A husband and wife couple, James and Sonia Morton, of Rock Farm,Anguilla, appeared on national radio to tell of a brutal attack they experienced and what, for Mr. Morton in particular, was a miraculous recovery.
For about 20 years now, known for their humility and strong Christian faith, Mr. and Mrs. Morton operated a mobile food and drink service outside Campus A and B of theAlbenaLake-HodgeComprehensiveSchool, the Webster Park, and other public areas, much to the delight of customers. Their years of hard work went smoothly until early in November, last year, when they returned home from the park and were attacked by armed men (dressed in black and masked), one with a machete and another a gun. They believed that there was a third attacker.
It is a well-known story, but the Mortons graphically recounted the incident when they appeared on Saturday, February 4, on the Radio Anguilla programme, Social Solutions, now in its 14th year, hosted by Pastor Philip Gumbs of theChurchofGod(Holiness) on theQueen Elizabeth Avenue. That is where both of them worship.
Having stepped from her vehicle, Mrs. Morton said she was chopped on an arm and leg and struck elsewhere on her body. Her husband, still in his bus, heard her screaming: “Jesus! Jesus!” Soon after, he was shot by another intruder in his side where the bullet remains lodged. He barely missed a second bullet which whizzed past his head, struck a freezer and was subsequently found by the Police. The abandoned machete, used to chop his wife, is also in the possession of the Police; and one of the suspects is in custody.
The courageous Mortons, struggling through their ordeal, were able to call friends, notify the Police and were taken to thePrincessAlexandraHospitalwhere they received treatment. As for their attackers, who did not demand money, they ran away leaving behind, as indicated above, some useful evidence.
“I have never seen so much people in my life, to tell you the truth,” Mr. Morton recalled.“As they came to visit me in the hospital, the [no visiting] sign on the door did not keep them out. The Nurses told me that they could not keep the people away so I said to them let them come because Jesus does no turn anybody away. Let them come even just to see my face, and for me to see them. So the door was opened and I witnessed to everyone of them…”
Mr. Morton later travelled toSt. Thomas,USVirgin Islands, to seek further treatment. There, at the hospital, he underwent various extensive tests and it was discovered that he had suffered the loss of a kidney, among other internal injuries.
“The doctor can’t believe that a person like me could bear so much pain and go through so much,” he told Pastor Gumbs on the programme. “One of the things I want to say is that God was in this thing. He prepared me for such a time like this …That’s why the second bullet never caught me in my head. The Holy Spirit ducked my head from that bullet. Those who went into the van, sat down in the seat and matched their head to where the bullet passed, and asked me how I could escape from such a bullet. I told them it is the power of God.”
Mr. Morton said the doctors inSt. Thomasdid not remove the bullet from his side for fear of making matters worse and, instead, had resorted to administer tranquilisers to ease his pain. It was difficult for him to move his legs until one day he shocked one of his doctors. “I said, ‘I could walk to that window’ and when I did so, you could see the doctor jumping and shouting with joy,” he continued. “I then said, ‘I could walk out to the hall’, and I just began to walk automatically just like that. I wasn’t walking any time before. What was so shocking to the Nurses was yesterday they saw me on my bed couldn’t turn, and now, today, they see me walking….Next morning another doctor came to see me and I asked him, ‘do you want to see the miracle too?’ He said ‘yeah’ so I stood up and started to walk…”
Morton said that as a result of his miraculous progress a doctor changed his mind about administering injections to him in the area of his spine, and another, who was to have arrived fromFloridato perform an operation, cancelled his trip.
“You go home [to Anguilla] and let your body do the healing, like what we see, and if there is anything else, you can come back to the hospital and we will take up where we left off,” he quoted his attending doctor as saying. “But for now the case is closed.”
Morton, ably supported by his wife, is now walking and driving around and is in a working mood although at times he experiences considerable pain. He walked unaided up the two flights of stairs at Radio Anguilla, at a normal pace, to tell about the story of his amazing recovery and of the comfort of knowing that his wife is well and at his side. His courage and faith remain strong and, rather than complaining, he and Mrs. Morton are giving encouragement and advice to everyone not to give up on life, but to hold on and trust in God.
