Toddler Faces Staggering Odds of Survival After Falling Into Well

“Everything you've ever thought of at your worst moment in your life,” Bruce Jackson said. “You're just praying that this is a dream, this isn't happening.”

On May 21st, 2008 Bruce and Kelly Jackson’ 22-month old son, Erik, wandered away from the playground at a local Mother’s Day Out Program. Before caregivers noticed he was missing, Erik fell head-first into a 6-foot abandoned well.

“Then I said, ‘Well, there wasn't water in it; was there?’” Bruce said. “And they said, ‘could you just meet us at the ER?’  At this point, you know, I realized– somebody said there was water in it.”

“We arrived on the scene and we were presented the child by the staff there,” First responder Johnny Robinson said. “I don’t know how long he had gone without oxygen but from our indicators. He was blue. There was nothing on the monitor. He was showing no heart activity, was not breathing on his own. In all practical purposes, he was dead.”

First responders immediately started CPR and Erik was rushed to the nearest hospital.

“I remember they said they needed me to go back and see him” Kelly said, “that if I wanted to see him it probably needed to be right now.  And I thought, ‘What do you mean?’  and then it kinda started hitting me.  And then it I was like, ‘No, I’m not going back without Bruce.’” 

“We went over and held his hand,” Bruce said. “and he didn't seem recognizable. He wasn't the little boy we saw that morning. And they were still doing everything they could.”

But, after 90 minutes of CPR And without any additional medical intervention, Erik’s condition changed suddenly.

“They came running outside and said, ‘His heart started beating again.’ Johnny said. “Miraculous is a word, unbelievable. In my twenty-five years never seen before…unexplainable.”

Still in critical condition, Erik was life-flighted to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.

“They told us that his kidneys had shut down,” Bruce said, “that his lungs were damaged, that his liver was shutting down, his internal organs were failing. They didn't know the extent of the brain – brain damage, and they said ‘If he makes it through the night, we'll talk tomorrow.’”
 
“My prayers were—I wasn’t sure if he was going to be okay, but I knew that I just needed God’s strength whether he made it or he didn’t,” Kelly said. “And I kinda really didn't think he was.”


As news of Erik’s accident spread, people all over the world were praying for him.

“Our church, during that time period, was just amazing. Overwhelming,” Kelly said. “I couldn't believe it.”

“At this point uh there were – there had to have been thousands of people praying for us,” Bruce said. “You just felt the love and the concern and I haven't experienced anything like that in my life.”

Erik was on life-support and in a coma. After one week, due to his lack of progress, doctors scheduled a meeting with Bruce and Kelly.

“He was on, you know, breathing machines and all the necessary equipment to keep him alive, although he was – he wasn't responsive,” Bruce said. “They were gathering all the specialists and uh we were supposed to meet that afternoon.”

But, the Jackson’s never had that conference with the doctors.

“Before the meeting, that's when one of the nurses ran in and said that he was awake,” Bruce said. “As exciting as it was when he was born, that was even better.”

“I mean, it was just such an amazing experience,” Kelly said. “When you talk to a medical profession that that's what they do and they see and they see so many other things and they're just like, ‘This is amazing.  This is miraculous.’” 

In the months to follow, Erik had to undergo extensive physical therapy to learn how to walk, talk, and eat again.

“You could see the delays in certain areas,” Bruce said, “but that gap just kept narrower, more and more narrow.”

Today, Erik has no residual effects from the accident and is a bright and healthy 8-year old.

“He's just funny,” Kelly said. “I think he's just smart and sweet and I think he's a good friend and I think he's, uh, you know, I'm his mom, so I think he's just great.”

“If you saw him, you would never know that anything had happened,” Bruce said. “Everyday– he does the things that you expect a normal boy to do.”

The Jacksons say they pray Erik’s experience will bring hope to hurting families.

“I know that uh my relationship with Christ--it just kind of put the exclamation point on it,” Kelly said. “He didn't fail me. I couldn’t have made it without him.”

“I think just trusting and believing that– He's got a plan,” Bruce said.  “Rely on your faith. He's good, and He's going to be there with you.”