Dec. 7 is marked in the hearts of Trevaun Hughes and family. That day is the anniversaryof whenTrevaun sustained a traumatic brain injury after his truck spun out of control, flipped and hit an embankment. He had been driving in a heavy fog between Bluff Dale and Stephenville.
Ronald “Ronnie” Gale was standing nearby when Trevaun’s family and pastor gathered in a group hug in the emergency department of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville last December.
“They were visibly in pain,” he said.
Gale approached and told the family pastor: “I just got this cross. Give it to the family and when he gets better bring it back.”
Unbeknownst to Gale, this gift grew in importance to Trevaun Hughes and his family.
As the anniversary of the accident approached, mother and son planned to return the cross to Gale.
“This was a gesture from a stranger when our family was crushed,” she said. “He’s an angel. He will always have a footprint in our hearts.”
On Dec. 7, Gale met the Hughes family during a surprise reunion. Gale said he didn’t know what to expect when he was called to the hospital lobby. Once there, it slowly dawned on him that this meeting was about the cross, Trevaun Hughes and himself.
“It was amazing,” Gale said.
Nurses and staff watched as the emotional introductions unfolded. When Trevaun Hughes and his mother offered the cross back; Gale declined.
“You keep that cross. That’s yours,” Gale said, explaining that it was one of several crosses he received from a person visiting the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Miriam Longoria-Hughes said she found solace in the cross when the worst fears filled her mother’s heart. She carried it in her right pocket and slept with it. She prayed with it during the multiple treatments her son received, including surgery at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, two weeks in the ICU and continuing rehabilitation.
“To have a stranger speak life into my son, that says a lot about your heart,” she told Gale. “I appreciate your heart and your gesture. It speaks volumes for who you are and who God is.”
After the surprise reunion at Texas Health Stephenville, Trevaun Hughes told his mother he appreciated being able to show Gale how much he had recovered. He was also able to see how many medical professionals were involved in his care.
“I’ve gotten much better than before. Our faith pushed me through,” he said. “I appreciate him knowing I would get better. It was cool to go back and show him that I did.”
Trevaun Hughes’ recovery continues. He’s worked to take steps with the help of a walker. He’s rebuilding his communications skills with plans of returning to Tarleton State University to finish a mechanical engineering degree.
At Texas Health Stephenville, the reunion was inspiring.
“Our mission of service is all about hope,” said Claudia Eisenmann, M.B.A., FACHE, president of Texas Health Stephenville. “It is about stubbornly persevering in our belief that when faith meets competency, we can become a part of someone’s miracle. That is what this story means to everyone at Texas Health Stephenville, and it is why we do what we do every day.”
—submitted