Long Island man attributes miraculous recovery to 'angel'
LYNBROOK, N.Y. - Kevin Becker, a 32-year-old high school sports recruiter from Lynbrook, believes in miracles.
"I know in my heart that I’m some miracle," he explained.
Kevin was 21 when he had a life-altering experience. He and his college roommates were living off campus at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania near the Poconos. His room had a window leading out to the roof.
"I chose that room for a roof just so I can go on there and hang out on it," he recalled.
Kevin fell nearly 15 feet from this porch roof.
One night, Kevin did go out on the roof but he has no memory of what happened next. Somehow, he fell nearly 15 feet, landing on the ground.
"My friend, when he found me, was on his way, he was leaving the house as well. And that's when he saw me and he noticed that there was something not right. My friends, they saw some blood, a little blood. So I had, like, you know, little cuts and stuff on the back of my head."
His friends called for help. It would turn out to be the first step in saving Kevin's life.
"More times than not, you just pick up a guy and put him inside and that's it. My friends were knowledgeable in that situation not to do that. So it's a huge it's very pinnacle and how I’m still here right now."
When Kevin got to the hospital, they discovered he had fractured his skull in five places and was in a coma. Doctors warned his parents that Kevin might not make it.
"I had severely traumatized, you know, each lobe of my brain."
Kevin's family prayed while he was in bad shape.
Kevin was in coma and his condition was not improving.
"Things were starting to change for the worse. My brain was spiking, you know, of course, my body was showing up in a bad spot. I was getting sick and basically showing that my body was starting to shut down and I was starting to fail."
His family had been saying the rosary, but on a suggestion from Kevin's cousin, they started praying to the blessed Pierre Giorgio Frassati.
Frassati, born in Turin, Italy, at the turn of the century, devoted his life to helping the poor. He died of polio when he was in his 20's.
Pierre Giorgio Frassati, before his death from polio.
Pope John Paul II beatified Frassati, paving the way for him to become a saint.
Frassati just needs one more miracle. Kevin's family hoped if they prayed to Frassati healing Kevin would be that miracle.
Three days after Kevin's family started praying to Frassati, Kevin opened his eyes. As Kevin slowly started to recover, his memory also started coming back.
"I told my mom that I was with an angel while I was in a coma and he kept me safe," Kevin explained.
Kevin would later recognize a picture of Frassati as the angel in his dreams.
"In my book, he's a saint."
In his travels, Kevin shares his story of faith and recovery.
Kevin now goes around the country and the world telling others his story. The Vatican is also investigating his case.
Kevin works with a group called Frassati USA. The nonprofit spreads Frassati's life story and prays for his elevation to sainthood.
Frassati USA spreads his life story and prays for his elevation to sainthood.
"It was really his extraordinary amount of service to the poor – his acts of charity, his acts of giving of himself in that way – which brought him to the attention of the church to begin the canonization process," explained Christine M. Wohar, the executive director of FrassatiUSA.
Kevin's takeaway is very simple.
"Thoughts and prayers, they do work," he added. "I'm an answer to a lot of people's thoughts and prayers."