Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

AHOSKIE – It’s been a grueling, two-year effort both physically and mentally for Parker Byrd to overcome an accident that nearly claimed his life.

Now, thanks to his faith in God and his own intestinal fortitude, Byrd is laser focused on what the future holds.

He shared his inspirational and incredible story here Aug. 29 during an event hosted by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at Ridgecroft School.

Byrd, who hails from Laurinburg, was a highly recruited, nationally ranked infielder at Scotland County High School (Class of 2022). He spoke of his love for the sport of baseball, saying he has played competitively since the age of six. He was an All-State selection his last two years of high school. Recruiting outlets had Byrd ranked as the top high school shortstop in North Carolina during his senior season. He had committed to play at East Carolina University, a personal goal he had set as a high school freshman.

Following high school graduation in June of 2022, Byrd enrolled in summer school at ECU, joining other incoming top prospects to the Pirates baseball program.

“It was more of what I could have ever imagined,” he recalled. “My life to this point had been mountaintop to mountaintop.”

But with life’s peaks, come valleys and Byrd’s high hopes and dreams would come crashing down on July 23, 2022. It was the end of summer school and Byrd and a few of his teammates decided to unwind by visiting a river near Bath. They spent Friday on the water. The next morning, Byrd and his teammates returned to the river to go tubing. After getting thrown off the tube for a second time, Byrd and a teammate began swimming back towards the boat. Byrd recalled he was using the rope tied between the tube and the boat to assist him.

“Somehow, the boat’s motor got knocked into reverse when I was just a few feet away,” Byrd said. “The propeller grabbed the rope and pulled me under. The propeller then hit both my legs. My teammate quickly realized I was severely hurt. He and another teammate got me into the boat very quickly and began to tie a tourniquet around my right leg.”

In the meantime, 9-1-1 was called to summon an EMS crew to a nearby marina. However, there was another dilemma – the rope was entangled in the propeller, preventing the boat from moving.

But, as everyone knows, God works in mysterious ways.

“My teammates began waving at other boats to help,” Byrd recalled. “The first boat came, but refused to help because of all the blood on our boat and they had kids on their boat. Luckily, a second boat approached us. On this boat was a nurse who promptly took control of the scene. She used ropes to tie a tighter tourniquet. She helped transfer me to their boat which took me to the marina where an ambulance was waiting for me.”

Byrd was transported to a hospital in Little Washington. From there he was airlifted to ECU Medical Center in Greenville.

“By this point, I was extremely close to dying. My blood pressure was extremely low, 60 over 30,” he noted. “I had a moment where I was out of my body and I could see them working on me in the helicopter. I felt that if I closed my eyes I would never wake up.”

Once at ECU Medical Center, Byrd had surgery every other day for 10 days as doctors worked to save his leg. It was believed then that with intensive rehab, Byrd would make a full recovery and return to life, and the baseball diamond, as it was before the accident. However, the feeling never returned to his right foot. Additional medical procedures didn’t help and the decision was made to amputate his lower right leg.

“In just 12 days my dream of playing major college baseball had turned into a nightmare,” Byrd said. “I quickly fell from my mountaintop into a very deep valley.”

He cited Proverbs, chapter 19, verse 21 that says, “Many are the plans in person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

“It became my desire to have the Lord use me to reveal his plan for my life. Was this easy for me, not at all,” Byrd stressed. “Trying to understand God’s plans for me took a whole lot of faith.”

Byrd shared what he described as miracles that took place on the day of his accident. The teammate who tied the initial tourniquet had experienced a similar situation with another boating accident victim while living in Florida. The boat carrying the nurse wouldn’t have been anywhere close to Byrd’s boat had it not been for an earlier argument on that vessel, forcing it to cut its outing short as they were en route back to the marina.

“The presence of those two people saved my life,” Byrd remarked. “All of the hours I had spent in the gym meant I was in excellent physical condition, which helped save my life. The boat’s propeller stopped one millimeter short of cutting my leg’s sciatic artery. If that artery had been cut, I would have lost my entire leg.

“God just isn’t a miracle worker in the Bible. The same God that parted the water for Moses is the same God that stopped that propeller from cutting my artery,” Byrd continued.

Then there was an issue with his right knee. Losing that would greatly hamper his mobility, even with a prosthetic, much less thinking about ever playing baseball again.

After a lot prayers being lifted up, Byrd said God saved the knee.

Still, Byrd had lingering doubts about continuing his baseball career. He knew of no other amputee to play baseball at the Division 1 level.

“My mother said, why not you, there always has to be a first. That was all the inspiration that I needed,” Byrd stressed.

He drew strength from God’s word, citing Matthew, chapter 17, verses 20-21: “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you.”

“My mom had faith that God was going to move a mountain and she planted that seed in me,” Byrd said. “They cut off my leg, but they didn’t cut out my heart.”

From that point forward, Byrd said he has built a team of believers around him.

“My plan isn’t about becoming a Division 1 baseball player or going to the Major Leagues, it’s about going through many stages of the impossible. It’s about showing that whatever you’re going through, it’s part of God’s plan. He will walk with us through our valleys.”

Now, climbing out of his valley, Byrd said he met the founder of the Challenged Athlete Foundation who awarded him a grant to purchase a prosthetic designed for runners.

“That has made a big difference in my recovery,” he said. “I’ve trained with those competing in the Paralympics. God placed them in my life so I will have a platform to show others that God can turn bad things into good.”

In August of last year, Byrd received medical clearance to rejoin the ECU baseball team. He continued to work to improve his mobility and then took batting practice for the first time since May 2022.

On Feb. 16, 2024, Byrd became the one of the first Division 1 players to ever play with a prosthetic leg. During the season, he worked out every day. After ECU’s season ended, Byrd joined a summer baseball league in New Bern and played ball almost every day.

“My plans going forward, outside of baseball, is to start a foundation that helps disadvantaged and injured people get back into the game of life,” Byrd pledged. “I want to them to have hope.

“God didn’t allow my accident to happen to me, he allowed it to happen for me. It has allowed me to prioritize my life. I want to make sure to always put God first. His plans for me are much bigger than the game of baseball. He allows me to open the door for others. I have the opportunity to share my story with others and show there is hope for those going through tough times,” Byrd closed, encouraging those who do not have a personal relationship with God to start one.”

Prior to making his remarks last week at Ridgecroft, Byrd was introduced by Scott Williams, Northeast NC FCA Area Director

“Please join our team…let’s see what God has in store for us,” Williams said.

FCA is one of the largest Christian sports ministries in America and focuses on serving local communities by equipping, empowering and encouraging people to make a difference for Christ. Since 1954, FCA has sought to impact the world through the influence of athletes and coaches.

Locally, the Northeast NC FCA area includes the counties of Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Pasquotank, and Perquimans.

Please contact Williams at Swilliams@fca.org or find out all about FCA in the local region at www.nencfca.org.