When he was 12 years old, a heroic boy from North Carolina lost his leg in a car accident saving his mom and baby brother. The boy’s mother suffered a seizure while the family was driving to school one day, and his life was changed forever. Parker spoke with CafeMom about the incident with his mother, Sharonda, and his baby brother, describing the moment when his mother had a seizure and he had to take control of the vehicle.
“It escalated quickly. Everything happened so fast I had to think on my feet,” he tells us. Parker’s mother and baby brother came out of the incident fine, although Sharonda mentioned to CafeMom that his 1-year-old brother had to have some stitches.
Parker, however, had serious injuries that resulted in having his leg amputated. Though he had a challenging recovery process, after going through physical therapy and receiving a prosthetic, he now enjoys sports and other physical activities. He even travels as a national patient ambassador for Shriners Children’s.
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The 12-year-old’s life changed forever in August 2019.
Parker’s life changed in an instant on a car ride to school one morning. Parker’s mom, Sharonda, was driving him and his baby brother to school when she had a seizure and became unconscious. Parker bravely stepped in to take control of the car and jumped from the back seat onto his mother’s lap, steering the vehicle away from oncoming traffic.
Parker tells CafeMom that his family rides ATVs a lot, but he had no prior experience driving a car. “It was so surreal,” he says.
His mother and brother were OK after the accident, but Parker had several injuries, including an ankle break that led to the amputation of his right leg. He was also on life support for five or six days after the accident, his mom shares.
Parker had a long recovery after the accident, but as an avid athlete, he was determined to be active again following his surgery.
“It was difficult recovering,” Parker tells CafeMom when asked about the recovery process and the surgery. Parker’s right leg was amputated in September 2019, and he received a prosthesis from Shriners Children’s Pediatric Orthotics and Prosthetics Services in February 2020.
Though Parker was initially worried he would “never feel like a normal kid again,” with the help of the Pediatric Orthotic and Prosthetic Services team at Shriners Children’s Greenville, he took his first steps again in May of 2020 and is back to playing the sports he loves.
‘It’s been a great experience,’ Parker says about being a national patient ambassador for the children's hospital.
Parker was announced as the national patient ambassador in July 2022, and his year will conclude in 2023. In that role, he has traveled all over the country to represent the care provided by Shriners Children’s. He even made an appearance in the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, California.
“It’s been such a great experience. Traveling the world, speaking to people and meeting people,” Parker says.
‘Nothing’s different about Parker,’ his mom says, despite the surgery.
“We got over this hurdle. This accident isn’t who we are,” Parker’s mom Sharonda tells CafeMom.
She says his cousins still play with him like usual, and if they all go and play on the trampoline, “Parker plays on the trampoline too.”
Thanks to his determination and new prosthetic, Parker is back to playing flag football, basketball, and baseball. “He has no boundaries,” Sharonda tells us.
