UNTER VOSS LOVES SPORTS—especially basketball. For now, Hunter swings a baseball bat with his 4-year-old brother in the backyard, but he has bigger dreams. First, he has to convince his mother, Jackie, to let him get back in to the game.

His mom is understandably protective. Less than six months ago, her lively 13-year-old son was confined to bed, unable to talk, walk or move his left side. He was in serious condition when the staff at CHRISTUS Schumpert’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) first saw him. It was a mystery. What could have caused this previously healthy boy to start experiencing serious neurological problems? Even his eyesight began to be affected. The nurses on the unit remember watching Hunter’s condition deteriorate, worrying that he would die.

Tests revealed the cause—a blood clot resulting from bleeding in his brain had damaged the pathways in his brain. It may have been the result of a stroke or traumatic injury.

If the bleeding didn’t stop, Hunter would probably not survive. “We could only leave it to God and hope for the best,” PICU Nurse Elizabeth Baudoin recalled. “We monitored his condition the best we could and prayed.”

In fact, many people prayed. The congregations of two local churches set up prayer chains. Family members in New York asked for prayers there, while others set up prayer groups in Oklahoma, New York and California. Miraculously, the bleeding stopped.

Eleven days after he was admitted to the PICU, Hunter was able to leave the hospital. He still could not stand on his own and could only walk with assistance. But over time, and with extensive physical therapy, he has nearly returned to normal and only has a slight weakness on one side.

The boy’s grandfather says Hunter is a walking miracle, evidence that God has a purpose for everyone in life.

Sally Croom
director
Public Relations
CHRISTUS Schumpert Health System
Shreveport, Louisiana