Family believes in the power of prayer

On Oct. 11, 2011, Gregory Ballard was riding an ATV on his property in Pulaski, Ill., with his father-in-law, Darrell Blake. Ballard swerved to miss a dog in his path and flipped over the ATV, hitting his head on the pavement.

"He was knocked unconscious," said Carmelle Ballard, Gregory's wife of 14 years.

Ballard was taken by ambulance to the emergency room at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau where he was examined and X-rayed.

"He had swelling and bleeding on his brain," Carmelle said. "The swelling was on the left side of his brain which controls the movements of the right side of the body, and they were getting no movement from his right side."

In addition to his head injuries, Greg also had a broken right elbow, which was put in a cast.

CT scans and MRIs showed that the swelling and bleeding was continuing to cause more pressure in Greg's brain. He was kept in a medically induced coma during this time to alleviate pain and prevent further damage.

Dr. Joel Ray, a neurosurgeon at Saint Francis, shared with Carmelle that Greg's prognosis was not good.

"Dr. Ray told me that things looked really bad," Carmelle said. "He told me that we needed a miracle for Greg to recover and survive this type of brain injury."

Ray then said a prayer with Greg's father, Edward Ballard, who has been a pastor for many years.

"We've always been a family of faith," Carmelle said.

Ray removed part of the skull on Greg's left side to allow the brain to swell. He put the bone in Greg's abdomen to keep it in its own bodily environment with the hope that it could later be put back in Greg's head after the brain swelling subsided.

"I was kind of numb through all of this," Carmelle said. "Greg was nonresponsive, and it didn't seem like we were getting any good news. I left a lot of the decision making up to Greg's dad at that point."

Greg did respond, however, when Carmelle held his hand.

"He would rub my hand when I held his, and he didn't to that with anyone else," Carmelle said. "They said that could have been an involuntary reflex, but he would only do that with me."

During this time, Carmelle relied on her church family at St. John's Praise and Worship in Pulaski, Ill., for strength.

"I would ask them to pray for Greg and to do accessory prayers, which are done by a prayer circle within the church. I asked them to pray for specific things that Greg needed to heal his body, and they would pray for those things. I believed in God and trusted him to bring us out of this."

Things slowly started to improve, and on Oct. 30, Greg was transferred out of ICU into a stepped-down unit since he didn't need as much round-the-clock care.

"They were decreasing his medications and he was making erratic movements," Carmelle said.

During that time, Greg wore a helmet to protect his head.

"At first, the doctors thought that his injuries were too severe for him to stay at Saint Francis for rehabilitation," Carmelle said. "But a physical therapist worked with him and got him to brush his teeth and complete other personal hygiene tasks, so they decided that he could stay."

On Nov. 11, Greg was admitted to Saint Francis Rehabilitation.

"At that point, things really took off," Carmelle said. "He had trouble talking due to a trach [tracheotomy], but Greg could communicate by nodding and holding up his fingers."

Greg went to physical, occupational and speech therapy two times a day and eventually got the trach removed. He was recovering at a much faster pace than expected and was discharged from the hospital two weeks later.

"Greg's speech is still slightly slurred, but it is improving." Carmelle said.

While he still experiences weakness on his right side, Greg is now able to walk, climb stairs, take care of his own personal hygiene and do tasks like help prepare meals.

On Nov. 27, Ray replaced the skull bone back in Greg's head.

"That surgery went really well," Carmelle said. "Greg was only in the hospital for a few days and he only had to skip one week of therapy."

Carmelle now takes Greg to outpatient rehabilitation therapy at Saint Francis three times a week. Her employer has allowed her to work from home and have flexible hours around her husband's therapy schedule.

"I really believe in prayer, and I believe that God intervened when things got really bad," Carmelle said. "I kept trusting in God to give us a miracle, and He did because Greg is still here."

Greg is on medical leave from his job but will soon be evaluated to see if he is ready to drive. The evaluation will include looking at the progress that he has made so far and the recommendation for the future.

This is not the first miracle for the Ballards. Their son, Malik, who is now 9, was born 14 weeks premature and weighed only 2 pounds and 9 ounces.

"Doctors expected that he would be deaf and developmentally handicapped from being born so prematurely, but he is absolutely fine and has no handicaps whatsoever," Carmelle said. "Our family has truly been blessed with both of these miracles."