This Sunday Would Change The Rest Of Their Lives
As Julie Kemp sat in the car she felt truly blessed. Her family had just left their weekly Sunday service and she felt inspired by the sermon. She was gazing out the window planning dinner when she heard the brakes screech. In the next moment, the car was spinning wildly out of control
She felt the impact before she realized it was the car that was hit. Everything went quiet until she began to scream for her husband Andy. As she tried to find his hand, she heard sirens in the distance. Why wouldn’t her son or husband answer her?
This Job Never Got Easier
Emergency response workers are trained for every possible accident or injury, but that doesn't mean it ever gets easier. As more and more firefighters and ambulance teams appeared on the scene, they knew this incident would haunt them for days to come.
Arriving on the scene and already having one fatality is tough, but the other passenger wouldn't stop repeating one word over and over again. The paramedics couldn't figure out what they were missing. When they realized what she meant, their stomach dropped and they felt sick. Had they made a fatal error?
What Is She Saying?
When rescue workers pulled Julie from the vehicle she was injured but kept repeating one word over and over again. She wouldn’t stop saying “Landon”. The response team couldn’t figure out what it meant.
All of a sudden a response member saw a child’s shoe. The team had assumed the car only had two adults. They frantically began to search the car for the owner of this tiny shoe. From the ambulance, Julie’s heart was breaking open as she repeated her son’s name over and over again.
It Had Been Too Long
Landon was found unconscious in the back seat of the car. Due to the extensive damage response teams didn’t even know he was sitting behind the driver's seat. As they began working to save the young boy the air grew cold and tense.
Julie was refusing to go to a hospital until someone told her what was happening with her family. A paramedic held her hand and told her her husband had been killed instantly by the crash. Tears streamed down her face as Julie began to pray for her baby boy.
What Happens Without Oxygen?
Our bodies are complex and depend on oxygen to survive. No one on the rescue teams knew how long the little boy had been unconscious but they needed him to breathe before anything else happened. Without oxygen, brain damage happens quickly and is a slippery slope.
He was so young no one wanted this mother to experience that kind of pain. Everyone was doing their best but they knew after three minutes permanent damage was likely. Was this little boy prepared to fight for his life, and could his mother accept the consequences?
Breathing But Not For Long
Response workers finally found a pulse for Landon and everyone rushed to continue first-aid at the local hospital. The majority of the damage was on the driver's side of the car, but the ache in Julie’s heart was focused on the backseat.
It was going to be a race against time. All emergency response vehicles zoomed to the local hospitals. Teams were already on standby waiting for their arrival. Julies cries of pain and anguish echoed along the streets as the ambulance drove towards the hospital. Would it be enough to save her son?
It Was Touch And Go
When the ambulance had first found Landon he didn’t have a pulse. They had revived him at the scene but by the time he got to the hospital, they had lost him again. They worked feverishly to bring life back to the tiny boy.
A second of success but how long would his pulse stay this time? Over the course of the day, the medical team at Carolina’s Medical Center saved the young boy twice. How many times could one person die in a day? What would his life with the living be like after this?
Preparing For The Worse
Doctors told Julie Landon would never be the same. “They told me that if he lived, which did not look good, but that if he lived, that he would be like an 8-year-old baby. That he would not know how to walk or talk or to eat because of all the brain damage.”
As she sat alone in her hospital bed, a widow and a broken woman she turned to the only thing left - her faith. Julie began to pray, and she didn’t stop until she fell asleep. Was anyone hearing her prayers to save her son?
It Was Every Parent's Nightmare
Julie felt like she was trapped in a nightmare and was angry! What had her family done to deserve this? Why was it happening to her? She tried her best to keep these negative thoughts out of her head but she had no idea what she would do if her son didn't survive.
Her family devotedly went to church every Sunday, and it was after leaving a sermon that she had lost her husband. Would she lose her son by the end of the day too? Julie's faith was shaken, but she needed something to hold onto.
She Refused To Accept Anything Else
As Julie woke up in the hospital again, she knew she would do whatever she could to save Landon. “I was so desperate that he would survive. I would take anything just to have him. He was all that I had.” The medical team looked into her eyes and wished they had better news.
The damage to Landon was tremendous. He was currently being kept in a medically induced coma, and no one could predict the state of his health when he woke up. She was free to go, but what awaited her outside the hospital was even worse.
Planning A Funeral
Julie had to bury her best friend and the love of her life. It was time to plan Andy’s funeral. Friends and family from far and near came to sit with her but she felt completely abandoned. In one second, it felt like she had lost her entire life.
Julie remembers feeling “disappointed, and heartbroken. I’m sitting at the funeral and I'm fussing at God. I don’t understand why this happened. I don’t understand why he didn’t send angels to protect us.” Julie didn't know if her faith would ever recover.
Is This All It Took To Take Away Her Faith?
Within one week Julie had lost her husband and her son was fighting to survive. She had no idea if the lord was testing her or if she would pass these upcoming hurdles. Julie was shaken to her core and was desperately trying to hold on to something.
She knew she had to keep her heart clear to receive any help or messages from above but it was more difficult than she imagined. How did she pull herself forward and keep her faith strong? All she wanted to do was collapse but she needed to remember one important thing.
The Lord Works In Mysterious Ways
Even though she was feeling frustrated she didn’t lose her faith. “In the very next breath, I’m praying as hard for him as I’ve ever prayed in my life for Landon to live.” All she could do was hope it was enough.
She spent every second in the hospital next to Landon’s bed. She wanted to be there for anything, but mostly for the hope he would open his eyes and tell her he was ok. What was it like to sit next to her son?
The Only Thing Keeping Him Alive
Landon was only surviving due to the multiple machines and medical staff working around the clock. Julie remembers “He’s hooked up to all kinds of machines to keep him alive, and there are no signs. There’s nothing good or bad. They see nothing happening. I kept praying that he would open his eyes.”
How long would Landon be in a coma and what would he be like if he woke up? These were the questions Julie asked herself every day for two weeks until a miracle happened. Would it be enough to make her believe again?
Fourteen Days Later
After two weeks Landon opened his eyes. It was the best thing Julie had ever seen and she was immediately overcome with emotion. It was going to be a long road to recovery but she knew God was once again on her side.
As she stared into her baby’s eyes she knew there was one more tough conversation ahead. Landon had no idea what had happened after the crash. Julie steeled her nerves to deliver the tough words.
His Response Was Shocking
Julie held Landon’s hand and said, “ Landon, do you know where your dad is at”? She was prepared for confusion and for tears but instead, Landon remained calm and told her something that sent shivers down her spine.
He had been in a coma for two weeks. He had no way of knowing anything, and yet apparently he knew it all. Could it be possible that Landon had more to tell his mother than she had to tell him?
I Saw Him In Heaven
As Julie lovingly stroked her son's cheek and asked him again if he knew where his father was, Landon’s response took her breath away. The boy clearly said to his mother, “Yes, I know where he’s at. I saw him in heaven.’”
Julie felt frozen in time. How was it possible? Before Julie could process what she just heard, Landon’s doctor walked into his hospital room. He held Landon's chart in his hands and Julie was about to find the extent of brain damage her son had sustained. How much more could she survive?
How Was This Possible?
The doctor couldn’t believe the test results, but Landon had no brain damage. He was completely fine and could be discharged in a couple of days. Landon was coming home, but as Julie began to cry she knew her son would never be the same.
After the doctor left, Julie needed to know what Landon had meant. How had he seen his father in heaven? She let her son rest but she needed answers. Landon remembers every ethereal detail, but how much is fact or fiction?
As Clear As Day
Landon’s memories are still as clear as day from his time in heaven. Even years later after the accident, he doesn’t falter remembering the experience. “I remember being able to see my dad and his friend Olan Palmer who had passed away less than a month before he did, also in a car accident, and Olan’s son Neil Palmer.”
We all have vivid dreams but what other details stood out about Landon’s memory. Was this a real experience or a hallucination? What could he say to prove this feeling?
Words Left Unspoken
Who were these other men that Landon saw in his vision? Olan was one of his father's closest friends who had passed away suddenly from a heart attack. His son Neil, had passed away a few years earlier.
Neil had departed the world too early during an ATV accident. He had been close friends with Landon. Did the dearly departed have any words of advice for Landon when they greeted him and his father in heaven?
Golden Silence
Landon says the memory feels funny, like an inside joke. “ It was funny because I remember us all standing in a square. Never one of us said a word to each other, but we were just all standing there.”
Julie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Were these men her son’s guardian angels? How could she thank someone she would never see again? Landon had more details to share with his shocked mother. If she had any doubts they quickly vanished.
Siblings He Never Met
One day, Landon told his mother another shocking detail from his time in heaven. In a simple conversation Landon said, “Oh mom, by the way, I forgot to tell you. I saw your other two kids.” At first, Julie was confused, Landon was an only child - but then the truth came crashing down.
Julie and Andy had always wanted more children. They had lost two babies before carrying Landon to term. Julie had never told her son about these miscarriages, is that who he was referring to now?
How Would He Know Who They Were?
Julie tried to push for more details. She had never shared this pain with Landon, and the only other person who knew was his departed father. He couldn’t give an explanation further than the following:
“I knew that they were my siblings even though no one had ever told me about them. Just being in Heaven, I guess you know—you know your own or you know who everyone is.” What else had Landon experienced?
Three Different Experiences
Landon had been revived three times and he claims to remember each instance. Landon says each time he entered heaven again, but it had different circumstances. The first was his father and the Palmer family.
On the second experience, he met his siblings. There were never any words exchanged in either environment. On the third visit, he had an extra special guest and finally heard words he will never forget.
A Life-Changing Mission
On the third time Landon entered heaven he was joined by Jesus. Jesus was the only one who spoke to him and Landon continues to live his life through this memory. He was given clear instructions in amazing circumstances.
Landon explains, “It was like watching a preview of a movie where you only get to see the highlights. Jesus came to me and said I have to go back to earth and be a good Christian and tell others about him.” Has Landon kept his word?
Before He Could Help Others - He Would Need To Help Himself
Before Landon could continue his mission he needed to heal and grieve losing his father. At the time of the accident, he was only eight years old. It was a heavyweight and burden to bear. He asked himself constantly if he could have warned his father or done anything to save him?
Landon and his mother find relief with the organization Grief Share. Started in 1993, Grief Share was helping hundreds and thousands of loved ones come to terms with their pain. When Landon was ready he had an even bigger task to begin.
What Does Julie Think?
Listening to her son’s testimony Julie was grappling with a lot of different emotions. “I didn’t understand in 1997, you know, why God didn’t send an angel. But I know that there were angels there. And I know that we were protected and we are living out what His plan is for us.”
It took a while but now Julie realizes “Instead of staying stuck in grief or instead of staying mad at Him, I was able to use this story to help others not to give up and to keep their faith on their grief journey.” What else has she done to share her story with others?
A Published Author
In the years since the accident, Julie has published a book called, Faith Has Its Reasons. This platform has given her a chance to connect with more people grieving and going through similar situations.
The one thing that Julie marvels at after everything is her son’s dedication. After he heard his instructions he has continued to live every day following the command. How does she feel about his work?
One Of Life’s Blessings
When Julie is asked how she feels her face lights up. “It is a huge blessing that I get to watch my child tell others about Jesus. He is always willing to let others know that there is a heaven. Cause he’s been there.”
While she watches Landon in awe, how does he feel about his new purpose and mission? What goes through his mind when he is connecting with different people across the world?
A Simple Message
When Landon met Jesus his mission was simple. All he had to do was be a good Christian and tell others about this experience. Landon says, “I just want people to realize that Jesus is real, there is a heaven, there are angels. And to follow His word and the Bible and life does get better at the end.”
Not everyone has had the chance to meet Jesus. Does that make Landon’s work more challenging? How does he handle doubt or non-believers?
He Stays True To Himself
Landon knows there are tons of people in the world that will be skeptical of his journey but he must hold up his end of the bargain. His determination is unwavering even decades after the accident.
Landon says, “I know I’m doing it for Jesus, I know that He’s real. I know that angels are there. I know that there’s a heaven. I’ve seen Jesus. I know He’s there. He’s asked me to do this and this is what I’m doing.” At home, his mother will continue to support him and this work, but what does she say about watching her son’s work?
A Proud Mother
Every parent thinks their child is blessed but Julie feels like her son proves it every day. “It is a huge blessing that I get to watch my child tell others about Jesus. He is always willing to let others know that there is a heaven. Cause he’s been there.”
This heavenly family will continue to spread their message of compassion and healing as long as they can. Does Landon face any challenges or feel any frustration towards his life work?
He Can’t Convince Everyone
Just because Landon has met Jesus doesn’t mean everyone takes his word or advice right away. It takes time for people to fully accept Landon’s experience but he will continue to serve Jesus and spread his word.
When someone is spreading a specific message what does the community refer to it as? Find out how other people spread their message and connect with people in their faith.
Sharing A Testimony To Change The World
Opening up to your community connects you with all those around you. Sharing a personal experience or testimony is a popular way to continue to spread the message Landon received.
Do you believe in Landon's journey? How would you react to his story and faith? Landon and his mother Julie still live in the United States and will continue to reach out with love and compassion to anyone they meet.