Oklahoma Baptists’ Todd Fisher ‘thankful for reminders’ brought by near-fatal car crash

OKLAHOMA CITY (BP) — For Todd Fisher, this Thanksgiving is measured in moments.

Those moments will be with family – starting with his wife of 30 years, Jamy, and children Zach, Carly and Anna. They will come when the turkey tastes a little better, when watching football Thursday afternoon with a full stomach is more enjoyable. They will be even more precious during the daily time of prayer and Scripture reading of Oklahoma Baptists’ executive director-treasurer.

There will be reminders on why this is so – the crutches he uses to walk, the metal plates and screws in each ankle, the future surgeries to go with the five he has already endured since a July 28 wreck nearly took his earthly life.

His battle

Like other Baptist state directors, Fisher’s calendar is dominated by speaking engagements. On July 28 he had left one at First Baptist Poteau on the eastern side of the state. Several days preaching at Indian Falls Creek was next on his schedule.

“I wasn’t too far away when I came to a turn in the road,” he said. “That’s when I was hit.”

Fisher didn’t have time to even press the brake as a car from the opposite direction struck the front driver-side quarter panel of his F-150 at highway speed. The collision delivered instant compound fractures to both ankles and a crushed tibia and fibula in his right foot. Compound fracture to his pelvis as well as upper left arm. Nine broken ribs, a cracked L5 vertebrae and collapsed lung.

“It was quite a scorecard,” Fisher told BP on Nov. 22.

He hadn’t spent a night in the hospital since he was born, but Fisher remained on the trauma floor of Oklahoma University’s Medical Center and then at the Oklahoma City Rehabilitation Hospital for the next 32 days. Nerve damage continues in his arm. More surgeries are expected on his right ankle.

On his third night in the hospital, Fisher had a dream.

As someone who interacts with church folks a lot, he’s had his share of people telling him of dreams. He’s cautious about what to say, respectful toward the speaker’s interpretation.

“I’m in my truck,” Fisher said. “I’m driving to a big city where no lights are on; it’s in total darkness. I drive deeper into the city and it gets darker and darker. Finally, the truck comes to a stop in an alley.

“Dark beings appear outside. They attempt to drag me out of the truck, saying I shouldn’t be alive and they’re going to finish what they started.”

He woke up with a gasp. Jamy, at his side, asked what was wrong. Fisher eventually went back to sleep and the dream started again. The dark beings were outside the truck again when things changed.

“Right at that moment, I knew Jesus was there,” Fisher said. “I never saw Him, but just knew.”

Throughout the year, a central part of Fisher’s talks with pastors and associational leaders was turning the battle over to God. In the dream he felt Jesus telling him it was time to put that belief into practice. Contrary to the dark whispers in his dream, Fisher wasn’t supposed to be dead.

“You don’t have to fight these things,” he heard Jesus say. “I’ll fight them for you.”

In his timing

As Fisher was driving to Falls Creek in July, two men he didn’t yet know were also getting on the road. Both are believers. A few minutes after leaving, one of them felt God telling him to go back and spend a few more minutes with his family and praying with them. The two left about 15 minutes later than originally intended.

The men ended up not far behind Fisher and were the first on the scene of the wreck that claimed the other driver.

“They cut my seat belt and got me out because they thought my truck was going to catch fire,” Fisher said. One told Fisher later he didn’t think Fisher was going to live, so the men knelt there and prayed.

The same man who felt God telling him to return and pray with his family heard the Lord again. The man on the ground in front of him had been used to tell many people about grace. God wanted this man – Fisher – to live and for the man kneeling to apply hard pressure with both hands to a spot on Fisher’s hip.

“Multiple medical professionals have told me that this act saved my life,” said Fisher.

He would later learn that the two men had relatives who are members of Immanuel Baptist Church in Shawnee, where Fisher served as pastor for many years, and were on the way to visit those relatives.

“I’m thankful that God was at work, even when I didn’t know or see it,” Fisher said. “Like Romans 8:28 says, He’s always at work for our good and His glory.”

His story

His family has helped him in the day-to-day ever since the accident. Zach became his de facto press secretary to handle all the correspondence from well-wishers and media. Jamy has become his chauffeur, nurse and cook among a myriad of other roles.

He knows the injuries could’ve been much worse.

“It has given me tremendous hope and encouragement,” he said. “God is fighting for me through all of this.”

It has been a reminder that Fisher’s life isn’t his own. This experience – as horrific as it may have been – is just part of his story.

“I pray it pulls others closer to Jesus,” he said. “I’m thankful for everything God has given me through this journey. There have been hard days filled with discouragement and fear.

“Overall, though, I see how God spared my life and there is so much to be thankful for.”