Conservative commentator Benny Johnson posted Tuesday on social media platform X that he and his wife experienced “a literal miracle” after their 11-month-old son Theodore swallowed an object that got stuck in his lungs.
“This weekend we noticed our 11-month-old son wheezing with every breath. ‘He has a virus,’ we thought. After 24 hours of no other symptoms, we realized our worst fear: a foreign object,” Johnson wrote.
“He ingested something, it got stuck and was blocking his breathing. We dropped our daughters off with the grandparents and sped to the hospital.”
X-rays taken at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Tampa, Florida, were inconclusive, but his wife Kate, who is a nurse, insisted their son had ingested something.
“After admission to the Operating Room and an excruciating 90 minute endoscopy a sunken-faced doctor emerged to give us news parents fear most: ‘Yes, there is something stuck in his left upper bronchus. I can’t get it out. I tried everything.’ It was a piece of yellow crayon,” Johnson wrote.
We Just Witnessed A Miracle. Praise Jesus Christ. Yes, Miracles Are REAL…
This weekend we noticed our 11-month-old son wheezing with every breath. ‘He has a virus,’ we thought. After 24 hours of no other symptoms, we realized our worst fear: a foreign object. He ingested… pic.twitter.com/h5eAtE1y7i
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 13, 2024
“We spent a tortured night awake watching over our exhausted baby in a medical crib hooked up to monitors,” he said.
“In the morning, a children’s lung specialist came to see us. Dr John wanted to try again. It was this or removal of part of my son’s lung. We agreed. Another round of anesthesia, and then you hand your infant over to near-total strangers. It rips your soul out,” Johnson wrote.
The Doctor that saved my son is @prpich_john
I’ll be thankful for him forever. pic.twitter.com/QUZPgBm0ZU
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 13, 2024
He and his wife waited outside the operating room, praying for a successful surgery.
“The Pulmonologist emerged; sweaty and tired and looking exhausted. He stopped in front of us and then held up a small medical vial with the floating remnants of a yellow crayon,” Johnson recounted.
Our son would not be home and healthy without the gifted medical instincts of my wife @Nursekatejohn
Thankful for her.
Men, marry a good woman.
A nurse if you can. pic.twitter.com/2ugYydEjUp— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 13, 2024
Dr. John Prpich explained that after trying for an hour he had nearly given up.
“But then, just the right alignment of the obstruction and it [moved] — they GOT IT. The doctor called it ‘lucky’ I call it a literal miracle,” Johnson said.
Prpich concurred that God played a role, posting on X, “I am so grateful to have been able to help. God is great and works in amazing ways.”
Theodore is home and doing great.
And THIS is how happy my son Theodore was to be discharged and go home healthy from the hospital. Praise God.
👊🏼❤️ pic.twitter.com/KXQGrUoMMx— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 14, 2024
Johnson concluded, “As a parent, seeing your child in pain and suffering is the worst feeling on earth. This is where faith becomes real. Knowing your child is going to be OK is the best feeling on earth. Nothing even comes close. Never lose faith. Trust the Holy Spirit. And remember Jesus Christ is the great healer. Christ is King.”
