"Worth More Than I Thought"
A young woman's rescue from self destruction
“I’m here because of God,” says Danielle Hurley. “I was here for this Christmas—and it was God’s doing.” Danielle is 28 years old, engaged to be married, and sure of the fact that God has a purpose for her life. But her assurance of God’s plan for her has come after experiencing many trials.
As a young child, Danielle attended church for a short time, but a traumatic childhood undermined those teachings. “I used to say, ‘If there is a God, why isn’t He protecting me and my mom? Why isn’t He keeping us safe?’”
During elementary school, it seemed like abuse came at her from every direction. Danielle suffered emotional and verbal abuse from her stepfather and was sexually abused by a neighbour. “At night, I would lock my door and hide under the blankets because the arguments between Mom and my stepfather were so intense that I didn’t know if we were going to make it out alive.”
After relocating to a new city with her mom and brother, Danielle struggled to make friends. Feeling alone, searching for acceptance and struggling with depression, Danielle attempted suicide for the first time. When she got out of the hospital, she turned to alcohol and drugs. She began cutting herself to find release and struggled with bulimia. By Grade 12, Danielle was addicted to Ritalin®, marijuana, alcohol and cocaine. Her addictions and eating disorder landed her back in the hospital. After rehab to deal with her addictions, eating disorder and childhood trauma, she hoped to have a fresh start.
When her best friend and roommate committed suicide in their apartment, Danielle plunged back into depression and attempted suicide again. Danielle says, “I was really lucky that my mother came to visit. If she hadn’t shown up at my apartment, I would have died.” Danielle ended up back in a psychiatric hospital.
Two years ago, Danielle met David, the man who would become her fiancé. She was still smoking and using drugs occasionally, but David became a positive influence in her life. Danielle searched for God at times, and she andDavid even attended a church event together.
January 12, 2010, was a day she can’t forget. While driving to a doctor’s appointment, David lost control of their vehicle on a patch of ice. The van crossed two lanes of traffic and, as it began rolling down an embankment, the passenger door fell open. “I started to fall out the door,” Danielle recalls. “As the van made a second flip, it landed on the door and severed my arm.”
Danielle remained trapped inside the upside-down vehicle, covered in snow, glass and blood. “It felt as if God was lying there right next to me in that crash with His arm wrapped around me, sheltering me. Even though the pain was excruciating, He made it bearable. It’s hard to explain because there are no words.”
It took rescue crews over two hours to extricate her from the vehicle using the Jaws of Life. Pastor Mike Freake of Evangel Pentecostal Church in Gander, NL—who had previously met Danielle and David—happened to be visiting someone in the emergency room when Danielle was brought in. He prayed with David until Danielle was airlifted to a St. John’s hospital.
Danielle suffered extensive injuries as a result of the accident. Her arm was amputated, she lost her right eye, had severe whiplash, five back fractures, a broken nose, two broken cheekbones, a fractured chin, and severe head lacerations. In addition, she sustained extensive muscular damage. After she had been on life support for ten days, doctors warned her family of possible brain injury. They also predicted that, due to her shoulder damage, she wouldn’t be able to use a prosthetic arm.
Danielle couldn’t speak for many days after she woke up and was on her back for weeks with nothing to do but think, “Why am I still alive?” With her multiple back fractures, doctors marvelled that she wasn’t paralyzed. She suffered no brain damage despite her severe head injuries. She should have died from blood loss alone. “The more I thought about it, the more I began to think there had to be a God—because if there wasn’t, I wouldn’t be alive.”
Danielle turned to prayer—something she’d learned as a young child and abandoned—and committed her life to Christ. To her surprise and delight, she learned that her then boyfriend, now fiancé, had also accepted the Lord.
She spent four and a half months recovering in the hospital and learning to walk again. Pastor Mike Freake visited Danielle weekly to pray with her, offer encouragement and bring her books. “That was the beginning of my spiritual growth. He taught me a lot and put my focus in the right direction—getting close with God.”
Supported by friends, family and her new church family, two Facebook pages were started to encourage Danielle. Many people wrote notes of encouragement. The first thing she did when she was released from the hospital was go to church. Now, a year later, Danielle continues to work toward recovery as she plans her upcoming wedding and shares her joy of life with others.
“I’ve been through so much—the abuse, the addiction, the cutting, the eating disorder, the suicide attempts. I didn’t die because God has something in store for me. If I had the ability to go back and change things last January, I wouldn’t change a thing. It was because of that day, and all my injuries, that I am happy. There is a God and He’s here and He’s been with me all along.”
To young people who are turning to drugs, alcohol, cutting, eating disorders or sexual activity for the answers to life’s questions and insecurities, she says, “You are worth so much more than you think you are. There is a way out. I’m proof of it. God is all I need—now and forever.”
This article appeared in the April 2011 edition of testimony, the monthly publication of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
As a young child, Danielle attended church for a short time, but a traumatic childhood undermined those teachings. “I used to say, ‘If there is a God, why isn’t He protecting me and my mom? Why isn’t He keeping us safe?’”
During elementary school, it seemed like abuse came at her from every direction. Danielle suffered emotional and verbal abuse from her stepfather and was sexually abused by a neighbour. “At night, I would lock my door and hide under the blankets because the arguments between Mom and my stepfather were so intense that I didn’t know if we were going to make it out alive.”
After relocating to a new city with her mom and brother, Danielle struggled to make friends. Feeling alone, searching for acceptance and struggling with depression, Danielle attempted suicide for the first time. When she got out of the hospital, she turned to alcohol and drugs. She began cutting herself to find release and struggled with bulimia. By Grade 12, Danielle was addicted to Ritalin®, marijuana, alcohol and cocaine. Her addictions and eating disorder landed her back in the hospital. After rehab to deal with her addictions, eating disorder and childhood trauma, she hoped to have a fresh start.
When her best friend and roommate committed suicide in their apartment, Danielle plunged back into depression and attempted suicide again. Danielle says, “I was really lucky that my mother came to visit. If she hadn’t shown up at my apartment, I would have died.” Danielle ended up back in a psychiatric hospital.
Two years ago, Danielle met David, the man who would become her fiancé. She was still smoking and using drugs occasionally, but David became a positive influence in her life. Danielle searched for God at times, and she andDavid even attended a church event together.
January 12, 2010, was a day she can’t forget. While driving to a doctor’s appointment, David lost control of their vehicle on a patch of ice. The van crossed two lanes of traffic and, as it began rolling down an embankment, the passenger door fell open. “I started to fall out the door,” Danielle recalls. “As the van made a second flip, it landed on the door and severed my arm.”
Danielle remained trapped inside the upside-down vehicle, covered in snow, glass and blood. “It felt as if God was lying there right next to me in that crash with His arm wrapped around me, sheltering me. Even though the pain was excruciating, He made it bearable. It’s hard to explain because there are no words.”
It took rescue crews over two hours to extricate her from the vehicle using the Jaws of Life. Pastor Mike Freake of Evangel Pentecostal Church in Gander, NL—who had previously met Danielle and David—happened to be visiting someone in the emergency room when Danielle was brought in. He prayed with David until Danielle was airlifted to a St. John’s hospital.
Danielle suffered extensive injuries as a result of the accident. Her arm was amputated, she lost her right eye, had severe whiplash, five back fractures, a broken nose, two broken cheekbones, a fractured chin, and severe head lacerations. In addition, she sustained extensive muscular damage. After she had been on life support for ten days, doctors warned her family of possible brain injury. They also predicted that, due to her shoulder damage, she wouldn’t be able to use a prosthetic arm.
Danielle couldn’t speak for many days after she woke up and was on her back for weeks with nothing to do but think, “Why am I still alive?” With her multiple back fractures, doctors marvelled that she wasn’t paralyzed. She suffered no brain damage despite her severe head injuries. She should have died from blood loss alone. “The more I thought about it, the more I began to think there had to be a God—because if there wasn’t, I wouldn’t be alive.”
Danielle turned to prayer—something she’d learned as a young child and abandoned—and committed her life to Christ. To her surprise and delight, she learned that her then boyfriend, now fiancé, had also accepted the Lord.
She spent four and a half months recovering in the hospital and learning to walk again. Pastor Mike Freake visited Danielle weekly to pray with her, offer encouragement and bring her books. “That was the beginning of my spiritual growth. He taught me a lot and put my focus in the right direction—getting close with God.”
Supported by friends, family and her new church family, two Facebook pages were started to encourage Danielle. Many people wrote notes of encouragement. The first thing she did when she was released from the hospital was go to church. Now, a year later, Danielle continues to work toward recovery as she plans her upcoming wedding and shares her joy of life with others.
“I’ve been through so much—the abuse, the addiction, the cutting, the eating disorder, the suicide attempts. I didn’t die because God has something in store for me. If I had the ability to go back and change things last January, I wouldn’t change a thing. It was because of that day, and all my injuries, that I am happy. There is a God and He’s here and He’s been with me all along.”
To young people who are turning to drugs, alcohol, cutting, eating disorders or sexual activity for the answers to life’s questions and insecurities, she says, “You are worth so much more than you think you are. There is a way out. I’m proof of it. God is all I need—now and forever.”
This article appeared in the April 2011 edition of testimony, the monthly publication of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada