A 17-year-old Lincoln County, Mo. boy credited God with saving him Sunday morning after a near-deadly hiking accident.
Ben Foster was walking on a trail in Cuivre River State Park with friends when he lost his footing near a 120-foot bluff. He said his life flashed before his eyes as fell 50 feet before a branch stopped his fall.
Clutching his cross necklace, Ben told KMOV 4: "I felt God grab onto me and pull on me tight."
Maria Branon holds her son's cross on his necklace. They both wear them all the time and credit God for saving him Sunday after falling 50 feet from a bluff.
Firefighters and paramedics rescued Ben at Frenchmans Bluff using a series of rope systems to lower rescuers that were able to bring him down.
His mother, Maria Branon, who is a nurse, told Fox News she was unsure if her son would ever walk again.
"Panic kind of set in," Branon said. "I actually grabbed my cross necklace and started praying 'OK God, c'mon' because I felt helpless."
The Christian mother and son said the two never take off their cross necklaces.
Branon almost fell over when she saw her son walking with the paramedics to the ambulance.
"Nobody expected him to survive that fall," she explained. "They expected something to be wrong with his head, his neck...they did multiple CAT-scans...and the emergency room doctor said it's a miracle. I can't believe he's walking. I can't believe he survived the fall."
Ben broke his clavicle and had minor cuts and bruises. The baseball pitcher said he can't wait to heal and get back on the diamond.
"He's definitely my miracle kid," Branon said, adding that she hopes the park adds signage warning of the dropoff.
http://www.foxnews.com/