Have You Ever Taken a Road Trip to Heaven and Back?

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 12 /Christian Newswire/ -- Kevin Malarkey's short drive home on November 14, 2004 with his son, Alex, turned out to be an unexpected road trip to heaven and back. Alex's story of the time he spent in heaven while in a coma is fully told in Tyndale House Publisher's new book, "The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven," a remarkable account of miracles, angels, and life beyond this world.

Alex was presumed dead at the scene of the accident, and first responders considered calling a coroner. He survived but suffered traumatic injury to his brain and an internal decapitation. His skull was almost completely detached from his spinal column. Alex's parents were told that injuries involving this extent of spinal alignment virtually always result in death. If Alex were to survive, he would be a quadriplegic, never breathe independently, swallow food, or speak.

The prognosis was grim. Alex's family and friends started a round-the-clock prayer vigil in the ICU, which quickly spread across the country. In a matter of weeks, Alex's most severe spinal injuries were healed without medical intervention leading stunned doctors to cancel a critical spinal alignment surgery.

"The vertebrae were completely detached. The tendon sheath around the spinal column was severed near the base of his brain. The injury was so severe and so high on the spinal column, it is simply incredible that Alex survived." --Dr. Raymond Onders (Christopher Reeves' & Alex's doctor)

After two months in a coma, Alex slowly learned to speak again and had incredible things to say about where he had been: of events at the accident scene and in the hospital while unconscious, of unearthly music that sounded just terrible to a six-year-old, and of the angels that took him through the gates of heaven.

"When I arrived in heaven, I was inside the gate. The gate was really tall, and it was white. It was very shiny, and it looked like it had scales like a fish. I was in the inner heaven and everything was brighter and more intense on the inside of the gate. It was perfect! Perfect is my favorite word for describing heaven."—Alex Malarkey

Miracles continue to be the theme of Alex's story. On January 9, 2009, he became the first child to undergo the Christopher Reeve Surgery, allowing him to breathe without a ventilator. Today, twelve-year-old Alex loves watching sports and cheering for his favorite teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Ohio State Buckeyes. He believes he will walk again.