Speaker 1: No one noticed two year old Shelley quietly slipping out
the back door. She made her way to the pool,
gripping the ladder as she began to climb.
Speaker 2: My daughter comes in. Mommy, Shelley's in the pool.
Speaker 1: Shelley, her two year old, was in the pool. Melissa
raced outside and found her daughter pale and motionless on
the ground.
Speaker 2: And I'm screaming, what happened? Somebody help? Call nine.
Speaker 1: This is the Miracle Files. I'm Emily Jones.
Speaker 3: And I'm Holly Worthington. We're two sisters who love a
captivating true story, but we're also seeking more light in
our lives.
Speaker 1: So we're on a mission to find and share unforgettable,
uplifting stories of God's miracles. We hope you'll join us
on this journey.
Speaker 3: Welcome back to the Miracle Files. We had one of
our listeners actually reach out to us and share today's
story with us.
Speaker 1: Yes, Melissa Ruiz shared this story with us, and I
just have to say she is so brave because her
story is traumatic and it's scary, but it's also so
so good.
Speaker 3: It really is. And speaking of that, this may be
triggering for somebody who has lost someone to a drowning accident,
so please keep that morning in mind.
Speaker 1: Yeah, this story is truly gut wrenching, but the miracle
is also undeniable.
Speaker 4: So buckle up.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and maybe grab a Kleenex as well. Yeah, let's go.
Speaker 1: It was a muggy North Texas day in August twenty
twenty two. Melissa Ruiz had worked the night shift. She
never seemed to truly catch up on her sleep, but
as a busy mom of six children, five of whom
were still at home with her, Melissa had to keep going.
Around five in the afternoon, her children came to her
asking if they could go swimming in their above ground pool.
Even though she was tired, she responded with an enthusiastic yes.
Melissa loved spending time in the pool with her children
and decided to join them.
Speaker 5: My oldest son was seventeen at the time. I had
asked him. I was like, you're going to go swimming?
He said yes, you want me to get them ready?
And I was like, okay, yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1: While Melissa's son Alex helped the other kids get ready
to go swimming, Melissa relaxed just for a minute on
the couch. She hadn't intended to nap at all, but
exhaustion overtook her. She blinked her heavy eyelids a few times,
and then suddenly she dozed off. While Melissa slept and
her children busied themselves changing into their swimsuits, no one
noticed two year old Shy quietly slipping out the back door.
With tiny, determined steps, she made her way to the pool,
gripping the ladder as she began to climb. Suddenly, a
voice broke through Melissa's sleep. It felt far away at first,
Melissa opened her eyes. What was happening? Her daughter, Alicia
had burst into the room, her face pale and eyes wide.
Speaker 2: My daughter comes in, Mommy, Shelley's in the pool.
Speaker 1: The words shot through Melissa's drowsiness like a bolt of lightning,
sending her thoughts flying in all directions. Shelley, her two
year old, was in the pool, her fun, spunky little toddler,
her baby.
Speaker 3: Melissa jumped up.
Speaker 1: From the couch. She didn't even have time to grab
a cell phone before she raced outside. It's hard to
fathom the sheer terror Melissa must have felt when she
reached her backyard and found her son, Alex trying to
perform CPR on Shelley. Her two year old lay pale
and motionless on the ground. The sight of her lifeless
body sent a wave of despair crashing over Melissa.
Speaker 2: And I'm screaming, what happened? Somebody help? I'm like call
nine one one? Where are my phones?
Speaker 6: Like?
Speaker 2: I did not know where nothing was.
Speaker 1: The horrifying moment was caught on Melissa's security camera. In
the video, you can see a shot of Melissa's front yard.
Melissa's son Alex is on the front porch looking for Shelley.
You can't see the pool, which is in the back,
but you can tell the moment Shelley was found. And
we'll warn you this recording is shocking and absolutely heartbreaking.
Speaker 6: Shelley.
Speaker 1: The screams were so loud that Melissa's sister, who lived
next door hurt the commotion. On the security camera footage,
you can see her sister running frantically to see what's
going on. Other neighbors ran into the backyard. One woman
yelled for someone to call.
Speaker 5: Nine one one.
Speaker 3: Then, in a panic, Melissa's.
Speaker 1: Sister scooped Shelley up in her arms and ran her
out to the front yard.
Speaker 5: I don't know what my sister was thinking, but I
was just frantic. I was just following her to the front.
Speaker 1: On the video footage, you can see Shelley's body lying
like a limp rag doll in her aunt's arms. Melissa
feared her baby was already dead. She showed no signs
of life at all. Melissa's son, Alex, called nine one
one as he spoke with dispatch. Melissa's best friend, who
lived across the street, pulled up and offered assistance. She
rushed over, gently taking Shelley and trying to pat the
water out of her lungs. Yet all Melissa could think
was that everyone needed to act faster. Everything felt surreal,
sounds were muffled, and the world around her blurred as
she focused solely on her daughter. Where is everybody? Where
are the paramedics? She wondered, her heart raised as the
enormity of the situation threatened to engulf her.
Speaker 5: My son was on the fallow with nine one one
and the dispatch. Her wind up being my friend for years,
She took the call.
Speaker 1: Melissa's friend assured Alex that an ambulance was on the way.
Amid the chaos, time felt distorted. Each second stretched painfully
as Melissa begged for help. Finally, after almost seven minutes,
a firetruck arrived and as first responders took over, Melissa
watched the firefighters du CPR on Shelley. Her tiny body
had turned a haunting shade of blue. Melissa felt a
desperation like she'd never felt before. A few minutes later,
paramedics arrived and took charge, whisking Shelley into the ambulance
and asking Melissa to wait outside. Melissa stood frozen, her
heart pounding, desperate to know what exactly was going on
in the ambulance and hoping for a miracle. Then something
amazing happened that made Melissa's heart leap. A tiny voice
called out from inside the ambulance. The paramedics hurried to get.
Speaker 5: Melissa, and then when they told me to come in,
she's calling you. I go in the ambulance and I
told her, Mommy's right here, baby, You're gonna be okay.
Then she wasn't you know, no communication was coming out
of her, but she was braving.
Speaker 1: Melissa had felt a flood of relief at hearing her
daughter's voice, but Shelley's moment of consciousness was gone in
an instant, Shelley still lay in critical condition. Time was
of the essence, but again it seemed to stand still
as the paramedics debated the best course of action. Where
are they taking her? Melissa wanted to know. She silently
pleaded for them to hurry and decide. Finally, they told
Melissa they were going to airlift Shelley to a children's hospital,
and drove Shelley to a nearby high school to meet
the helicopter following the ambulance in her friend's car. Melissa's
worst fears swirled in her head. She couldn't shake the
image of her daughter's lifeless body. She felt so helpless,
and then she thought of the one thing she could do.
Melissa believed in the power of prayer, and right now
she needed that power more than ever.
Speaker 5: I took a picture of us behind the ambulance. That's
a picture I posted on Facebook, and I told him
I didn't tell them what happened.
Speaker 2: I just told him to please pray for baby Shelley.
Speaker 5: And then I had everybody comment in prayers, prayers, prayers, prayers, prayers, prayers, prayers.
Speaker 1: With so many prayers for baby Shelley being sent heavenward.
Melissa knew it was now in God's hands. She reached
the high school parking lot. Emergency personnel hurried to transfer
Shelley from the ambulance to the helicopter, but Melissa couldn't
get close enough to see what was happening. Instead, she
was left standing with police officers who were trying to
gather information. Their questions barely registered in her mind.
Speaker 5: I don't know what to do, but just stand there
and keep crying because I'm like, I don't know what's
going on. I can't talk to nobody because they're way
over there at the helicopter trying to get her in.
I don't know what they're doing. All I know is
they're going to children. And our deal was just to
wait there, see her get on the helicopter, and we
take off to Dallas.
Speaker 1: Shelley was loaded into the helicopter and Melissa's husband, who
had been at work, was notified that she was being
taken to the children's hospital. Melissa and her husband drove
step as quickly as they could, which turned out once
again to be excruciatingly.
Speaker 2: Slow, and it was rush hour downtown Dallas.
Speaker 5: Traffic was crazy, and Children's just on the other side
of downtown Dallas, so like you have to literally pass
through downtown, all that Dallas traffic around downtown to get
towards the hospital.
Speaker 1: Finally, Melissa and her husband were reunited at the Children's hospital.
They clung to each other for strength while trying to
process the chaos of the day. The helicopter had touched
down and the medical team had rushed Shelley into the ICU.
Melissa and her husband were left anxiously waiting for news.
Hours passed as Melissa battled with fear and guilt, wondering
if there was something more she could have done to
prevent this strategy. Meanwhile, doctors took X rays and worked
on Shelley. They were concerned about the fluid that were
maimed in Shelley's lungs.
Speaker 5: They said that she had pulmonary edema. Where they took
the X ray and it showed all the fluid in
her lungs.
Speaker 1: Shelley was eventually sent to her hospital room, where she
lay ashen and motionless. She had gone over ten minutes
without breathing, an eternity when considering brain damage can occur
in just four Melissa wondered if she would ever have
her sweet, spunky little girl back again. Night passed, and
the weight of uncertainty pressed down on Melissa as the
next day unfolded. Nothing went as expected, because Shelley was
expected to have little to no improvement.
Speaker 5: They took another X ray and it was a lot
less than what it was when they brought her in.
And then when the doctor came in, when we're in
the regular room, she was looking for Shelley.
Speaker 4: But where was Shelley?
Speaker 1: The hospital bed lay empty. The doctor looked around the room, confused,
and then something extraordinary happened. She noticed a child playing
near the hospital room window. Surely that couldn't be the
same little girl who had just drowned, and yet it was.
Speaker 5: And at that point, Shelley's in the window, looking out
the window, in her gown, jumping on the cows, looking
out the window, and I'm like, girl, sit down, come on, sit.
Speaker 2: Down, you're gonna give me a heart attack.
Speaker 6: We're already here.
Speaker 2: The doctor walks in and she's like, Shelley.
Speaker 1: Melissa pointed to the child the playing near the window.
The doctor couldn't believe it. It defied all logic, but
that's the nature of miracles. Isn't it. They often defy logic.
Speaker 5: She goes, oh, wow, I was expecting her to be
laid up in the bed, just out of it. She
didn't expect her to be up, jumping around and smiling
ear to ear like if nothing happened. And she's like, wow,
this is a miracle because bed's here and she's over there.
Speaker 1: Melissa couldn't believe it herself. She felt overwhelmed with gratitude
and couldn't help but smile, knowing that every prayer, despite
the instance of doubt and worry, had led to this
triumphant moment. This is some footage of Shelley in the
hospital after she woke up.
Speaker 6: Shell.
Speaker 2: I that you I too, I love you more. I'm
I bring them up Alma.
Speaker 1: Shelley was reunited with her family just two days after
her accident, and as they left the hospital taking her
daughter home alive and well, it still felt surreal to Melissa.
Allie's recovery has been so miraculous that Melissa is glad
she took some photos at the hospital with time stamps
to document everything. She feels no one would believe her otherwise.
Speaker 5: It's mind boweling, like you would never think that this
was her. If I didn't put dates, I think anybody would.
Speaker 2: Be like, oh no, that's not the day after.
Speaker 5: You know, you're lying, you know, And I would have
to bring pullet up on my phone and be like, look,
this is the time stamps of everything and where with
you know, stuff like that. But yeah, I don't think
anybody would believe that those pictures were right after each other,
Like they wouldn't believe it.
Speaker 2: I don't believe it. But she left the hospital like
nothing happened.
Speaker 1: Shelley's miracle story is beautiful, but there is something more
we haven't shared that makes this story even more incredible.
You may have wondered how the kids first found Shelley
in the pool. Well, it was her twelve year old
brother ad n I who actually found her. H He
was questioned later by the police, and we'll play the footage.
Bear in mind, you'll notice he's kind of yelling because
this was right after the drowning and this had been
a very traumatic experience for him. But pay attention to
what he says to the police officer. Here's the exchange.
Speaker 7: We gotta know what happened so we can help her,
and what's your name? Okay, look, hey, you're not in trouble.
You just gotta know what happened. Look at me, look
at me. That just gotta know what happened so we
can help her. Okay, did you see what happened?
Speaker 6: No? No, I had a feeling that when I was
putting on my little brother's blony that she was in
the pool about any bloony, So then I went in there.
I sold, I sold her drowning. Okay, so how long
was she?
Speaker 4: Okay, if you didn't catch that.
Speaker 1: When the police officer asked ad and I if he
saw what happened, ad and I responded that he'd been
putting a swimsuit on his little brother when he had
a feeling come to him that Shelley was in the pool. Later,
he mentioned this to his mother as well.
Speaker 5: And he said that after all this happened, you know,
he was like, something told me go check the poll.
So he went out to the pole and that's when
he found her at the bottom.
Speaker 1: Melissa believes that's something that spoke to Adney's mind and
heart was God, and because of the feeling that ad
and I had, he was able to find his sister
within minutes. If she'd gone any longer, It's very unlikely
she would have been okay even now. It's a miracle
that she's doing so well. While you might think Shelley
would have a lot of anxiety after experiencing something so traumatic,
Melissa says it's been the opposite. Shelley has returned from
this experience absolutely fearless and just loves life.
Speaker 5: She's the daredevil. I think she's like, I don't seen
it at all. I've done died and I came back
and I'm gonna live my life. I literally think that's
what she thinks in her head, like I done died,
I came back, and I'm gonna live my best life.
Speaker 1: Today, Shelley is a vibrant five year old, full of
energy and laughter, swimming like a little fish and embracing
every opportunity that comes her way. Melissa often looks back
on the day she drowned and shakes her head in disbelief,
grateful for the miracle that is her daughter.
Speaker 5: God has a purpose for her to be here. He
has something for her for her life, like she's here
for a reason and he knows what that res in it.
Speaker 1: In the end, Melissa and her family have learned that
life is unpredictable, but with God's grace, even the darkest
moments can be turned for our good. This experience has
bonded their family and helped them all to want to
be more like Shelley, embracing and enjoying every moment of
life God gives them.
Speaker 3: So when Blake and I first listened to this one,
Emily you had sent it to us. We listened to
it in the car or we were driving to dinner,
and afterwards neither one of us could even speak. We
both had tears running down her faces and we were
just silent.
Speaker 1: It's a really emotional one, especially for me. The most
traumatic part was hearing the actual videos, the video footage
super traumatic.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it felt like my heart was being ripped out.
But an a amazing miracle, this family experience. It's just
incredible that this little twelve year old ad and I
had a feeling just come to him and let him
know that his sister was in the pool and that
she needed to be rescued.
Speaker 1: Yeah, oh my gosh, listening to his video was just
my heart went out to him because this experience was
truly traumatic for him.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Melissa told us that she said that this has
affected him more than Shelley even, But he's such a hero,
and I hope he knows how amazing he is.
Speaker 4: Yes, for sure.
Speaker 3: And we actually got to meet Shelley, which was so cool.
She's such a doll.
Speaker 6: I know.
Speaker 4: She was so cute. And here's a clip of us
talking to Shelley. Shelley, how old are you?
Speaker 6: Wow?
Speaker 7: Wow?
Speaker 3: Are you in kindergarten?
Speaker 2: It's a pre K four? I think?
Speaker 7: Ah.
Speaker 4: Okay, can you tell us what you like to do
for fun?
Speaker 6: I chip.
Speaker 3: Kitchen? Do you like to cook?
Speaker 4: Wow? What kind of food do you like to make?
Speaker 3: Okay, Hey, I want you to come live at my
house and make me some cake.
Speaker 4: Well, you're pretty cute, Shelly. It's so nice to meet you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's so great to meet you.
Speaker 2: Hey, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3: She is a horrible she is and Emily, I'm sure
you would agree with me when I say she is
a spitfire.
Speaker 1: She kept poking her head up out of the corner
when we were interviewing her mom, and really.
Speaker 3: It was so funny.
Speaker 4: Come over here, we want to meet you. She was
so cute.
Speaker 1: But I'm just so glad that everything turned out okay
for her and I mean, it really is a miracle.
As we were doing some research for this story, I
read the children can drown in less than twenty seconds
in water, and brain damage can occur in as little
as four minutes. I mean, the fact that she came
out of this unscathed, it's pretty miraculous.
Speaker 3: That is so fast, that's so so scary to think about.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's like one of my biggest fears. I'm
sure all parents can relate to that fear. Yeah, and
actions like this they can happen in an instant.
Speaker 3: It made me think about like my grandkids. You know,
my oldest grandkid is only three years old, so when
they come over, we are going to be thinking a
lot more about water safety. Yeah.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, I think stories like this
also give me a lot of hope. Yeah, because even
though you know their family went through this traumatic experience,
I feel like God healed Shelley, not just her body,
but he also healed her mind and healed her from
the anxiety and fear that she could go through.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I agree, incredible, it is, and it helps me
personally just to know that God truly does heal those things.
He has the power to heal our anxiety, our fear,
the trauma that we go through. He can heal us
and comfort us through whatever it is we're going through.
Speaker 4: He is so good and so amazing and you can
do anything.
Speaker 6: Yes.
Speaker 1: Well, we want to thank you guys for joining us
today and make sure that you subscribe to our podcast
wherever you get podcasts so.
Speaker 4: That you never miss an episode.
Speaker 3: And thank you again for all of your likes, follows,
and shares. We appreciate you helping us to spread these
incredible stories that definitely deserve.
Speaker 6: To be heard.
Speaker 3: Thank you for joining us. If you have a miracle
to share, contact us at the Miracle files dot com
or find us on Facebook.
Speaker 1: We're now releasing multiple episodes each month, so subscribe on
your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for amazing video content.
Speaker 3: As we join us next time, as we discover more
of God's miracles, and don't forget to look for His
light in your own lives