The ordeal was indeed speaking to others. The hospital staff and patients were soon referring to him as their “miracle boy.” They knew his progress could only be credited to prayer.

Six days after the accident, Elton, with a newspaper in hand, came in to Delton’s room. The headline read, “Teen fights for miracle recovery after feed truck accident.”

“Read it, Dad,” Delton scribbled on his paper.

“A 16-year-old Seymour boy continued his fight for a miracle recovery this week after he was thrown from and run over by the feed truck he was driving. Delton Kropf remained in critical condition . . . ‘There are so many things that could happen yet, he’s not out of danger,’ his father said . . . But family and friends were grateful the boy was doing as well as he was . . . ‘It’s very definitely a miracle. No one expected him to make it,’ Kropf said. ‘There are thousands and thousands of people praying for him.”

There was silence after Elton finished reading. They were thinking of the uncertainty of what was in store . . . of the “miracle recovery” which had occurred thus far.

Little details kept popping up to show how wonderfully God had everything in control – like the visit from the ambulance driver.

“Mr. and Mrs. Kropf?”

Elton and Carolyn looked up from their chairs in the waiting room.

“I’m the one who drove the ambulance to the scene of your son’s accident. I was just checking up on him . . . do you think I could go in and see him?”

Delton’s eyes lit up in recognition when the man introduced himself.

“You know, boy, I don’t very often check up on my patients. Maybe only one in a hundred who are hurt as badly as you ever pull through. Do you know we were only six minutes away from you when we got the call? We were just returning from another run, so we happened to be close by. If we’d have reached you a few minutes later, I doubt you’d be living. Someone was looking out for you,” he added reverently.

So a week passed. Some days Delton felt suspended like a yo-yo between ups and downs. Other days his progress was uphill. He reached a real milestone when he discovered feeling was returning to his legs and feet. Soon he was off the breathing machine, able to talk again.

The second week started with Delton in terrible pain. In addition to the road burns, a large
hematoma (a clotted area of blood caused by his extensive internal bleeding) developed on his back. The hard bed became an unbearable prison! Before long he was moved onto an air bed with inflatable cushions which helped alleviate the pressure greatly.

Every four hours brought a breathing treatment to prevent an attack of pneumonia. Dad was an important help to him during each treatment, pressing down on a pillow to keep his incision from hurting so painfully when he coughed.

In fact, Dad and Mom had become the most important part of each day to him. They were love and home in the midst of a sterile hospital atmosphere. Just knowing they were there gave him strength.

Nurse Henrietta noticed this. She was conversing with Delton one day when Elton and Carolyn came in for a visit.

“Is he keeping you straight?” Elton jokingly asked her.

“Well, seriously, Delton’s been telling me how much he appreciates you,” she replied. ” I can see why. I’ve been observing how much you both love and care about him.”

The tears in Delton’s eyes said volumes as he kissed his Dad’s hand. It is only natural for most teenage boys to be reserved in showing their emotions, especially when expressing affection. Now it was precious and comforting to him to share expressions of love with his parents.

The days were becoming more routine as the third week came – an X-ray or two today – a little celebration when the feeding tube was turned up to give Delton more c.c.’s of nourishment – sometimes another unit of blood was given – time to change the dressings – more pain medication – Delton’s weight gradually went down.