Cover Story

Bad Accident

Everything looked foggy. All I could make out was a street lined with trees. On the ground were pieces of a car that I didn’t remember riding in. Sensing that something was wrong, I ran to the other side of the street to where my two sisters were sitting on the soggy ground with disoriented looks on their faces. They were whispering what seemed to be a prayer.

Certain that my two sisters were somewhat stable, I ran to look for the rest of my family. But the more I looked for them, the more lost I felt. Then I heard a slight moan from the other side of the street. As I walked cautiously in that direction, it became clear to me who was lying on the ground: my mom!

“Ah!” I screamed as I woke up. Suddenly I felt as if God had sent me a dream to tell my family and me not to make the trip to the airport to go pick up Dad.
I got up quickly and ran to talk to Mom. In a voice filled with fright I explained to her, “I just had a very bad dream. You got hurt badly in a car accident.”

My mom looked at me. On her face I saw  concern and a slight smile as if she were thinking, He’s just a child. Then she sat up on her bed and looked me in the eyes. “Josh, it’s just a dream. Go wake up your sisters and get dressed. We have to leave soon.”

I tried to forget about the horrible dream as I ran to my sisters’ room. After I’d annoyed them to my satisfaction, I hurried up and got dressed before they did. This greatly improved my chances of riding in the front seat before either one of them called it. Of course, being a guy, I was ready to go half an hour before Mom and my sisters were, which gave me free time to run around and release some energy before the long ride to McAllen, Texas.

My family and I had moved to Montemorelos, Mexico, to the Adventist university where Dad was studying theology. It was his last year of study, and my mom, my sisters, and I, were going to Texas to pick up my father from the airport.

Dad made about two to three trips a year back to the U.S. to work, so he could make money to pay his tuition and to support us. Picking up Dad from the airport had become a special occasion for us kids. Almost every time after we picked him up, he took us out to eat at the Golden Corral, an all-you-can-eat-buffet restaurant.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, my family started trickling out of the house. First came my little sister, Debbie, who had the key to the car. She was running as if she’d lose the world if she didn’t get in the front seat of the car.

Knowing her intentions before she even stepped outside the house, I ran to the car door and waited cordially for her to unlock it for me. After trying to convince her that it was best for me to take the front seat, then lying to her that she could ride in the front seat on the way back, she finally agreed to unlock the door. But after twisting and turning the key, Debbie couldn’t manage to unlock the door.
Snap! Holding the bodiless key with dismay, she looked at me and then back down at the key.

“Mom!” I shouted, “Debbie broke the car key.”

By this time my mom and my older sister, Becky, were coming out of the house.
“It’s OK, mijo,” Mom said. “There’s a spare key in the house. I’ll go and get it.”
I looked at my sister and whispered to her in the most arrogant voice I could muster, “I’m going to tell Dad!”

Debbie looked at me, then at the key. Quietly and patiently she waited for Mom to open the door. I smiled with accomplishment in spite of feeling some regret for not helping her unlock the door.

It was six o’clock in the morning and foggy. A slight chill ran down my spine as I got into our  red Toyota 4Runner. This SUV had carried us  home to Oregon and back to Montemorelos University many times. Thank God we’d never had an accident in it.

After accomplishing my goal of taking over the front seat, I fell asleep minutes after Mom started driving. I woke up when Mom  announced, “Does anybody want something to eat? We’re going to stop at a gas station.”

Instantly the three of us shouted in unison, “Yes!”

It took only about 10 minutes to fill up our  vehicle with gas, to buy food, and to start stuffing the food into our mouths. Soon we were back on the road heading toward the airport. I was happily enjoying a container of chocolate milk and a piece of bread from Bimbo, a famous bakery in Mexico. In fact, all three of us kids were happily eating away on our breakfast.

About 45 minutes into the trip, I finished eating my bread, and I irresponsibly threw the bread wrapper on the floor of the car. As soon as Mom saw me do it, she bent down to grab the wrapper and put it in the trash bag inside our vehicle.

“Mom!” my older sister Becky shrieked.

My mother looked up and saw that our vehicle was straying toward the right side of the road. As fast as she could, Mom turned the wheel toward the left side of the road. As the 4Runner turned a really sharp left, it was as if the wind blew with great force and caused it to start rolling uncontrollably.

I ducked toward the footwell to hide from any flying objects and to keep my body from crushing against the roof of the car. I’ll never forget looking back at my sisters and seeing the surprised and confused looks on their faces. Yogurt, pieces of bread, juice, and the other items we’d brought on the trip were flying around inside the car.

When our car finally came to a stop, it was difficult to see because of all the dust floating around. Inside the car yogurt, dust, bread, and pieces of glass lay all over the place. Once the dust settled, I started looking around, trying to  make sure everyone was OK.

I looked back at my sisters, who were trying to pull yogurt out of their hair. One of them was complaining about pain in her thumb, but for the most part they were OK. I then asked Mom if she was OK.

Blood drained out of my face, and I suddenly felt cold all over. When I looked over at the driver’s seat, all I could see was a hole in the window.

“No, no, no, no!” I started whispering to myself, then louder and louder came my desperate cry. I tried opening the door, but it was smashed in and wouldn’t open. So I kicked it open.

As I ran around desperately searching for my mom, I screamed, “No! No! No!”
To the left of the smashed 4Runner lay my mother’s motionless body. By now both my sisters had caught up with me and were freaking out.

We’d learned in Pathfinders not to move an injured person, because it might cause more injuries. All we could do was talk to her. Mom had a peaceful look in her eyes as she gazed toward the heavens. Then looking at each one of us she said, “Josh, Becky, Debbie, if I die today—”

“No, Mom!” my sisters and I instantly screamed at her. “You won’t die! We need you!”

Yet Mom, in a calm voice, told us, “If I die, I want you guys to behave and obey your father. And don’t forget that I love you all very much.”

The three of us started sobbing and repeating, “Mom, you’re not going to die!”
Out of desperation Becky turned and ran to the side of the street and started screaming for help. But the people standing on the other side of the street didn’t do anything. Then I joined Becky’s screams for help, but still nobody did anything. I ran back to where Mom lay. Her eyes were starting to fade.

“Mom! Mom! No, you can’t fall asleep!” I told her.

She opened her eyes and said, “Something is biting my neck.”

I saw to the left of her a fire ant nest. I hoped that the fire ants’ bites would keep Mom from going unconscious.

It took an ambulance about 30 minutes to reach us. At the university hospital doctors admitted Mom. Later they decided to transfer Mom to a hospital in Monterrey, where she had surgery.

Big adjustment

Mom’s injuries from the accident left her a paraplegic—paralyzed from the waist down. It took us a while to make the difficult adjustment to Mom’s condition.
Yet, in spite of all that my family has had to go through, I’ve felt the presence of God all the time. Proverbs 3:5, 6 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths,” and that’s what I’ve tried to do.

Did the dream I had the morning of the accident have anything to do with it? I don’t know. But I do know that like I’ve had to, at some time in your life you’ll probably have to face some big obstacles—obstacles so big that  they may make you feel as though you’re facing them all by yourself. But you’ve got to remember that Jesus Christ is there for you.

Sure, the accident has had a lasting effect on my family and me. Without going into more stories, I’ll just tell you that since the accident God has opened bigger doors and more opportunities for my family, causing me to believe in Him and this promise: “‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’”
(Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).*

*Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Joshua Parada and his family live in Oregon. Now he’s in college, studying to become either a physician’s assistant or a nurse.

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