God winks are experiences attributed to divine intervention – a “coincidence” that does not just happen by chance.

Danny Stanford of Tuscumbia, Alabama, and Cheri Harbour of Guntown shared such an occurrence recently when she was able to return a favor from almost four decades ago.

Their story dates back to April 8, 1986, when Cheri was an 18-year-old college freshman from Detroit, Alabama. “I was headed back to school on a two-lane backroad near Vernon,” she explains. “An oil tanker came around the curve in my lane and my car slid into his back tire. I was trapped under the dash of my car, and they had to cut me out.”

Danny, who attended church with Cheri, was the first to arrive on the scene. “I didn’t even know it was Cheri because it was so bad,” he says. “My mother called me later that day and told me who it was. My wife and I drove to the Tupelo hospital that night to check on her.”

Cheri suffered multiple injuries in the accident, including a collapsed lung, crushed pelvis, broken arm and several broken bones in her hand. Doctors at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo performed several surgeries that involved a long recovery.

“I spent a month at NMMC,” Cheri says. “For the next year, I had physical therapy and lots of occupational therapy, especially for my arm and hands. It was that experience that led me to change my major to become an occupational therapist.”

Embarking on a Career

NMMC awarded her with a college scholarship and, after earning her degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Cheri joined the team as an occupational therapist in January 1991. Except for four years in the late 1990s, she has spent her entire career at NMMC.

“NMMC has been there for me at every step of my career,” Cheri says. “Hospital scholarships helped me pursue my degree, and the hospital has helped me attain graduate certifications in low vision rehabilitation so that I could start our program here in 2009. People at NMMC helped save my life and then continued to enrich my life by paying me to do what I love.”

Full Circle

Danny and Cheri lost touch and had not seen each other for many years. In January, they reunited at a birthday party for Cheri’s aunt, who is also a friend of the Stanfords. During the party, Danny told Cheri’s cousin that his vision had significantly declined since being diagnosed with macular degeneration two years ago. Her cousin suggested that perhaps Cheri could help him—and that is what reconnected them.

“I’m not able to read any small print now,” explains Danny, a former pastor and lifelong learner. “I love to create sermons and build outlines, and I was not able to do that anymore. I hope to get back to doing that some.”

Together, Danny and Cheri are working toward that goal by maximizing his remaining vision. Cheri helped him secure audio books so that he can listen to the Bible and sermons by his favorite preacher, John McArthur.

She taught him how to adjust the settings to make his computer screen easier to read and how to use his cell phone to its greatest potential. She is also helping Danny investigate available resources to acquire a magnifier and other useful tools.

“Cheri has been a great encouragement to me,” Danny says. “She goes the extra mile and encourages me not to give up.”

For Cheri, helping Danny is a privilege she does not take lightly. “When he came upon my accident, I have no doubt that he prayed for me, even though he didn’t realize it was me at the time,” she says. “He lifted me up then. Now, I get to help him continue to do what he loves—study the Bible and serve others.”