ROCKINGHAM — Christian Liles believes in the power of prayer.
She credits prayers from the community for the quick recovery of her toddler son, Langston Culbreth, after being struck in the head by a baseball on April 30.
Liles said she was holding her son, sitting at a picnic table on the third-base line during the April 30 game between the Richmond Senior High School Raiders and the Pinecrest Patriots when a line drive from a Pinecrest player struck little Langston in the left ear.
“I never saw the ball coming,” she said.
The game immediately came to a halt, according to RO Sports Editor Kyle Pillar: “No one could move.”
Liles recalls Landon Cowick, assistant coach for the JV team, rushing to her and saying, “With me now!” She said Cowick “got us where we needed to be” — into a squad car with Resource Officer Tony Little and on the way to the hospital.
Langston, nearly 18 months old, was diagnosed with a skull fracture and brain bleed and was taken to UNC Children’s Hospital in Chapel Hill.
However, just two days later on May 2, Liles posted to social media that Langston was being released.
According to Liles, hundreds of Richmond County residents reached out to check on Langston, as well as a JV coach with Pinecrest. The player who hit the ball sent flowers, she said.
“There have been some prayers prayed over his little life that made a huge difference,” she told the RO. “I appreciate all the prayers and support from everyone.”
Although there are still several follow-up appointments, Liles said there are currently no developmental issues expected from Langston’s injuries and there are no restrictions on what he can do.
“Miraculously, he is … walking, talking, playing — all the things he was doing before.”
