A Second Chance to Live: Kissed by God

Hairs stood up on the back of my neck as my Uber driver spoke.

She had pulled up to the curb at the Sacramento airport,. Appearing close to retirement age and with a sunny smile, she said, “I’m Berlene.”

I complimented her shiny car. “It’s brand new. My old one was wrecked in a terrible crash. I actually died. I’ve only been driving a few months.”

I had to hear this story.

“Labor Day, 2021, I dropped my last customer in Stockton, then turned off my Uber app for the night. Driving toward home, I rounded a curve and saw headlights approaching directly in my path. I asked silently, Lord am I meeting you tonight? Then, a violent crunch.

“I was clinically dead when first responders got there. No breath or pulse. A firefighter started CPR. He broke my sternum! But he brought me back to life.

“I woke up in a hospital. A brace around my neck and a plastic block covering my right ankle. The next morning, they wheeled me down a hallway, into an elevator, and down a floor. Then through another long hallway to a second elevator which took us to a lower floor. I said, ‘I know where you’re taking me. To the morgue.’ We had a good laugh.

“My neurosurgeon introduced himself. Dr. Olaudenjoye. I called him ‘Dr. Oh-happy-day’. He installed pins in my neck to repair three complete breaks. First, second, and third vertibrae. Just one of those fractures could have killed me or caused quadriplegia, but miraculously I was spared.

“A few days later I had another surgery on my shattered ankle. I stayed in the hospital thirteen days, then moved to a rehabilitation facility.

“Finally, on October 23, they let me go home. Sorting through the mail, I saw the accident report for the first time. I got goosebumps. I died at the hands of a drunk driver. Ceased to live. If it hadn’t been for that firefighter, I would not be telling this story.

Berlene told me her ankle bones could not hold up to physical therapy. They broke again. She required a second surgery in January.

Finally, in April, Berlene resumed driving—six months after the accident.

At the hearing for the man responsible for the head-on collision, Berlene learned he had a blood alcohol level of .237. He drove his Toyota Camry sixty-five MPH, twenty miles over the speed limit. His worst injury was a broken pelvis. The man had three small children at home.

Berlene read her victim impact statement in the perpetrator’s presence. She said to the court, “I don’t hate him, but I think he needs help. And I’m glad it was me he hit and not a family with three little kids.” The guilty man shed tears.

The judge told Berlene, “You are a kind, forgiving woman.”

“I’m a Christian,” she replied.

Berlene wonders if her remarks influenced the judge to sentence only one year of jail time. She hopes the man stopped drinking.

Berlene’s family cared for her as she healed. Especially her niece, Tammy, who stayed with Berlene the whole time, providing physical help and emotional encouragement.

The next year, Berlene celebrated her recovery by taking Tammy on the “car trip of a lifetime” from California to the east coast. They had a wonderful time exploring Mackinac Island, Niagra Falls, and Nantucket.

Berlene claims she’s no kid magnet. But she received spontaneous hugs from three separate children during their trip. Perhaps God’s acknowledgement of her kindness toward the drunk driver with three small kids.

When she and Tammy stopped in Atlantic City, they had saved $20 for slot machines. Wanting to make it last, Berlene deposited 40 cents into the first machine she encountered. Then another 40 cents. As Tammy looked on, the machine suddenly lit up and a wheel began to turn. “Aunt Berlene, you’re winning!” The wheel registered $200. Then $400. Tammy jumped up and down with joyful tears, slapping Berlene’s shoulder repeatedly in her excitement. When the slot finished, it spat out a number… $818.60!

The woman who had been at the next machine for quite a while without a win looked sourly at Berlene. Tammy said to her, “My aunt Berlene is lucky. She died, but was brought back to life when she was kissed by God!”

Truer words were never spoken.