Miracle Monday – Hanah Jo Jarrad Crooms
It was this week 22 years ago when a beautiful girl, a passenger in a van, was hit, thrown through a window and pinned. Then, a miracle happened.
Hanah Jo was rushed to Hurley where she was given a 50/50 chance of survival. She suffered a broken lower back, cracked pelvis and a femur that was broken in four different places. The skin was removed from her hip to her knee cap. Concerned about infection from all the dirt and gravel in her wounded leg area, the doctors spent the first six hours of surgery just cleaning the wound. A steel rod was inserted in her leg. Skin grafting was a long painful process that she endured for nine difficult weeks in the Burn Unit. Hanah Jo had a total of nine surgeries while at Hurley and had to learn how to walk all over again. She clung to life and fought with all her might.
During this time, she turned to music as her “safe space.” Her cousin’s husband composed a song called “You Will Carry Me” that shared the source of her strength during this journey. She performed that during a CMN Telethon on ABC12 when she and her mom, Pam Ragnone, were guests. The song begins:
“Shining angel would you come and light my way? I’ll see you and I’ll know that I am not alone. I now that there is peace just beyond the storm. If the road is long, you will carry me. And all my strength is gone, you will carry me. And I will lift my hands, you will carry me. Like the child I am, you will carry me.”
Since the accident, Hanah Jo has endured a total of 21 surgeries. Today, she lives in Florida with her husband, Caleb and is mother to Micah Jo and Asher. She still shares her vocal talent. As a licensed minister, she continues to inspire others who are searching for meaning in their lives and is an example of how, even during the darkest of moments, hope and faith can usher in a new beginning.
