Courtney McKee, a registered nurse in Louisiana, dropped her 2-year-old son Max, and his older brother, Brody, off to stay at her mother’s house for a couple of days while she headed off to work at the hospital. But a terrifying phone call sent her racing back sometime later.
Courtney’s mom and sister-in-law had been playing in grandma’s swimming pool with Max, Brody, and the boy’s cousin. When pool time ended, they took off Max’s floaties and moved on to the next activity.
However, at some point, Max returned to the pool alone.
“I think he returned to the pool to get some water and a small bucket to play with, they’re not really sure,” Courtney explained. “When he leaned over to get the water, that’s when he might have fell in.”
Though so often stories like these bring out judgmental comments from strangers, the reality is these accidents happen in just a matter of moments. And that’s why folks like Courtney McKee and others who’ve experienced this kid of terrible ordeal share their stories to warn and inform others.
Courtney’s sister-in-law discovered Max facedown at the bottom of the pool. He was completely unresponsive. And as the adults urgently called for help and started performing CPR, Max’s older sibling, Brody, got down on his knees and begged for his brother’s life.
“The only thing I could do was pray,” Brody said. “So, I dropped on my knees, and I said, ‘God, can you help my little brother? Can you just save him? Can you put your guardian angels around him, Lord?'”
The Power Of Prayer
Meanwhile, Courtney McKee received a phone call at work alerting her to her son’s near-fatal drowning accident.
“I started crying, and I remember my coworkers, fellow nurses and doctors alike, surrounded me,” she said. “One of them took my phone and started talking for me. … I was so numb, I couldn’t even speak.”
Revived and transported to the hospital, no one knew if Max would make it or just how much damage the time unconscious underwater would cause. And though he received excellent medical care, Courtney and her family knew the ultimate healing would need to come from above.
So, the weeping mother held her baby boy in her arms and cried out to God. And she wasn’t alone.
“Our pastor came, and tons of friends who are prayer warriors came. They just surrounded his bed, and we grabbed hands and prayed,” Courtney said. “We just brought down the power of the Lord that day.”
A Miraculous Recovery And Shocking Revelation
The next morning, Courtney McKee and her family began seeing signs that God was answering their prayers. Max awoke, and his behavior suggested that he was still very much himself.
“He was a little agitated because he wanted the cords and wires off of him. But he was talking and communicating with us, and we knew at that point he was going to be okay,” Courtney said.
Max McKee spent a few more days in the ICU but then went home. And somehow, he suffered no deficits or long-term effects from the incident — a true miracle!
Several days after his near-fatal drowning accident, the 2-year-old shocked his parents with a revelation.
“He just looked at his father and I and he said, ‘When I was in the pool, I wasn’t scared… When I was in the pool, Jesus held me,’” Courtney explained.
But what Max said next told Courtney and her husband, Brandon, this was more than just childlike faith. This was a true encounter with Jesus!
“Then he asked us, ‘Why does He have booboos and scratches on His hands?’”
Max was referencing the wounds Jesus received during the crucifixion, something he’d never learned or noticed before the near-fatal drowning accident.
“I was completely stunned,” Courtney said. “I just asked him to repeat himself to make sure I was hearing it right. We had never spoken to him about God’s hands, ever, and the way he described Jesus was just chilling.”
A Testimony Inspiring Others
Max is now 6 years old and still carries the memory of how Jesus held him during his drowning. Just a year after the accident, the boy went to an art camp and completed a painting (with some help from artist Anna Dieter Rachal) of him in the arms of Jesus in water.
Max also worked hard to overcome his fear of the water after his near-fatal drowning accident. Courtney made sure he took swim lessons, so he now knows how to save himself if he falls into water.
And the family continues to share his incredible testimony to encourage others and remind them of Jesus’ presence in all of our lives.
“I think it’s something I want people to take away; miracles still happen today. God is real,” she said. Courtney continued, saying, “More than anything, I think I want people to know that there’s power in prayer.”
Luke 18:27 “The he said, ‘The things which are impossible with men, are possible with God.”‘
