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Messages from beyond Health issues had long been a part of the Sandell family’s story. Jeff, after a botched spinal tap, had long suffered severe back issues. At the time of Addi’s injury, things seemed to be looking up for the family as Jeff had just recovered and was headed back to work. And, unfortunately, the accident in Chandler wasn’t the first time Addi had been in the hospital for a serious condition, Jeff recalled. “She got real sick when she was 3 and a half and had a high fever — the kind where we had to take her to the emergency room,” Jeff said. “Her fever was approaching 105. It was pretty scary.” It’s hard to know what exactly Addi caught. “It may have been the flu,” Jeff said. “But her little immune system wasn’t handling it well.” The real shock came when Addi recovered and told Jeff and a friend about a visit she’d had with “young Santa Claus.” “I asked her, ‘Young Santa Claus?’” And she said, ‘Yeah, Santa Claus, but younger. When I was sick, Santa came and read me a book that he brought me.” Jeff asked a few more questions and “she described Jesus and she saw a picture of Jesus and pointed to it and said, ‘That’s him.’” And soon after being struck by a car and recovering from the surgery, Jeff said Addi started talking about her visit with young Santa again. “One of the first things she told me when she could put together a coherent sentence was, ‘Daddy, remember the man who read me the story? It was him. It was the same man. He’s all white and that’s his color. That’s God’s color.” Jeff is a religious man, but even he was caught off guard. “I didn’t know what to think. I know about
Addi spends some time with Emma Creel, a physical therapist at Banner Children's at Desert Hospital as she recovers and below, the equipment used to monitor Addi's condition.
her “to go back because her mommy and daddy would be very sad,” Jeff said. Jeff explained the connection came when Addi told them the boy she spoke to told her he hadn’t been up there too long, and “his mommy was sad too and that their mommies are friends now.” The descriptions made enough sense to Amber that she saw a connection. “Addie has talked about my son on a couple of different occasions,” Amber said. “It was incredible. She was able to describe my son. Addi was 4 and I don’t know if she’d ever met Trey. “But when she woke from her surgery, she was talking about Trey. To think that Trey gave her any kind of strength through that situation was so beautiful.” A source of inspiration Regardless of what people may think of Addi’s near-death experiences, the fact the girl is walking remains a miracle in and of itself. Addi’s miraculous recovery made her a favorite at the hospital, Katie said. “The nurses were arguing over who got to look over Addi,” she said. “Every person who came into contact with her and knew what happened in that accident, knew they were looking at a miracle.” At 5 years old, Addi is an inspirational figure with perhaps a big future. She is discussing a contract with Trinity Broadcasting Network, a
either way and would let Addi say what she was going to say. “Later, she described she walked a field and there were all these flowers around that smelled really good,” Jeff said. “We showed her 100 pictures of flowers, trying to see if they matched, but they never did. And she said she saw people singing and playing music — all these crazy things. It was wild.” Jeff said all these descriptions are beyond the comprehension of a 5-year-old. “I don’t want people to think I’m a kook, but I think I believe her,” Jeff said. “She described a gate that’s made from glass that you can see through. In the Bible, it talks about the gates of heaven being made of pearl and translucent. “We’ve never taught her about that, and we’ve never got into that with her. How would she know these things at 5?” When Addi was unconscious in the hospital during those first 72 hours, she later told her parents she had a visit with a boy she said told
Jesus and fully believe in Christ, but I didn’t know whether to believe it or not,” he said. “But when you hear that from a 5-year-old, you don’t know how to process it.” The concern as Jeff explained
it was about their daughter telling these stories to other people. They weren’t sure whether they were a result of the TBI or if there’s something more to it. “You don’t know whether to ask more questions, or tell her not to go around saying this too much, or just only say this around mom and dad for a while,” Jeff said. Eventually, Jeff and Katie decided to just leave it be. They didn’t want to give her direction
Jeff Sandell
InMaricopa.com | February 2024
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