. But it’s not what they think. He’s going to have a hope and a future and he’s going to have a testimony’”

Grant says, “He’s going to be stronger than ever, you know, he’s going to be a spiritual warrior like never before.”

For a week, Cadyn remained in a coma. Doctors gave little hope that he would wake up any time soon. Grant and Nikki prayed and believed for a miracle.

“We had people coming and fasting and praying. And there were nights were I could feel prayer. I could feel my arms being lifted up.” Says Nikki.

“It was like constant prayer. We didn’t sleep much at all.” Says Grant, “The nurses were coming out, we were just singing, raising hands, worshiping, praying.”

“So at 3:00 in the morning, we turned on praise music We just danced around him and worshiped. And we did it until the sun came up.”

Grant says, “The sun’s coming through his window it was just like coming down on his face and We were both like, ‘Cadyn, Cadyn, wake up.’ And he opened his eyes and looked at us. It was amazing!”

“And he woke up. Just like I woke him up this morning.” Says Nikki

Grant remembers, “I saw in that moment that I have my son back; the Lord gave me my son back. So it was a very joyful moment, you know, to see the fruition of what God had promised and what we had been hoping and believing and praying through that week.”

To the doctor’s amazement Caden was awake and responsive but the extent of his brain damage was still unknown. Grant and Nikki continued to pray.

Nikki says, “Because of the frontal lobe injury that he had in his brain, he didn’t have the capacity to speak yet. And I just, you know, with tears I said ‘Cadyn, are you ever going to talk to Mommy again?’ And he goes—he looked at me and he said, ‘Yes’. And it was like, we started screaming, we texted everyone. We got the doctor to come back. And from then on, he never stopped talking.”

Doctor Chapa says, “Cadyn had a miraculous recovery. Something beyond what we could’ve expected or hoped for in and of ourselves.”

Grant says, “The only way to make sense of his recovery in my mind is that it’s the absolute hand of God touching him.”

“With Cadyn recovering, we know that specific prayers were going out when we needed them. And we know that God answers specific prayers.” Says Nikki.

Through the next week in the hospital, Cadyn’s recovery progressed beyond anyone’s expectations even overcoming partial paralysis on his left side.

“You started wanting the doctors to say other things he couldn’t do because that same day God would prove them wrong.” Says Nikki.

Grant says, “He’s not the same boy at all and I’m thankful that he’s not the same boy. I think that now he’s more incredible than he could’ve ever been without this event.”

Two weeks after the accident Cadyn walked out of the hospital. He remembers the challenge of re-learning everyday tasks.
He says, “Everything was basically hard, I would say. But I’m glad that I got to the goal to where they’re not hard anymore.”

Cadyn has also memorized large portions of scripture and participates in Bible Bee completions. Not bad for a boy who suffered a traumatic brain injury.
“For you are called to freedom, brothers, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another, for the whole law is fulfilled in one word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Doctor Chapa says, “Their faith and the prayers of people all over the world, as I know they were praying for Cadyn, really –really impacted his recovery.”

Grant and Nikki say it was the power of god that saved their son. They remain in awe of their experience with him in their time of need.

Nikki says, “It’s seems strange to say that I’m thankful that this happened. But I wouldn’t want to go back to who I was before. I don’t think we would’ve gotten through the accident or the recovery without the power of prayer.”

Grant says, “I am so thankful every day for my precious wonderful son, and what God has done and for the story he’s given us. The Lord’s just showed me time and again, you can trust Me, He’s saying, you know, you can trust Me …He really is in control. And He really does have your best interests at heart and He really does have a heart to heal and a heart to save, and a heart to bring you through it.”