Virginia Howard, Cory Prox and Tom Mitchell were three of the many who stopped to rescue the Ocheltree family from their flipped vehicle after tornadoes and floodwaters almost took their lives on Saturday.
The video of the miracle rescue has been viewed over 18 million times. Though it’s stressful to watch, there’s something absolutely beautiful about it.
Perhaps it’s their relentless effort to remove the family of four from the upside-down death trap. Or that they sprung into action—performing CPR on 4-month-old Marshal and 18-month-old Addy.
For many viewers, the most powerful moment of the chaotic video was when Tom Mitchell was performing CPR on Marshal, and Virginia Howard began to pray over the children.
“In the name of Jesus, let him breathe, Lord. Give that baby breath, Lord!” she shouted. “Dear Jesus, please let this baby breathe. Dear Jesus, please let this baby breathe.”
If that doesn’t bring you to tears, I don’t know what will.
Tom says that Virginia’s prayers renewed his strength to keep going. With her first prayer, he said he could feel the infant respond to his CPR.
Before Virginia and Tom were able to do their part in the rescue, it was Cory Prox—a father of five himself—who found the strength to pry open the doors of the truck.
Virginia still has the pants that rescuers cut off of Addy. She said, “I’m gonna keep them, I’m gonna sleep on them, and I’m gonna pray on them until that little girl wakes up.”
Each of the good samaritans played a vital part in the survival of the Ocheltree family. But ultimately, we believe it was the protection of Jesus Christ that allowed them the supernatural strength to save those babies.
The Ocheltree family has been inundated with prayers and well-wishes. Marshal was released from the hospital on Monday morning. Addy is still recovering, but she’s breathing on her own and has remained in stable condition.
A Donation Page has been set up to help the family with medical costs and recuperation.
