The doctors came to a conclusion: if they didn’t pull the plug, Brad Jones would be a human vegetable for the rest of his life. With much time in prayer and a heart of faith, Jones’s mother, Donna decided that she wanted to keep her son alive, despite what the doctors had said. Now, Jones, against all odds, has graduated Macomb College with his Associates Degree.

   Jones was a freshman at Oakland University and was a member of the college’s baseball team. In June of 2003, he danced around in the bathroom as he got ready for a friend’s 19^th birthday party at a club in Canada.

   After being told not to ride with his friend John because of his known drinking problem, Jones kissed his mother goodbye and informed her that he would come home late that night. However, Jones came home even later than ever expected.

   Hours later, police cars and ambulances rushed to the scene of a car accident down the street of John’s home. The driver was nowhere to be found, but the passenger was in critical condition. Jones was the passenger who was found in the demolished car, which had hit a light pole and rolled into the side of a family’s home. As the family contacted 911, they talked to Jones, trying to keep him alert and conscious.

   Jones was rushed to the hospital and sent in for brain surgery. The doctor gave him a one percent chance to survive. After spending months in a coma, Jones miraculously awoke.

   “Every day at the hospital Brad’s friends were always there, and the family. I believe there was a lot of support through them, which helped,” Jones’s mother, Donna, said.

   The doctors did not believe that Jones would be able walk or talk again. Once again, Jones proved them wrong. A long road laid ahead as Jones would have to learn basic skills all over again.

   “I had to relearn how to get dressed, tie my shoes, but most importantly, take a shower by myself,” Jones said.

   Jones walks with a cane and has limited mobility of his right side.  Along with vigorous therapy that Jones was undergoing constantly, he was determined to go back to college and graduate. On December 15, 2012, he finally achieved his goal.

“The doctors didn’t expect Brad to even handle college courses; I had to prove them wrong,” Donna, said.

  After getting Jones’s approval of enrolling in school again, his mother hired a tutor to help him through his college classes. The credits that Jones’s received from Oakland University were transferable, so he took mainly math and art classes.

  “It was very difficult for him, but math was his strength side and art too,” Donna said.

   During school, the family had much help from therapists who took him to school, and college professor Todd Mitchell, who organized Jones’s last class so he could graduate.

   Now that Jones has completed college, he plans to find a part time job that allows him to have a job coach and who accepts disabled workers. Jones keeps his head high and continues to move on.

   “A positive attitude is the key to success,” Jones said.

   Jones and his family are primary examples of faith, love, and perseverance. The family does not let the world get in their way of success and joy. Jones is simply thankful to be alive today.

   “God puts little miracles just to show you that he’s there. I believe in so many signs and I believe He works with other people and I just feel like He’s with Brad,” Donna said, “He’s not finished with him yet. We don’t know where the journeys going to go where He’s guiding us through, but we just take one day at a time and our trust is in the Lord and wherever he guides us through, we’re going to follow.”

   Jones and his mother have visited Fraser in the past to talk to juniors and seniors about the dangers of drinking and driving. In his speech, he wanted to make sure that the audience knew how important it is to stay safe.

   “Your mind is the most important thing you got… don’t forget that,” Jones said.