Now nearly four years after suffering a car accident while serving a mission that left her in critical condition, Kendal Levine, daughter of Melody and Dave Levine formerly from Hauula, visited Laie to give a fireside on May 20. In private interviews, Kendal Levine, her mother, and family friend, Faith Wright, shared their thoughts on Kendal’s journey.
According to her family, Kendal Levine had served in the Australia Sydney South Mission for one year and one month when the accident happened on Sept. 6. Serving in Canberra, Australia, she had pulled off the road to take a picture of a double rainbow, and while she was taking the picture, someone driving her direction had fallen asleep at the wheel and drove directly over her. The car threw her 30 feet and eventually ended up pinning her to the ground.
A woman who was nearby witnessed the event, screamed and alerted her son, Brendan Fearn, who was nearby. With a trolley jack, he was able to lift the car off of Kendal and saved her life. He waited with both Kendal and her companion until the ambulance came. Kendal was in a coma for two months following the accident.
“Melody texted and told me Kendal was in an accident,” said Wright, from Haaula, the Levine’s former next-door neighbor. “My husband saw I had a text. He looked at me and asked me, ‘Do we know a Kendal?’ and I said, ‘Yes, that’s Melody’s daughter.’ He said, ‘Something is wrong.’ So I got up and ran over.”
Reflecting on the experience, Wright shared, “Things like this can either completely tear you apart or help you rely on the Lord. From the day it began to three years later, you can see what happens when you follow His plan and have faith in Him. Melody and I would talk a lot. I do remember them coming home and them telling us the doctors said this is as good as it would get. At this point, this wasn’t an option.”
Melody Levine, Kendal’s mother, said, “Doctors are filled with science and all kinds of answers. She had a traumatic brain injury. She wasn’t expected to wake up. You really have to rely on what Heavenly Father is telling you, as well as the doctors. Heavenly Father knows what your strengths are, he knows what you’re capable of, and he has a plan for everybody.”
In situations where the odds seemed against her, Kendal Levine, who now lives in Utah with her family, said it’s best to “just keep pushing through the hard stuff that comes your way. You’re not going to progress if you’re just sitting there, hoping and praying something will happen. You have to put forth the effort.”
During the fireside, Melody Levine shared with the congregation the adjustments and sacrifices their family had to do to care for Kendal Levine as she recovered. After she had woken up from her two-month coma, her journey back to normal life took time. The fireside featured a slideshow at the end, depicting her before the accident while she played basketball, her experience through her accident, and the vigorous physical training she endured.
Melody Levine said, “It was a good year until she started to be herself again. She still doesn’t walk on her own, but she’s been out of the wheelchair for a year now. It’s been a continual progress. She had to relearn everything; how to eat, how to talk, anything that you would do normally. She continues to do it and get better.”
Smiling with optimism, Kendal Levine said, “I just have to keep working hard so I can hopefully be a good example to others. Not to give up, keep pushing through the hard stuff. If I can do it, anyone can do it.”
Wright said, “The one thing I remember the most was how strong in faith Dave and Melody were. When it happened, I remember Dave telling me he prayed and felt if this is it, if they were supposed to lose her, then [they would accept] whatever Heavenly Father wanted. They didn’t know what they were going to have to go through, but they pushed forward. It was amazing to see how faithful and sure they were.
“They completely trusted in their Heavenly Father. They prayed for the plan, and once they got it, they stuck to it and never wavered from it, ever. To be able to be there from the first day and watch the progression has been so life changing for me. Watching my friends be so strong has been strengthening for me. You can get through anything if you ask for the Lord’s help.”
While there has been a lot of progress with her daughter, Melody Levine shared, “It’s really hard, but she’s not done yet. It’s not over. There’s always progress to be made. She’s been really lucky, and she is extremely blessed. You can’t compare blessings because that’s a snare set by Satan, to make you want to compare yourself to other people.
“In the world, people look at each other materialistically and they compare how they look, such as what kind of car they drive, but there’s also blessings they compare. You shouldn’t do that because everyone is individual. You’re going to get what Heavenly Father wants you to get, not what you want to get. He knows what’s best. You may not know it in this life, but you’ll know it in the next.”
For those who wish to follow her journey and learn more, visit Prayers for Sister Kendal Levine on Facebook.
Her mother shared, “[Kendal] has a Facebook page and people join all the time just to see how she is doing. Just when you think the story is over, and nobody cares and everyone has moved on, we get messages, all the time, and we’re able to help different people who have similar injuries. We’re able to help the parents to be able to deal with it and cope with it. Somebody who can answer questions for them.”
Writer: Dani Castro