A toddler found unconscious at the bottom of a swimming pool survived because he was “held by Jesus”, his family has said.
Parents Brandon and Courtney McKee dropped Max (pictured above) and his older brother Brody off at the boys’ grandmother’s house when Courtney felt an overwhelming, urgent need to pray for their safety, reports the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN).
Courtney said: “It was like a presence of the Holy Spirit and prompting me at that moment to pray for their protection. It was indescribable.”
Brandon was driving away from his mother-in-law’s home when, “Courtney goes, ‘Stop!’ And right then just began to pray for our babies.”
The next day, the need for that prayer started to become clear when Courtney received a phone call at work from her sister-in-law. “She was crying,” Courtney told CBN. “And I could hear, you know, sirens in the background and a lot of commotion. And it was at that moment where she told me that they had found Max at the bottom of the swimming pool.”
The toddler was unresponsive when pulled from the pool, but resuscitation efforts were made before paramedics arrived to revive Max and rush him to the nearest trauma centre.
Dr Marvin Mata of the Rapides Women’s and Children’s Hospital where Max was taken said: “He was having a hard time breathing. Every minute matters when their brain lacks oxygen. It can have some profound effects. It can cause memory issues, learning disabilities, and the most worrisome would be brain death.”
Hundreds from the family’s church and community heard of the accident and began to pray.
“Our pastor came,” said Courtney. “Tons of friends that are prayer warriors came, and they just surrounded his bed. And we grabbed hands and we prayed and we just brought down the power of the Lord that day.
“The next morning, Max showed signs that he was Max again. And I knew immediately there was no neurological deficit and Max was going to be okay.”
Max made a full recovery, then a startling revelation.
Courtney said: “He looked at us one day and said, ‘When I was in that pool, I wasn’t scared.’ And we were like, ‘That’s great, buddy.’
“And he said, ‘When I was in the bottom of that pool, Jesus held me.’ And my husband and I just kind of looked at each other in shock. And then he stopped and he said, ‘Why does he have scratches on his hands?’
“He brought my baby out of that water. He held him in the water. I’m so thankful. I am eternally grateful.”
Max, now aged six, added: “I’m Max and I’m a miracle!”
