They said he will never walk or talk again – now says first words after car crash 3 years ago

Miracles do happen and we sure have seen a lot of them. It can also be considered a miracle when this teen who was deemed incapable of walking nor talking again after a car crash, has beaten all the odds.

This South Carolina junior wrestler had suffered traumatic brain injuries in a horrific car crash. Nearly two years since the accident, he has finally spoken his first words!

This amazing miracle was captured on video and shared with the world. His mother, Stasea Morris, uploaded the video on March 18 to “Praying for Jackson,” a Facebook page she created to document Jackson’s recovery. In the video, it shows 16-year-old Jackson Gannon of Honea Path, South Carolina, saying his first words – “she” and “shoe.”

During her interview with ABC News, this excited mother shared, “I was just getting him ready for bed and decided to record just in case he did say anything. After I cut the camera off, I hugged him and told him ‘You did it!’”

In June 2017, Gannon, his older brother Carter and Carter’s girlfriend Carmen, were on their way to the Atlanta airport. Everyone was excited as they were taking a cruise to the Caribbean. Unfortunately, they were involved in a head-on collision. Jackson was trapped in the back seat. The airbags left him without oxygen for about 45 minutes.

Because of this, it caused a lot of damage to his brain. Though he was expected not to walk or talk again, his mom said that Gannon took his first steps just months after the car crash. He has also been relearning how to eat and use the bathroom on his own.

She shared that the most recent major improvement, after thousands of hours of physical, occupational, and speech therapy sessions, combined with fervent prayer and strong faith, was him saying his first words.

She said, “We were just determined because we knew he didn’t want to sit in a nursing home for the rest of his life.”

Everyone is so proud of him. He surely has beaten all the odds that life has thrown at him.

At the time of the crash, Jackson was a member of the Belton-Honea Path High School wrestling team. His head coach, Chris Strickland, created the Jackson Strong Award in 2018. It was given to a wrestling student who attends every practice for the whole season.

During his interview with ABC News, the coach said, “It’s the only award we hang in the wrestling room. The true grit and determination that Jackson has is the embodiment of what I want in a superior wrestler. ”

One day before the crash, the wrestling team had returned from a wrestling camp organized by Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This is where Jackson met Tom Ryan, the head wrestling coach of the Ohio State University Buckeyes. Both Ryan and Jackson returned to the camp the following year. But this time, Jackson was with his mother who told the campers about the car crash and Jackson’s progress.

Ryan was touched. So he invited Jackson to visit Ohio State University. He was also exploring ways to bring Jackson to the wrestling team. He said, “Jackson can teach the players something I can’t teach them. And that’s heart and determination.”

Morris shared videos of Jackson engaging in very minimal contact wrestling on the “Praying for Jackson” Facebook page.