Bill was leading a midweek Bible study at a home one evening when the lady of the house interrupted. “The chiefs at the door, and he wants to see you, Bill.” Excusing himself, the Bible teacher left his hearers to wonder what could be urgent enough to justify interrupting the class. 

        "There’s been an accident, Bill.” The chiefs face registered his deep concern. “Your son was hit by a truck. He’s in Smoky Lake Hospital. That’s all I heard.” 

        Outwardly calm. Bill dismissed the class. Then he and Shirley hurriedly made arrangements for the care of their other children so they could go to Smoky Lake where Kene had been taken. It seemed everything worked against them. 

        “We tried to phone the hospital but our phone was dead,” Shirley recounts. “We didn’t have much gas in the car and we knew the service stations were closed. Bill went to a neighbor who would have given him gas gladly, but a siphoning hose was nowhere to be found. Bill eventually was given gas by another neighbor. At last, we were on our way.” When they got to the hospital, however, another setback awaited them. 

        “Your son has been transferred to Edmonton,” the nurse informed the anxious parents. “No, I’m sorry. I have no further Information."

        Filled with a need to know how their son was doing, Bill and Shirley decided right away to drive on to Edmonton. At the hospital there, they were met with bad news. 

        “I’m afraid it’s extremely serious!” The doctor spoke to them before allowing them to see Kene. “His neck may be broken. He may be a paraplegic. He’s in a deep coma. We can only wait and see what happens.” 

        At Ken’s bedside, Bill and Shirley looked down on their son’s face. How could this be? Kene was so strong, so young. Not yet eighteen, he was nearing graduation from High School. His whole life lay ahead. How could he be lying there, unresponding, silent? 

        Gradually, as they kept their bedside vigil, the Jacksons learned from others what had happened. While coming home from a hockey game near Edmonton, Kene and his friends saw a car which had slid off the highway into the ditch. The strong young men stopped and pushed the car back on to the highway. As they walked back to their own vehicle a big truck hurtled out of the darkness, swerved to avoid four of the boys and shot towards Kene and his friend Reuben. Reuben got hit on the knee. Kene didn’t know where he was hit. Knocked out by the collision, he landed under the truck. Rushed to Smoky Lake Hospital, he was immediately assessed as being too seriously injured for that hospital to treat. From the country hospital staffs point of view, all the resources of the big city hospital would be required to help this patient. 

        Bill and Shirley stayed with Kenc late into the night. By morning, he had still not come out of the coma. All day they waited, again late into the night. Then the whole cycle was repeated—and still Kene lay unconscious. Bill got a room in a nearby motel. But every day and for much of the night either Shirley or Bill (and usually both) kept their post by Kene’s bed. 

        “Dear Lord, help Kene.” Pouring out his heart as he had done repeatedly through the last three days, Bill prayed out loud. He’d been talking to a patient who occupied the bed next to Kene’s, but the man showed no interest in God or things spiritual. Well, that wasn’t going to stop Bill from praying out loud. 

        “Dear Lord, we hold Kene up to You.” Calling on God as the Bible encouraged him to do, Bill once again told his Heavenly Father the desires of his heart for Kene. Then he concluded. “In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

        “Bill!” Shirley exclaimed. Following the direction of her gaze, Bill looked towards the bed. Kene’s eyes flickered and opened a crack before closing. Then the boy’s eyes opened again.

        “Where am I?” Puzzled, Kene looked around the room. His eyes focused on the T.V. screen which the other patient had on. That season’s National Hockey League All Star game was showing. ‘Where am I? What happened?”

        Nearby, a nurse quickly took charge. “Lie still, Kene,” she ordered. Obediently, Kene closed his eyes and fell asleep.

        Shortly afterwards, Kene woke again. Once more, he murmured the same series of questions. Once more, he drifted back to sleep.

        After that, Kene’s recovery was rapid, so much so that within a week he was able to be discharged. X-rays showed that his neck had been injured but not broken. He also had a broken jaw. Time healed the injuries and, by God’s grace, there was no permanent damage. Worrisome and disruptive though the accident had been, at least two known blessings came out of it.

        “Hey!” Bill turned as the patient in the next bed called him. Responding to the man’s beckoning signal, he crossed the room to stand by the man’s bed. “Yes?” he asked.

        “That was really something. You know, what happened when you prayed last night and your son woke up.

        “Oh, you saw that?” Bill smiled. “God does answer prayer, you know. He promised He would.” With that as a starting point, Bill once more talked to the patient about the love of God in Christ Jesus. Again, the seed of the Word was sown. In His own way, God had caught the attention of this man and, through Bill, had laid before him Heaven’s offer of saving grace. 

        The other good result from what seemed a bad event involved Kene himself. The incident spoke to his heart, spurring him on to greater commitment and surrender in his own spintual life before God. Perhaps it was the sudden reminder of his own vulnerability and the close brush with death which stirred him. Perhaps it was the forced withdrawal from life’s busy schedule which allowed him to think more directly of God and eternal things. Whatever the factors, God used the accident to draw Kene closer to Himself.