A Child’s Journey to Heaven and Back — A Miracle Doctors Couldn’t Explain

June 9, 2018, began like any other joyful summer Saturday. Families gathered at a park swimming pool, children laughed in the sunshine, and the air was filled with the simple happiness of a warm day spent together. For pastors Dave and Kathy Powell, it was meant to be just another ordinary memory with their children—until, in a single terrifying moment, everything changed.

Amid the sounds of splashing water and cheerful voices, a sudden cry for help pierced the calm. A man was rushing from the pool carrying a young girl whose body hung limp in his arms. Panic spread instantly. Lifeguards sprang into action and began CPR while stunned onlookers tried to understand what was happening.

Then Dave and Kathy realized the unthinkable truth.

The little girl fighting for life… was their nine-year-old daughter, Annie.

Time seemed to stop. Annie’s skin had turned blue from her chest upward. Her eyes were rolled back. She looked completely lifeless. Every parent’s worst nightmare was unfolding right in front of them, and there was nothing they could do except watch, pray, and hope.

Dave fell to Annie’s feet, crying out to God through tears of desperation.

“Please don’t take her. Please let her come back.”

Kathy could only pray that the CPR would work, begging God to breathe life back into her little girl. In those moments, faith was no longer a concept—it was their only lifeline.

Within minutes, an ambulance arrived and rushed Annie to a nearby hospital. Doctors stabilized her breathing, but the news remained devastating. Annie had suffered cardiac arrest and respiratory failure. She was now in a coma, and her condition was critical.

Soon she was life-flighted to a Level One trauma center for specialized care. During the helicopter flight, the weight of uncertainty pressed heavily on her parents. Would Annie survive? And if she did… would she ever be the same?

Doctors warned that the next 72 hours were crucial. Without oxygen for so long, Annie could have suffered irreversible damage to her brain and heart. Even survival might mean permanent disability.

In the intensive care unit, Annie lay motionless, surrounded by machines, wires, and monitors. A cap measured brain activity. Tubes helped her breathe. Her small body looked fragile beneath the medical equipment. Dave and Kathy felt completely helpless—unable to fix anything, unable to wake her, unable to know the future.

But they could still pray.

Word spread quickly through their church and community. Soon dozens of people filled the hospital waiting room, crying out to God for a miracle. Others gathered miles away, lifting Annie’s name in prayer. Hope began to rise not from medical reports, but from faith.

That Sunday, their home church held a special prayer service. Voices united with one simple declaration:

**“Rise, Annie, rise.”**

When Kathy heard those words, something shifted deep in her heart.

A quiet peace settled over her spirit—the kind Scripture calls *peace beyond understanding*. In that moment, she felt certain Annie would be okay, even before any medical evidence appeared.

The prayers did not stop. They continued through the day, through the night, and into the unknown hours ahead.

Then, slowly… something changed.

Doctors noticed Annie’s oxygen and blood levels beginning to improve. Small signs, but hopeful ones. Two days later, they made the decision to bring her out of the medically induced coma.

Dave and Kathy waited anxiously at her bedside. Doctors leaned close and asked Annie to move her fingers—searching for any sign of awareness.

Suddenly, Annie lifted her hand and pushed her fist toward the doctor’s face with unmistakable strength.

In that instant, everything changed.

The doctor smiled and said the words her parents had been longing to hear:

**“She’s going to be okay.”**

Tears of relief poured out. Prayers turned into praise. Their feisty, joyful Annie was back.

Yet Annie’s story held another mystery—one that medicine could not explain.

She later shared that during the helicopter flight, when her heart had stopped and she had to be resuscitated… she remembered something extraordinary.

She described seeing butterflies of colors unlike anything on earth—brilliant, radiant, beyond imagination. She felt overwhelming joy, peace, and love surrounding her completely.

She also remembered someone in white helping her in the pool.

Someone she believed might have been Jesus… or perhaps an angel.

Just five days after drowning, Annie was released from the hospital.

No brain damage.

No cognitive impairment.

No physical disability.

No memory loss.

Doctors could explain survival—but not perfection.

Today, Annie is a happy, thriving young girl who enjoys riding her bike, reading books, and living the life that once seemed almost lost. Every smile, every laugh, every ordinary moment now carries extraordinary meaning.

For Dave and Kathy, the miracle is not just that Annie lived.

It is that God met them in their darkest moment—and brought light where fear once lived.

Annie’s story is a powerful reminder that faith does not mean life will never face tragedy.

But it does mean we are never alone in it.

Even in hospital rooms… God is present.

Even in uncertainty… God is working.

Even when hope feels gone… miracles are still possible.

Today, Annie thanks God for her life every time she prays.

Her parents share her story to encourage others who may be facing impossible situations.

Because the same truth that carried them still remains:

**Nothing is impossible when you trust God.**

And sometimes, the most beautiful miracles begin on the hardest days—

when prayer is all we have left…

and God proves that He is more than enough.