Imagine a huge and sharp boat anchor going into the deep water, piercing everything in its path and finally settling on the sea bed to keep the boat steady and still – a boat that weighs from hundreds of pounds to a ton or more?
That is the power of a metal boat anchor.
But what would happen if that very same anchor accidentally hit and stuck the head of a 14-year old boy?
A very painful and fatal injury would be the normal answer you would get. However, miracles do happen, and they have their own laws and rules that are quite distinct and out of the realm of common sense.
That is exactly what happened to Caleb Bennett of the Manatee County, Florida.
A heavy metal boat anchor accidentally hit the teenager’s head from the front and penetrated inside almost 2.78 inches.
Quite miraculously, the boy survived the deadly blow, which is no less than an amazing miracle.
Back in March of this year, Caleb Bennett was enjoying a fishing trip with his brother and friends, when the boat’s anchor accidentally dropped into the water. Seconds later, the line snapped back sharply and out came the heavy anchor striking Caleb’s frontal lobe at a noticeable pace.
“The anchor had slipped off the boat and it went into the water and was slingshot back into the boat where it penetrated Caleb’s right frontal lobe 2.78 inches,” Mrs. Kelli Bennett – mother of Caleb Bennett – told the local media.
What follows is both a story of inspirational courage and a miracle for all to comprehend.
Upon receiving the sharp end of the anchor 2 inches inside his head, it is astonishing that the teenager remained calm and instructed his friends to call 911. However, he did know that the situation could turn deadly at any moment.
How this brave Bradenton teenager felt at that time is as follows in his own words:
“I didn’t want to pull it out because I thought it might bleed more,” he said. “Eventually, it fell out and then I put pressure on it and held my head up. I just stayed calm. I told my friend, ‘Hey, you need to call 911 or I’m going to die.’”
After the young Florida boy blacked out, the next time he opened his eyes in his hospital bed. He was airlifted to the hospital for emergency brain surgery, and doctors were not so hopeful for his recovery.
Apart from the near-impossible recovery fact, doctors were quite sure that he would lose his ability to hear and speak forever, even if he survived.
But with mint hopes, the surgeons performed a limited craniotomy – a medical procedure for removing skull bone to expose a part of the brain.
“We needed to take out a big piece of skull try to take out the pieces of bone and whatever else he had in there from the anchor,” Dr. Luis Rodriguez said, a pediatric neurological surgeon at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.
Despite the best medical attention given, no one was hopeful to see Caleb Bennett as lively and energetic as he used to be. But as they say: “When God wills, nothing can harm.”
Contrary to what the entire medical staff, family and friends were thinking, Caleb made it out completely fine and normal from his almost fatal injury – a very unlikely case in medical history, indeed.
“When I first saw Caleb, I thought I was going to be sick,” Kelli Bennett said. “It’s very hard to see your kid hooked up to every tube, to see that stand with seven to 12 different medicines going in his body.”
Continuous scans of his head showed that – quite remarkably – no critical blood vessels in the brain were damaged by this deadly onslaught. This was the real surprise and wonder for the medical staff at Johns Hopkins Children Hospital.
“It’s a real modern-day miracle that I am alive,” as Caleb Bennett describes his miraculous delivery from what is supposed to be an incident that will surely be fatal in other circumstances.
Apparently, the boy came to be known as “Anchorman” after surviving this deadly injury. The event literally strengthens Caleb’s faith in the will of God, and of those who hear about his story.
“I shouldn’t be standing here today. God definitely has a plan in my life,” says Caleb.
Isn’t this a miracle to believe and wonder about? Let us know your own miraculous story if you have one.
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