[TELEPHONE RINGS]

I HEARD MY SISTER

DEBBIE'S VOICE, AND I KNEW

SOMETHING HAD TO BE VERY

WRONG FOR HER TO TRACK ME

DOWN ON VACATION LIKE THAT.

WHAT?

BRIAN?

AND HER TONE OF VOICE WAS

SERIOUS.

VERY QUICKLY SHE LET ME KNOW

IT WAS RYAN, THAT HE HAD

BEEN HURT BADLY.

NO.

WE'LL GET ON THE FIRST

PLANE.

Reporter: 6,000 AIR

MILES AND 24 HOURS LATER,

LINDY BOONE WALKED INTO

UCLA'S MEDICAL CENTER.

THERE SHE FACED A MASS OF

SWOLLEN AND BROKEN FLESH,

HOOKED UP TO TUBES AND

MACHINES.

IT WAS HER 23-YEAR-OLD SON,

RYAN.

HE HAD BEEN TANNING ON A

ROOFTOP WHEN HE STEPPED ON

THE SKYLIT SKYLIGHT AND

PUNCHED 40 FEET THROUGH A

STAIRWELL TO THE BOTTOM

FLOOR.

IT WAS ALL OF THE

EMERGENCY ROOM HEROICS TO

TRY TO KEEP HEM ALIVE.

36 PINTS OF BLOOD.

AS FAST AS THEY COULD PUMP

IT IN, IT WAS COMING OUT HIS

BODY CAVITY.

Reporter: PAT BOONE

REMEMBERS GATHERING WITH THE

FAMILY IN THE WAITING ROOM

WHERE THEY PRAYED AND

RECEIVED UPDATES FROM THE

SURGICAL TEAM.

ONE OF THE SURGEONS CAME

IN AND SAID SOBERLY TO

SHIRLEY, MY WIFE, LINDY'S

MOM, YOU KNOW WE'RE DOING

EVERYTHING WE CAN, BUT I'VE

GOT TO TELL YOU THAT ANYONE

HURT THIS SEVERELY IS

PROBABLY NOT GOING TO MAKE

IT THROUGH THE NIGHT.

Reporter: BUT HE DID

MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT.

BY NOW RYAN WAS ON LIFE

SUPPORT AND IN A COMA.

WHAT WAS THE PROGNOSIS FROM

THE DOCTORS AT THAT POINT?

THERE WAS A SE SEVERING

OF THAT BRIDGE BETWEEN THE

BRAIN.

AND HE SAID HE WOULD MOST

LIKELY BE IN A VEGETATIVE

STATE.

AND RYAN'S DAD SPOKE UP

FOR ALL OF US, DOCTOR, WE

APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'RE

DOING.

YOU'RE THE MEDICAL TEAM AND

WE'RE THE FAITH TEAM.

LET'S WORK TOGETHER.

Reporter: THE BOONE

FAMILY HAD NO IDEA HOW THOSE

WORDS WOULD BE TESTED OVER

AND OVER AGAIN.

IN THE FIRST WEEK, EVEN

SWALLOWING WAS A SIGN OF

IMPROVEMENT.

TO SEE HIS BRAIN

COOPERATE, ALTHOUGH HE IS IN

A COMA, TO SWALLOW, WAS A

VERY POSITIVE SIGN.

WE CLUNG TO ALL OF THOSE

THINGS.

Reporter: THEY ALSO

CLUNG TO THEIR FAITH AS THE

WEEKS TURNED INTO MONTHS.

LINDY WONDERED IF HE WOULD

EVER BE THE SAME.

AND I DIDN'T KNOW, WILL I

EVER HEAR MY SON'S VOICE

AGAIN?

WILL I EVER KNOW IF HE KNOWS

ME?

SO IT WAS EXCRUCIATINGLY

PAINFUL.

Reporter: LINDY SAYS

WHILE SHE NEVER QUESTIONED

HER FAITH AND SHE TRUSTED

GOD, THERE WAS ONE THING SHE

COULDN'T UNDERSTAND.

WHY RYAN, BECAUSE RYAN

WAS ON THE VIRGE OF LIVING

FOR THE LORD JUST WITH

COMPLETE LACK OF

COMPROMISE.

HE WAS SO SURRENDERED TO GOD

THAT I WAS VERY PUZZLED.

Reporter: RYAN WAS

LINDY'S OLDEST CHILD, AND

ACCORDING TO HER, HE HAD

ALWAYS BEEN PASSIONATE ABOUT

HIS FAITH.

BY 23, RYAN HAD GRADUATED

FROM PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY,

STARTED A CAREER IN TV, AND

HE WAS ENGAGED.

ULTIMATELY, HE WANTED HIS

LIFE TO POINT OTHERS TO

CHRIST, FOR HIS GENERATION.

Reporter: AND THEN THE

ACCIDENT.

I'D NEVER SEEN ANYTHING

THAT SAYS WE'RE GOING TO

ESCAPE PAINFUL SITUATIONS IN

OUR LIVES.

AND CLEARLY MY POWERLESSNESS

WAS VERY EVIDENT.

THERE WASN'T ANYTHING I

COULD DO TO WAKE RYAN UP.

Reporter: THEY COULD,

HOWEVER, ASK PEOPLE TO

PRAY.

PAT AND LINDY WENT ON TV AND

MADE A PUBLIC APPEAL FOR

PRAYER.

LITTLE BY LITTLE, RYAN

STARTED SHOWING

IMPROVEMENT.

AFTER FOUR AND A HALF

MONTHS, RYAN COULD EVEN

TRACK PICTURES, LEADING

DOCTORS TO DECLARE HE WAS NO

LONGER IN A COMA.

BUT THEY DIDN'T KNOW IF RYAN

HAD ANY AWARENESS BECAUSE HE

DIDN'T SPEAK.

AND THEN A BREAKTHROUGH.

HE STARTED TO MOUTH

WORDS.

HE COULDN'T SPEAK OUTSIDE,

BUT HE WOULD MOUTH.

I WOULD SAY, SAY MOM, AND HE

WOULD GO...AND I'D SAY I

LOVE YOU, AND HE WOULD

GO...AND IT WOULD BE THAT

SUBTLE, BUT I KNEW HE WAS

RESPONDING.

Reporter: T FROM THERE

IT ONLY GOT BETTER.

10 MONTHS AFTER THE

ACCIDENT, I SAW HIS FIRST

SMILE.

THAT WAS FANTASTIC.

I WALKED INTO THE I.C.U.,

AND HE WAS STILL

HOSPITALIZED, AND A SMILE

CAME OVER HIS FACE.

SO EVERY LITTLE SIGN

AFTER THAT IT WAS AN

INDICATION TO US THAT GOD

WAS AT WORK FROM WITHIN,

PUTTING EVERYTHING BACK

TOGETHER.

HE COULD HAVE DONE IT LIKE

THAT, BUT HE DIDN'T CHOOSE

TO DO IT THAT WAY.

Reporter: PRAYER AND

HER FAMILY'S CONSTANT

SUPPORT GAVE LINDY AND HER

FAMILY THE STRENGTH TO FACE

THE UNKNOWN.

WITHOUT IT, SHE SAYS, SHE

WOULD HAVE LOST HOPE.

EVERYBODY PULLED TOGETHER

AND SHOWED UP AT SOME POINT

IN TIME.

MY SISTER, DEBBIE, SHE WAS

THERE EVERY DAY AT UCLA, AND

SUPPORTING ME WITH PRAYER,

BRINGING HER HYMNALS,

SINGING.

WE SANG TO RYAN AN AWFUL

LOT, AN AWFUL LOT.

SHERRY, SHE CAME AND

VISITED, BUT SHE ALSO

KNITTED RYAN A BLANKET FOR

HIS 23rd BIRTHDAY, AND

SAID EVERY STITCH WAS A

PRAYER.

Reporter: AFTER ALMOST

A YEAR, LINDY BROUGHT RYAN

HOME.

PROGRESS WOULD COME SLOWLY.

BLOCKS OF PROGRESS SEPARATED

BY MONTHS, AND EVEN YEARS.

STILL, EVERY STEP IS CAUSE

TO FOR CELEBRATION.

HE TALKS.

HE HAS GOT HIS VOICE.

AND HIS VOCABULARY IS

AMAZING.

OH, YES.

HE CAN MEMORIZE VERSES OF

SCRIPTURE.

THIS IS ONE OF THE

BLESSINGS OF GOD THAT I USED

TO PRAY OVER HIM, VERSES

THAT WERE MEANINGFUL TO ME,

AND I WOULD JUST SPEAK THEM

BECAUSE I BELIEVE SO

STRONGLY IN OUR OWN WORDS

HAVING CREATIVE POWER.

Reporter: AND JUST

RECENTLY LINDY CAPTURED

ANOTHER MILESTONE ON HER

MOBILE PHONE.

HE IS WALKING IN THE

POOL.

RYAN, YOU'RE WALKING IN THE

POOL.

Reporter: WITH THE HELP

OF HIS THERAPIST, RYAN

WALKED FOR THE FIRST TIME

SINCE HIS ACCIDENT, 12 YEARS

AGO.

WHEN SHE PUSHED THE RECORD

BUTTON, SHE DIDN'T REALIZE

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE

DAY.

AFTER HE DID THIS AND I

GOT IT ON TAPE AND I WAS

SHOWING IT TO SOMEBODY, I

REALIZED IT IS JUNE 19th.

THAT'S THE ANNIVERSARY OF

HIS ACCIDENT.

IT WAS 12 YEARS TO THE DAY.

IT JUST WAS, TO ME, SUCH A

SIGN FROM GOD.

Reporter: LINDY DETAILS

MORE OF RYAN'S CRISIS AND

THE STRUGGLES OF HIS LONG

RECOVERY IN "HEAVEN HEARS."

IF WE CAN CONTINUE TO

HOLD ON FOR 12 YEARS AND SEE

GOD CONTINUING TO ANSWER OUR

PRAYERS, NOT ALL AT ONCE,

BUT A PROGRESSION, THEN

MAYBE THAT WILL ENCOURAGE

OTHERS.

BECAUSE THE BIBLE SAYS

COMFORT ONE ANOTHER IN THEIR

AFFLICTION WITH THEE.

SO WE HAVE BEEN AFFLICTED,

AND WE ARE BEING COMFORTED.