May 10, 2000

Brett Cunningham loves baseball in the spring and camping in the summer. But last August, his family feared they had had their last vacation together.

They were at their favorite spot, Electric Lake, about 15 miles up Fairview Canyon. It was shortly after 8:00 a.m. on August 28th, and Brett was riding a four wheeler. He hit a puddle, lost control and the vehicle fell on him. The handlebars tore his abdomen open, exposing his intestines.

David Cunningham, Brett's father: "JUST FOR A SECOND, I THINK I PANICKED. THEN I THOUGHT, 'YOU HAD BETTER GET YOUR WITS OR YOU'RE GONNA LOSE A SON,' AND I SCREAMED OUT HIS NAME AND HE OPENED HIS EYES. AND I KNEW AT LEAST HE WAS ALIVE, BECAUSE I DIDN'T THINK SO WHEN I FIRST CAME UP TO HIM."

Renee Cunningham, Brett's mother: "WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW AT THE TIME, IS THAT IT ALSO SEVERED HIS ARTERY IN HIS LEG, ONE OF THE MAJOR ARTERIES IN HIS LEG. BUT DURING ALL OF THAT SHIFTING, A PIECE OF THE SEVERED INTESTINE DROPPED DOWN INTO HIS ARTERY AND PLUGGED THAT ARTERY UNTIL WE WERE ABLE TO GET HIM TO PRIMARY CHILDREN'S."

But getting that help became a race for life. Brett's mother kept her son from losing consciousness.

Renee Cunningham: "AS WE WERE GOING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN, THE FIRST THING WAS TO TELL HIM HOW MUCH WE ABSOLUTELY LOVED HIM."

It took the Cunningham's 30 minutes to reach the town of Fairview. Then they drove to the closest hospital in Mt. Pleasant, which had already notified a medical helicopter to pick him up and take him to Primary Children's Medical Center. It was now three hours after the accident. The doctor was amazed.

David Cunningham: "DESCRIBED THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND WHAT THEY'D FOUND, THE DAMAGE THAT HAD BEEN DONE AND THE AMOUNT OF TRANSFUSIONS THAT IT TOOK, AND JUST DESCRIBED TO US THAT IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE MIRACLE THAT HE WAS ALIVE."

The Cunninghams say they could not have gotten through this without their faith, the prayers of many and blessings for Brett along the way. It normally takes several surgeries to return the intestines to the body, for Brett just one and an hour later, everything was fine. They call it yet another miracle.