Williams home in Jasper after hospitalization, surgery in Thailand

After logging 18 days in a hospital bed, one collarbone  surgery and one long, long trip from Thailand, Dray Williams is home in Jasper.
   
And though he’s a little worse for wear physically, Williams came home to a family, a church, friends and a blueberry pie with ice cream ready to set him right again.
   
“It is overwhelming, the support everyone has given us,” said Dray Williams’ wife, June, who flew to Thailand to be with her husband just after a July 25 vehicle accident on a missions trip left him with a severe head injury and a fractured collarbone.
   
“We tend to take our church (Antioch Baptist Church, Jasper) for granted and don’t realize what they mean when they say they love you and will be there for you,” she said. “We were overwhelmed with the things they did that they didn’t have to, and the things they sent that we didn’t even know we needed or wanted, from cards and letters to popcorn and crossword puzzles.”
   
Calls came across the ocean from Jasper friends, as well as friends from across the United States who had been on missions trips with Dray Williams in the past. A church in New Mexico signed and sent a card saying they had been praying for him by name.
   
But the most welcoming sight of all, he said, was the view from his taxi window late Aug. 10 — some 25 family and church members had gathered in his driveway, holding signs and candles and thanking God for the walking miracle they had been praying for.
   
“It was overwhelming,” he said, adding that he has continually been amazed at the powerful demonstration of love shown to him and his wife throughout the entire ordeal.
   
It was an emotional homcoming — all the Williamses agreed.
   
“The look on his face when he got out of the car was worth a million dollars,” said his daughter, Dana. 
  
When she had called Thailand to speak with her father just after the accident, his head injury had affected him so much that he had trouble recognizing her. “It was heartbreaking then but now he’s here and he’s so much better,” she said. “It’s so good to have him back.”
   
It’s been an unexpected miracle June Williams wouldn’t trade, “but I wouldn’t want to repeat it either,” she said with a laugh. 
   
Her husband has to wear his sling for three more weeks before beginning rehab, and doctors say it will be six months before he’s fully recovered from his head injury. 
   
But doctors and family alike see a steady improvement, and for that, they are thankful.
   
“To hear the news that you may lose someone close to you is horrific. Your mind goes through so many different emotions,” said his son, David. “Each day, God did a little more and Dad got a little better. What was pretty grim in the start has turned out to be a miracle of a lifetime. I thank God for answering our prayers.”