Alabama 'Miracle Boy' survives devastating 60-foot plunge off cliff in Italy: 'Blessed by God'
An Alabama teen said he was blessed by God after a would-be fatal plunge from a 60-foot cliff in Italy left him with a fractured ankle, dislocated hip and dislocated femur.
"When I fell, I hit the only soft spot, and I think that's really why they're calling me 'Miracle Boy,' because if I hit any other spot, I either would have had severe trauma or I would be dead," Hayden Hill, an 18-year-old from Huntsville, told "Fox & Friends First" Monday.
"[I was] blessed by God," he added.
Hill was traveling across Europe with members of his senior class at New Hope High School after graduation when the incident took place.
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After spending 10 days in the country, Hill said he and a friend decided to look for an entrance to a nearby beach. They encountered a wall during the search, and he climbed over it shortly after.
"It wasn't even as tall as my knees, so I stepped over it and there was kind of a dirt path and grass and trees, and it slowly descended, so I figured it was a trail, and I had my flashlight on and everything," he explained.
"Eventually, at some point, it kind of sloped off, and I fell off a 60-foot cliff."
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Hill's mother, Sharon Hicks, stayed on the phone with him for an hour while he waited for the Coast Guard to arrive. According to Hicks, the rescue operation took approximately three hours.
"So, for one hour of that, I was on the phone with him, and we decided together that he needed to save his battery because his light on his phone was the only thing that they could see to get to him," she said Monday.
Hill hit his head during the fall but suffered no significant injuries, including no brain bleeds. He has since had surgeries and is still recovering.
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"It's a blessing that he's still here today," Sharon added later. "It was unbelievable when you stood back, and you looked at how far he fell, and we are so thankful to the Coast Guard for, you know, getting to him safely and bringing him to the hospital."
The family experienced some hurdles as they tried bringing Hill home from the hospital, however.
His father, Chris Hicks, cited communication difficulties as one key problem.
"The bilingual situation wasn't great, but we had a lot of help from our local senators [and representatives] – Dale Strong, Tommy Tuberville and their staffs. I have a friend of mine—that's Alabama Representative Richie Horton—that really helped us trying to get involved with the embassy over there and make the communication, go along and arrange the transport to get out," he said.
"We want to thank the doctors for taking care of Hayden while he was there, but we also had a little disconnect on communication and getting everything going. But he's home now, and that's all that really matters," he added.
Original article source: Alabama 'Miracle Boy' survives devastating 60-foot plunge off cliff in Italy: 'Blessed by God'
