Marshall's Story: The Boy Who Saw Angels

By Sam Lester

This is the story of my six year old son's near fatal car wreck in which he was thrown from the vehicle and crushed his skull on the pavement. We spent 32 days in the hospital with 19 of them in a coma and it wasn't until we got home that I realized how close we had come to losing him. This story begins with my receiving the phone call and travelling two hours to get to the hospital, the extensive brain surgery, the daily emails I was able to send out on his recovery and incredible physical therapy progress, and his revealing to me whom he had spoken with and how he was able to stay with us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sam Lester
• Release date: Jan 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311731517

Sam Lester

I was raised on a farm in south Georgia and grew up to become a teacher at Central Georgia Technical College. I have been there for twenty years and now serve as the Director for Professional Development. I live in Warner Robins with my wife Amanda and three sons: Marshall, Lewis, and Eli. Marshall has gone on to graduate from Houston County High School and splits time between his mother's house and mine. He is working now but plans to save his money and get back into college and pursue Radiology.

Book preview

Surgery

Closer to Dying than Living

Email

Snaggle-tooth Grin

Rehab

Going Home

Angels

One Year Later

Connect with Sam and Marshall

The Cell Phone Call

I fumbled for the cell phone next to me in the truck as I drove through the strip in Milledgeville past the Shoney's there on the right and Hatcher Square Mall on the backside of the restaurant. I noticed the big clock at the bank read 6:58, which was two minutes away from the time I was supposed to meet Julie to pick up the boys. I caught the red light as I was answering the phone.

Hello

Sam? This is Purkey.

Hey Purk..

Alright now calm down.

I felt my neck get hot from the base all the way over the top of my head to my forehead. I didn’t have anything to be excited about I thought. Whatever it was, it would have to be bad and about the boys and Julie. Purkey was a mutual friend and lived in Waynesboro where Julie and the boys now lived. I had an idea it must be some sort of accident because I was two minutes from our meeting time and two miles from our meeting place in Milledgeville at the Huddle House. I was on my way home from a short grad school semester in Athens and was picking up the boys on the way home for the weekend. I knew they were on the road on their way to me. I turned off the radio.

Sam, Julie and the boys have been in a wreck. Julie and Lewis are ok but Marshall is hurt. They are on their way to the hospital.

Which one?

One in Augusta is all I know. She called me here a minute ago. Where are you?

I'm here in Milledgeville. What happened?

I don't know for sure - from what I understand, they flipped and Marshall got thrown out.

Ok. How do I get there from here - give me the road numbers. Purkey hauled things for folks throughout northeast Georgia. He would know right off the road signs I'd need to take to get there. I have no idea why I was calm enough to think of asking him that. I couldn't tell you why I was able to function much at all, but for some reason I knew I had to get to Augusta and I happened to think to ask.

Alright, you're going to take 24 out of Milledgeville, then take 88 in Sandersville to Wrens, then 1 into Augusta.

24, 88, 1? I asked. I turned down the road toward the Huddle House.

Yeah, that's right. Drive careful. You want me to call Wanda?

No, I'll call her

The Drive to Augusta

I turned out of Milledgeville past our meeting point at Huddle House down the road toward the river on highway 24. My heart was thumping hard in my chest and it felt tough breathing, but I felt calm and tried to gather my thoughts. I said a quick prayer for God to take care of Marshall, Lewis, and Julie. The next thing I needed to do was call the people who needed to know. My hands started sweating. I wiped the palms on my shorts, took a deep breath, and called Mrs. Wanda.

Mrs. Wanda was Julie's mother. She was a wonderful lady who really loved her grandchildren, my boys. Unfortunately, she had been through more than a fair share of wrecks involving her children.

The phone rang and Mrs. Wanda answered with a hello.

Mrs. Wanda?

Oh, Sam - Purkey just called. What happened? I thought that Purkey must not have understood me.

I don't know anything more than what Purkey just told me. I am on my way there, just now leaving Milledgeville.

What did he tell you? Mrs. Wanda was trying to stay calm and was doing a pretty good job, but the quaking in her voice gave away her concern.

Just that Julie and Lewis were ok and that Marshall was hurt. He got thrown out somehow. I turned the truck to the right off of 24 and on to highway 88 that would take me to Wrens. I guessed I was about two hours away on a road I didn't know at all, which would make me keep my speed down through these country roads.

That's what he told us. Oh, Sam those poor babies. We are leaving in just a minute - Mack is going to drive me. Do you have our cell number? Mack was her only son and Julie's only brother. To me he was a close friend and a guy I had seen grow up from the time he was around 8 years old when Julie and I started dating to now as a 22 year old student at the University of Georgia.

No, ma'am, give it to me. I'll call you if I hear anything and you call me if you hear anything.

Hang on - I have it written down here somewhere. I could hear her fumbling in her purse for a number and fumbling some more when she couldn't find it right away. I pushed the truck on up to a pretty good speed but not a reckless one. The thought crossed my mind that I didn't know the road and I was trying to talk on a cell phone. My mind certainly wasn't on driving. I decided to slow down a bit - there wasn't any sense in being one of the people you hear about who have wrecks on their way to hospitals. My hands were still sweating - I wiped them on my shorts again. I had the windows rolled up so I could hear on the phone so I turned the air up a little more.

Here it is, Sam. 555-6921, ok? I'll call if we hear anything. Ted and Jamie are on their way, too.

Yes, ma'am. Y'all drive careful

We hung up as I drove around a curve bearing to the left. There were stacks of hay on the edge of a rolling hayfield on the left. I thought of the silly joke I used to make with the boys when we passed a hay field. 'Hey', I'd shout, then when they turned to look at me I would point to the field and say ‘See? Hay’. Stupid joke, but it just popped into my mind. I was worried to death about Marshall but I didn't know good or bad what his condition was, so I turned worrying off and concentrated on what to say to Momma.

My Momma is a strong-willed lady. I didn't know how much I would need that strength until the weeks that followed, but I knew for certain that she would be upset and I didn't like upsetting Momma for anything. She answered the phone when I called. I told her what had happened as calmly as I could because I didn't want her to worry about me on top of worrying about Marshall. No chance of that, but I didn't want to add any more to her anxiety.

I really didn't want to upset Daddy. He had lost his older sister just a couple months ago; she was a beautiful woman, inside and out, who had been hit by a car while walking near her home in Virginia. Everyone who knew her loved Aunt Barbara; her death shook up the family more than any other event in the past fifteen years or more. I didn't want this to push Daddy to a place he couldn't come back from if it went bad for Marshall, but he had to know and would know.

You have on your seatbelt? Momma asked.

"Yes, ma'am,