Following horrific car crash, Trevecca student returns to class, soccer field

One Trevecca student says he has a lot to be grateful for today. This comes after a year that's included one incredible journey.

It was time for chapel at Trevecca Nazarene University. In the crowd was a soccer player, working toward a job in the medical field. Orlando Jerez.

"Being bilingual, I'm going to help the Spanish community," Orlando said. "I just feel like God led me to occupational therapy."

His calling to that field has never felt stronger than after what happened in March of last year.

"My friends decided to go to a trip in Florida for spring break," Orlando remembered.

He was almost there when it happened.

"Someone hit me head-on," Orlando said. "70 miles per hour. The next thing I know, I'm in the hospital asking for water. I was so dehydrated from all the blood I lost. I broke my tibia and femur, both my left leg and forearm of my left arm, wrist of my right arm. I had some deep, deep bruises in my lung. I couldn't breathe. I just said, 'Praise God that I'm still here', y'know."

That was the main thing for Orlando. At the same time, he'd been playing soccer his entire life. One of his big fears was that he wouldn't be able to get back on a field.

"I was out for nine months of recovery, intense therapy," Orlando said. "I stayed in the word, praying every day."

At the end of those nine months, Orlando was back playing, back on the team again.

The university gives out an award named for graduate Michael Pretorius. He was in cross country and track and field, running while also living with cancer. Michael died in 2022. The award in his honor, the Pretorius Courage Award, was given to Orlando.

"All the glory and honor belongs to God, y'know," Orlando said. "It's because of him, I'm still here. It's because of him, I was able to overcome all those things. I didn't overcome this because of my own strength but because of the community and how much my relationship with God grew."