Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
When a devastating accident claimed the life of a promising teenager, his mother cried out in faith, and God granted her request.
Now she’s sharing their journey to encourage others to recognize God’s faithfulness in the midst of tragedy and the unknown.
It was about a year ago when mom La’Kisha Brinson got the call that no mother wants to get: Her 15-year-old son, Torianto “Junior” Brinson, had been in a horrible car accident close to their house in Missouri City, Texas.
Until that point, life had been going well for the family. They’d moved into a new home, and Torianto was excelling in academics, sports and music at school.
But that all changed in a moment.
“One minute after it happened, my daughter called me, and she was hysterical,” La’Kisha recounted about the car accident to KSAZ-TV.
“‘Mom, you need to get here now.’ So they were literally around the corner from the house. So we drove up the street. Had to get out of the car, run, and saw him laying there.”
Doctors pronounced him dead. But his mom refused that fate and turned to prayer. Today, her 15-year-old is alive and a year into recovery and rehabilitation. https://t.co/fJMcaWuXov
— KTVU (@KTVU) June 23, 2022
The teen had been thrown from the totaled vehicle, and he was exhibiting no signs of life.
“There were four emergency services working on him, and he wasn’t responding, he wasn’t breathing, he wasn’t moving. He was just laying there,” La’Kisha said.
He was life-flighted to Texas Medical Center, but the family was given no hope. Doctors pronounced him dead, KSAZ reported.
“They told us that he was gone, there was nothing they could do, and I remember asking them, ‘You’re just going to let my baby just sit here?’ and they were like, ‘There’s nothing they can do,'” La’Kisha said.
But there was something that could be done: La’Kisha asked her family to pray, and she began praying hard for her son.
“I was holding his hand, and I prayed and told him: ‘Junior, I need you!’ A minute later, I saw his hand move,” La’Kisha recalled.
It was enough of a sign to get him into emergency surgery, but that was only the beginning of a long, arduous road to recovery because the teen had severe brain damage that required constant and careful monitoring.
Torianto spent months in a semicoma, finally progressing enough to move to another hospital, according to KSAZ.
“He was still having trouble moving around in bed consistently,” said Liz Larkin, a physical therapist with TIRR Memorial Hermann. “Getting up and walking was very difficult. It required two people to help him.
“He also struggled — and it’s pretty common after an injury like his traumatic brain injury — to have noticed changes in behavior, which we expected. It actually is a good sign! It means he’s getting better, but (he had) moments of difficulty regulating impulses.
“So, the amount of sound and noise and light and things like that, to give him the best opportunity for success.”
La’Kisha, a teacher, drew on her skill set to help her son improve. And he did — slowly but surely.
And he doesn’t remember any of the trauma he experienced. Not the crash, not the semicoma, not rehab. It’s all a blank for him, and all that exists now is a bright future that once seemed impossible.
Because of all the work Torianto had been doing at school — even finishing high school courses in middle school — he’ll still be graduating on time despite having been absent for a year. He’s even playing basketball again.
“But God…. But God….. But God….,” La’Kisha posted on Facebook.
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“After almost a year of praying, work, affirmations, work, prayer, affirmations, faith, FAITH, and more Faith. What Satan attempted to steal from my son, God restored back to him. I did a TikTok of just his progress and it was sent to Fox News. They did a story about him because he is truly an inspiration.
“Every mother, every Father, every person. It does NOT matter what man says, all you need to know is what GOD says. For he has the final Say.
“I pray his story ministers hope to your souls.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
