This is a sequel to My Life Spared By 5 seconds, another testimony of God’s saving power]
I looked around in the sky for Steve’s parachute in the 20 seconds between ejecting from my Phantom FGR2 aircraft and landing in the snow with a broken arm and leg but couldn’t see him. Steve was my navigator and good friend. I feared the worst! After arriving at the hospital, I finally saw him being brought in but groaning and sounding in a very bad way indeed. My life was spared by 5 seconds and Steve must have got out with just 3 seconds to go before the Phantom impacted with a massive explosion! In fact, I was to learn later that Steve passed through the fireball, had his parachute literally burnt in half, his helmet blown off his head and boots damaged on impact with the ground!
Amazingly, he was found in the first-aid recovery position on the mountain which saved his life. I was just so relieved and grateful to God that Steve was alive! The doctors told me they would work on Steve first in the operating theatre. No worries. He stopped breathing over 33 times in the next few days and his life was in a critical situation. My wife asked many churches to pray for us both, especially Steve. We were told later he would probably never walk again; never fly again and be mentally affected after he’d broken his back, impacted his ankles and hit his head during his escape.
The road to recovery was going to be lengthy, and tough physically, mentally, and emotionally for Steve with his complex injuries. He remembers nothing about the crash at all. I knew I couldn’t prevent the crash and it was definitely time to leave before we were both killed, but I had a lot to think and ponder about over the days ahead in my hospital bed. The first thing I asked was to see my friend in Intensive Care. I needed to PRAY for him! The staff kindly granted my request knowing how urgent I felt this was. He was wired up to everything and unconscious. He was seriously poorly, so I prayed to God to spare him and heal him in Jesus’ name! I was then wheeled back to the ward but had peace having had the opportunity to pray with Steve alone in the presence of God.
So much prayer by so many Christians including Christian doctors, nurses, and physios whilst they worked on Steve. Prayer every step of the way. Christians praying for him with words of knowledge too. And, glory to God, he moved his toes, he later took his first steps, he was moved from lying on his back directly under strip lighting and regained his mental faculties. He had pulled through thanks to doctors, specialists, and staff, but mostly to faithful prayer warriors. He eventually returned to flying.
*Photo credit: https://www.pexels.com/@rocketmann-prod