Baby given 5% chance to live makes miraculous recovery weeks after surviving deadly crash

BELLS, Texas (KXII/Gray News) - A family in Texas says their baby has made a miraculous recovery after he was not expected to survive a crash that took the life of his grandmother.

Bells police said the crash occurred on June 12 on U.S. 69 and Dension Street when a vehicle was rear-ended by a pickup truck while waiting to turn left.

The car was pushed into oncoming traffic where a semitruck then hit the vehicle.

Angela Woodson was identified as the driver of the vehicle; she was pronounced dead at the scene. Her grandson, 3-month-old Roman, was taken to a hospital where he has been fighting for his life ever since.

The boy’s family said doctors gave him a 5% chance to live.

“They were concerned that he’d been low on oxygen for too long,” Roman’s grandfather Ashley Woodson said. “Which caused 90 percent of his brain to die and was probably not going to make it. The only thing positive I could get out of it was for him to be an organ donor. He could live on through other children.”

But each attempt to move forward with the process brought yet another dead end.

“We couldn’t find donors,” Ashley Woodson said. “When we finally found a donor, the surgeons backed out. The hospital had policies in place that wouldn’t allow it. They had time restrictions he would have to pass within a certain time allotment to be eligible to be an organ donor.”

Roman spent 11 days on a ventilator showing small signs of progression, buying him a little more time during the donor process.

On day 12, the decision was made to pull the ventilation tube out. Woodson felt no sense of certainty.

“That was the hardest moment of my life,” Ashley Woodson said. “Like, for a solid hour, I couldn’t breathe. I felt like we were doing something wrong. We were making the wrong decision.”

Then the unexpected happened.

“Five days after and his vitals were still perfect, didn’t dip at all,” Ashley Woodson said. “Every single day he’s picking up. A little progression here or there and he’s showing us signs that he’s not going anywhere.”

Roman’s doctors have no explanation as to how his recovery progressed this quickly, or at all.

“The doctors are kind of showing signs of disbelief,” Ashley Woodson said. “It doesn’t make sense to them. They were pretty confident in their assessment, but there’s something bigger in charge here. The whole world has been praying for Roman and I think he’s just a miracle of God.”

At the crash scene, a roadside memorial stands in the color purple, Angela Woodson’s favorite color. The community mourns her absence but is staying strong to stay for Roman.

Community members have also started a petition to reduce the speed limit on U.S. 69 in the area by 30 mph.

Roman’s family said he is currently doing everything a baby should be doing and he is expected to go home with his mother next week.

“He can see light, his eyes react to our voices,” Ashley Woodson said. “He can feel pain. He can move his arms. He was rubbing his eyes yesterday.”

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