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