Reporter: COLLEGE

BUDDIES CARTER AND PATRICK

WENT CAMPING IN NORTH

ALABAMA WITH A FEW FRIENDS.

I FOUND THE PERFECT, MOST

BEAUTIFUL CAMP SITE OVER

THIS 60-FOOT VALLEY.

Reporter: EVERYTHING

WAS GOING AS PLANNED.

THE TENTS WERE UP, AND THE

CAMPFIRE WAS BURNING.

THEN THE FIRE STARTS TO

CALM DOWN, AND THAT'S WHEN

IT STARTED TO HAPPEN.

I HAD A BIG LIMB I PUT

BEHIND THE FIRE, AND I WAS

JUMPING ON IT TO TRY TO GET

IT TO CRACK.

EITHER ONE OF TWO THINGS

HAPPENED: ONE, I COULDN'T

GET IT TO BREAK AND IT BROKE

AND SPRANG BACK WORDS, OR IT

BROKE BEFORE I WAS EXPECTING

IT, AND THEN IT CRACKED AND

I FELL BACKWARDS AND I LOST

MY BALANCE.

I KNEW SOMETHING WAS

WRONG.

I LOOKED UP, AND CARTER

WASN'T TO BE SEEN.

I KNEW IMMEDIATELY WHAT HAD

HAPPENED.

Reporter: CARTER FELL

60 FEET INTO THE RIVER

BELOW.

BOUNCING OFF A SMALLER LEDGE

ON THE WAY DOWN.

I TOLD CARTER TO CALL FOR

HELP.

I IMMEDIATELY BACK

TRACKED, AND RAN BACK

THROUGH.

FINALLY AFTER THREE, FOUR

MINUTES, I MADE MY WAY BACK

TO THE RIVER.

Reporter: CARTER WASN'T

FLOATING, SO PATRICK

SEARCHED UNDER THE WATER.

AFTER TWO OR THREE TIMES,

I KICKED SOMETHING.

I KNEW WHAT IT WAS.

I BROUGHT CARTER TO THE

SURFACE, AND IT DIDN'T EVEN

LOOK LIKE CARTER.

FROM THAT MOMENT ON, I

THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD.

Reporter: PATRICK AND

KEITH PULLED CARTER TO THE

EDGE OF THE WATER.

PATRICK STARTED C.P.R.

EIGHT MINUTES PASSED, AND

I WAS GETTING TIRED.

KEITH, RAY, AND I SWAPPED

POSITIONS.

HE BEGAN A CHEST

COMPRESSION.

AFTER A FEW MORE MINUTES, WE

SWAPPED AGAIN.

THEN WE HEARD THIS GURGLING

NOISE, AND IT SOUNDED ALMOST

LIKE A DRAIN.

WATER GOING DOWN A DRAIN.

Reporter: THEY DID

C.P.R. FOR 12 MINUTES, UNTIL

CARTER STARTED TO BREATHE.

THEN HE ONLY TOOK ONE

SHALLOW BREATH PER MINUTE.

CARTER'S SHOULDERS BLADE WAS

VISIBLE, AND HIS EAR WAS

PARTIALLY TORN OFF, BUT THE

MOST LIFE-THREATENING JUNIOR

-- INJURY WAS TWO COLLAPSED

LUNGS.

AT THE HOSPITAL, THEY HAD

HIS PARENTS FILL OUT ORGAN

DONOR FORMS.

THE SURGEON TOLD US HIS

CONDITION WAS GRAVE, AND HIS

CHANCES OF SURVIVAL WERE

SLIM.

WE'RE GUESSING HE WAS OXYGEN

DEPRIVED SOMEWHERE BETWEEN

20 MINUTES OR MORE.

SO IT'S A LONG TIME.

THE GUIDANCE THA THAT WE

WERE BEING GIVEN FROM THE

MEDICAL STAFF EARLY ON WAS

THAT SOME LEVEL OF SERIOUS

COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT WAS TO

BE EXPECTED.

Reporter: CARTER MADE

IT THROUGH THE NIGHT, BUT

PATRICK AND CARTER'S DAD

KNEW PRAYER WAS THEIR ONLY

HOPE.

RIGHT WHEN WE GOT THERE,

MR. CRUSHFIELD LED US INTO A

PRAYER.

HE STARTED A WEBSITE -- OR A

POSTING AT A WEBSITE CALLED

"CARRCARING BRIDGE," WHERE

HE PUT SPECIFIC THINGS TO

PRAY FOR.

SO WE ONLY PUT FOUR OR

FIVE SPECIFIC REQUESTS EACH

UPDATE, BUT HERE IS WHERE

THE MIRACLE WAS, IS THAT

EACH -- AND I'M GOING TO GET

EMOTIONAL BECAUSE BETWEEN

EACH UPDATE, THE SPECIFIC

REQUESTS WERE BEING

ANSWERED.

SO THERE WAS NO QUESTION

THAT HE WAS HEARING -- HE

WAS ANSWERING OUR

PETITIONS.

EVERYTHING SINGLE PRAYER,

EVERYTHING HE SAID TO PRAY

FOR ACTUALLY MIRACULOUSLY

CAME IN TRUTH.

I THINK I LOOKED ONE TIME,

AND HE HADN'T POSTED FOR A

COUPLE OF DAYS, AND THERE

WERE OVER 1300 RESPONSES.

THERE IS THIS INTIMACY

THAT I CAN ENVISION HEAVEN

IS GOING TO BE LIKE IN SOME

WAY, RIGHT?

BECAUSE YOU JUST KNEW THAT

THESE PEOPLE WERE PRAYING

FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, AND

THERE WAS THE COMMON BOND OF

CHRIST THAT WAS CONNECTING

US.

Reporter: AFTER TWO

WEEKS, CARTER WOKE FROM A

COMA.

HE WAS HIMSELF WHEN HE

WOKE UP.

IT WAS TRULY, FROM OUR

PERSPECTIVE, MIRACULOUS.

I FEEL LIKE IT REALLY WAS

A MIRACLE.

JUST THE SIMPLE STATS THAT

THE DOCTORS GAVE, AND THE

CHANCES OF SURVIVAL, AND

JUST FALLING 60 TO 65 FEET

OFF THE CLIFF AND

SURVIVING.

I FEEL LIKE JUST THE FACT

THAT GOD ALLOWED ME TO

SURVIVE AND GAVE THAT

OPPORTUNITY TO ME IS A

MIRACLE.

GOD HEARD THE PRAYERS OF

ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ON OUR

BEHALF TO PRAY FOR OUR SON.

AND HE ANSWERED THEM, AND TO

HIS GLORY.