UPDATE: The Cerak’s and the VanRyn’s have recently written a book about their experience, you can order it here:
Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope
Written by Carly Cerak on the VanRyn Blog (now shutdown):
We were told that Whitney was asking for us and when we saw her she was coherent enough to cry, so we all cried together. She immediately began to say “Let’s go home.” We spent the day crying and praising God for the ‘resurrection’ of Whitney. She began listing people she wanted to see, starting with our dad (who was on his way back from New York with the Youth Group). She kept telling us to call him and when she talked to him she told him she loved him and to “come over.” Matt, her boyfriend, arrived and she wanted him to lie down next to her. She blew us away with her detailed memory and ability to speak. Towards the end of the night she spoke clear sentences. When our dad arrived she grabbed his hand, my mom’s hand, and looked at Sandra and I and sighed like everything was finally right.
Today many of her friends have arrived and she has wanted to see them all but is very exhausted from yesterday. She saw a few of them and then wanted to sleep. Whitney woke up to someone bringing in flowers for her. This triggered something and she wanted to know who they were from and then she wanted to have all her family in the room. She began to cry and said “You think I’m dead.” We spent a good part of the afternoon comforting her as she has began to realize that she was in an accident and we weren’t with her for a while. Her tears are a mixture of joy and the fear of not knowing what has been going on. She took a break from crying when her therapist brought her actual food! Today she ate her first meal. She had grilled cheese, applesauce, and a milk shake. Within the next week she should be done with her tube and just eating food. After she ate she showed off her basketball skills and made three baskets in a row during physical therapy. She quickly slowed down and wanted to sleep again. Not only is it still unbelievable that she is alive but she has amazed us with her progress.
Earlier today my dad said, “Every time I look at Whitney I think of the Van Ryns.” We are so blessed and overjoyed about Whitney but our hearts and prayers are heavily on the Van Ryns.
What an amazing story of faith and grace and courage! May God be with Laura’s family and friends as they now sort through an mind-boggling maze of emotions.
Great story as it showed great faith. I also passed through the hardest stages of my life and thank God, He is truly powerful and all I need to do is to be faithful.
i am so glad that whitney is alive there has been no happier moment than this one it is a miracle i have been going to church with whitney for a while and she is the funniest most beautiful thing and she has good strenght and i thank god that she is alive and i am praying for and cant wait to see her and give her a big hug and tell her how much i missed her
Oh, how happy I am to hear about Whitney! I’ve been trying to follow some of her progress, as I, too, was in a fatal car crash involving a semi-tractor while I was in college. I was the only backseat survivor. Still in a coma with a TBI (traumatic brain injury) while the memorials and funerals took place, I had some healing, both spiritually, mentally, & emotionally when I “woke” up. My website, http://www.DarcyKeith.com, goes into some detail of the crash and how I beat the odds to overcome the odds and achieve the impossible in life, but only with God’s help.
In addition to offering prayer, I would like to offer any help and support that I can give both families, Whitney, and anyone else that I can serve. It is not by accident that God, not only spared my life, but gave me a remarkable recovery, so that I could help others, too. Please feel free to contact me at Darcy@DarcyKeith.com, if and when the time is appropriate. Thank you, and may God continue to bless and be with you all.
This great God you speak of, isn’t he the same God that killed the other girl (Laura), what was great about that?
Perhaps you’re going to tell me that it’s all part of Gods plan. Would that be the plan to kill young girls? Isn’t that what a lot of serial killers have done?
Thanks for all your response everyone.
wabbling,
It’s difficult to speak of a God in a world of dying people, I certainly agree. Children die everyday of hunger, when there is plenty of food to go around, earthquakes kill thousands, serial killers take many lives, and fatal car crashes seem frequent. Where is God amidst all of this? You ask a very difficult question wabbling, and I see how hard it would be for you to think there is a “God” somewhere who people consider “great” and “loving”
To Wabbling,
This world is a poor, sad and falling world. But those who live in Christ are filled with joy because he is our salvation and there is a new day here and in the next life where we will live with him eternally. So while we mourn for those who are here, Laura is in that new day even now, and we cannot begin to know (no eye has seen…) what she is experiencing. Christ did not come to free the world of pain, he came to free us of the bondage of sin and give us the gift of life everlasting. In this world you will have trouble, he has told us this. Odd that the time for mourning and the time for joy are one in the same for two different families and groups of friends. I think we should be in prayer for both families for healing and strength.
In Christ,
Name Withheld
To see more of my opinions, visit me here http://tinyurl.com/nfmpp
You will be glad you did (((HUGS)))