KATIE LENTZ: I don't remember the actual impact.

I do remember the sensation of moving,

and that's when my car rotated before it

came to rest on its side.

NARRATOR: On August 4th, 2013, 19-year-old Tulane University

student, Katie Lentz, was on her way to church

when she was hit head-on by a drunk driver.

911 OPERATOR: 9-1-1, what's the address of your emergency?

NARRATOR: Katie who was pinned in her car,

remembers talking to one couple who stopped to help.

KATIE LENTZ: I just remember asking, is this real life?

Is this really happening?

911 OPERATOR: How many vehicles are involved?

NARRATOR: Then she made a simple request.

KATIE LENTZ: I asked them to pray out loud.

NARRATOR: Katie would make the same request to everyone

who came to her aid.

One of them was Deputy Sheriff Richard Adair,

of Ross County, Missouri, the first responder to arrive.

Not a praying man himself, he didn't think it would matter.

Honestly, I never thought she would walk again, let alone,

survive.

NARRATOR: But Katie knew her life depended on others pray.

I couldn't pray out loud the way I was used to,

and the way I wanted to, because I was weak.

My body was in pain, and so I needed other people

to do that for me.

And that gave me that encouragement.

NARRATOR: Emergency crews arrived

to find the car lying on the driver's side

with Katie still trapped.

She was badly hurt and bleeding, but there

was little they could do until they got her out of the car.

New London Fire Chief Raymond Reed--

Sean McCourt from the New London Fire Department,

he was inside the vehicle with her

to maintain her C-spine to prevent any further damage.

NARRATOR: By now, Air Evac life team

from Blessing Hospital in neighboring Quincy, Illinois,

was en route.

Meanwhile, Katie's mom, Carla, got the call from state police.

This is a very serious accident.

I need you to prepare yourself, and I need

you to hold on to your faith.

NARRATOR: Immediately, Carla and Katie's dad,

Ed, started praying, and getting word out

that their daughter needed prayer.

People all across the city were starting to get calls even

into the churches.

They didn't know the circumstances

except Katie Lentz was in an accident.

NARRATOR: When Air Evac life team arrived,

flight nurse Dusty Wheeler took over monitoring

Katie's vital signs.

We had a hard time checking blood pressures

and really getting to her.

We needed to get her out of the car, because we could

just how-- you know, her skin was getting cooler and damper,

and it was a lot harder to feel her pulses.

NARRATOR: Then an hour into the rescue, a piece of equipment

failed.

They had to dispatch the Hannibal Fire Department who

had the equipment they needed, but they were 30 miles away.

We were so close, but, but yet, it seemed so far away,

because we could not make them final cuts

and get the dash and the steering column out of her lap.

Flight Nurse Wheeler reminded Chief Reed what was at stake.

If we don't get her out soon, she's going to die.

CHIEF REED: We had to make a move.

We had to do something, and we had to do it quick.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, bystanders and rescue teams

had responded to Katie's request and were praying out loud.

Katie says those prayers gave her hope.

KATIE LENTZ: I never thought I was going to die.

I thought that they were just going to get me out.

I didn't know how long it was taking, but I thought,

I was going to be alive.

NARRATOR: Then finally, the Hannibal Fire Department

arrived with the jaws of life.

Rescuers gently laid the car over on its wheels.

They made the last cut to free Katie.

That was the first time that my legs had

been moved since that point.

So when they pulled me out, pain was excruciating.

NARRATOR: By the time the chopper

landed at Blessing Hospital, Katie

was stable, but still bleeding and in critical condition.

Orthopedic Trauma Surgeon Rena Stewart was waiting.

X-rays showed just how badly Katie was injured.

She had both of her femur bones,

her thigh bones, broken-- one in two places, terrible break.

Her tibia bone, the shin bone, on the right side

was an open or compound fracture,

meaning that the bones were sticking out of her leg,

literally.

NARRATOR: But Katie had gotten there in time

and held on long enough for Dr. Stewart and team

to stop the bleeding and set her broken bones.

She still needed prayer, as she faced multiple surgeries

and months of rehab.

The pain she had to endure, that was the hardest,

'cause I wish I could have taken it.

Very much, that was the hardest.

NARRATOR: As Katie and her family

hung on to their faith and prayer, others in the hospital

took notice.

And that's where I really see her faith having an impact.

I never got the whiny and I feel sorry for myself

and I get to be angry at the world for this.

It's a terrible thing and it happened,

but their faith brought them peace with it,

and that impacts everything.

KATIE LENTZ: I believe God gave me supernatural peace.

The officials told me I never cried, screamed,

or got hysterical.

And I believe that the Holy Spirit was with me to guide me

and to reinforce that within me.

DR. STEWART: That's just gorgeous healing.

It doesn't get better than that.

Every orthopedic surgeon would just be thrilled to see that.

NARRATOR: Katie has since graduated and is working

for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

She's thankful for the heroic efforts of the men and women

who helped save her life.

They say it was Katie's faith and prayer that

helped change theirs.

The commitment that she had took to God that day, it just

made me think, man, if someone in that situation

can stay that loyal, what's my excuse?

In these times, when all you hear are bad stories,

man, it's really nice to hear the good ones,

and to see the good ones, and know that there are still

people out there that have that relationship with God.

And have that good family relationship and strength.

And it was kind of a realization

that she was-- she made it.

She's-- God saved her.

Prayer is the aspect in every area of my life, you know,

whether that be work, whether that be school, relationships,

family-- prayer is the center of it

all, because, ultimately, God is the center of my life.