As day dragged it’s weary feet into the night, family and friends slipped quietly into the hospital. The waiting room was soon filled with their supporters and spilled out into the hallway where they waited . . . waited for any news. Disbelief and grief strained every face. He was a brother, a cousin, a friend in the youth group . . . and he was suffering. Anyone who wanted to see him was permitted.

Midnight came. Brother Joe, his bishop, who had been with the family all evening went in and prayed with Delton. By now he was slipping into shock and seemed to be in a coma. Each breath became a labored effort as fluid built up on his lungs.

Code blue! Code blue! An emergency team rushed in to take charge.

How much longer will Delton hold on? The question unmercifully hammered each person as he hung between life and death.

Prayer. The only thing to do! God could hear the prayers spoken and feel the prayers unspoken.

“Let’s pray together,” suggested one of the youth in a shaky voice. So they banded together in the vending machine room and one by one offered their heartfelt prayers to God.

An emergency nurse walked by the vending room. Seeing the prayer circle, she stopped. Is this what makes the difference in their lives? They have something, something more than I have. Hesitantly she touched one of the girls on the arm. “I’ve worked here for quite a few years,” she said softly. “Almost anyone in the terrible pain Delton is in would be screaming and thrashing around. But Delton asked me so quietly for a pain shot and I, well, I just broke down and cried. It was just too much,” she dabbed her eyes. ” I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

A glimmer of hope came with the early morning hours. Delton’s blood was starting to clot. By 2:00 a.m. the blood tubes were filling more slowly and by 4:00 a.m. he began to show signs of consciousness as prayers continued heavenward in his behalf.

Daybreak arrived. Delton was still hanging on. He had been given a total of 75 units of blood.
“Getting ten units of blood is life threatening,” Nurse Gennifer told Elton and Carolyn. “A lot of people die. The most units I’ve ever given a patient was 30-some and that person died.”

“A serious side-complication of DIC (which is when the body’s own clotting mechanism doesn’t function) can fully be expected in Delton’s case,” the doctor added. “This is when the patient’s body, or more specifically his lungs, reject the blood transfusions. The blood cakes and hardens on the inside of the lungs like concrete, making it impossible to absorb oxygen.”

However not a trace of this ever showed up in Delton.

The weekend came. Delton slowly stabilized. Unable to talk because of the respirator, he scrawled notes with pen and paper.

Family and friends continued to flood the hospital with their support. Many of Delton’s friends would stay overnight.

One of the friends who stayed was Michael, who also drove truck for Kropf Feed Supply. A few days after the accident he went to investigate the scene. Something metal glinted on the ground and he brushed the dirt off it. His eyes filled with tears as he held a ring of bent and battered keys. Why was it Delton? It could’ve been me.

“You know, Son,” said Elton one morning. “The Lord had a plan for this. It will help us all become better Christians. Maybe it will even help someone become a Christian.” Delton nodded in agreement.