Two weeks ago, 13-year-old Isaiah Scruggs was playing a game of tag with some neighborhood friends at his Lattimore home when the game ended in tragedy.
Isaiah climbed to the top of a tree in his yard during the course of the game and he fell about 20 feet to the ground.
"It had just got dark," said Barbara Scruggs, his mother. "He was laying on the ground and said he couldn't feel his legs. I was hoping it was just a broke leg."
The boy had a punctured lung and injuries to his spine.
For a while, nobody knew if he was going to live.
Barbara said doctors have told the family he has about a 1 percent chance of walking again.
"He can move his arms," she said. "He landed face first but didn't hurt his head."
Michael Hanke , pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church that the family attends, said the church is in the process of organizing fundraisers for the family.
He said in the meantime, tax deductible donations to help with medical and other expenses can be sent to the church.
Hanke said the family is not well off and needs help.
"He's a tremendous kid," he said about Isaiah. "H e's had a steady stream of visitors in the ICU."
Barbara Scruggs said her son was conscious the entire trip to Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, and despite being in tremendous pain, Isaiah was asking the Emergency Medical Technician about his church attendance and trying to convince him to come to his church.
Monday, Barbara said Isaiah is doing much better and has been taken off oxygen, though he still has a feeding tube.
She said he started practicing sitting in a wheelchair and was set to move out of the intensive care unit to a rehabilitation unit Tuesday.
Barbara said Maranatha Baptist Church has provided much needed assistance for the family, from dropping off meals for her husband and other children to taking up a monetary collection to help with the cost of fuel while traveling back and forth between Lattimore and Charlotte.
She said the family will most likely have to move to a bigger house since the mobile home where they live is not wheelchair-accessible and doesn't have enough room.
Barbara said she spends most days at the hospital with her son and then sleeps at the nearby Ronald McDonald House at night.
"He's in really good spirits," she said. "He told me not to worry, to pray and trust God. He knew God could heal him."
Despite Isaiah's positive attitude, the extent of his injuries is just now starting to sink in, Barbara said, and getting him to eat has been a challenge.
The mother said she tries not to dwell too much on the fact her son will not walk again.
"I don't know what all he's going to need at the moment," she said. "It's a lot to think about."
Want to help?
Keep up with updates on Isaiah Scruggs through his Caring Bridge page at: www.caringbridge.org
The Scruggs family has set up an account for Isaiah at Premier Credit Union to accept donations. No one can withdraw from the account except for Isaiah.
Maranatha Baptist Church is accepting donations for the Scruggs. Checks can be mailed to the church at 413 Polkville Road, Shelby, NC, 28150. The funds will go directly to the Scruggs.
Reach reporter Rebecca Clark at 704-669-3344 or rclark@shelbystar.com or follow on Twitter @TheStarRebecca.