Meet the Real People Behind the Movie 'Breakthrough'

Joyce: Hi, my name is Joyce Smith, and I'm here today to share with you an amazing story about my son who, at 14 years old, fell through into icy water at Lake Sainte Louise in Lake St. Louis, Missouri, and drowned.

John: Hi, Guideposts. I'm John Smith. I'm from St. Charles, Missouri. On January 19, 2015, me and three of my friends fell in the lake at Lake Sainte Louise in Lake St. Louis, Missouri. The night before, we were just being regular teenagers, just having fun, eating pizza, playing video games. But we noticed that we got bored. We went to the local recreation park and there was a merry-go-round, and we wanted to see who would the first one was to throw up.

We got bored with that, and eventually we noticed that the lake was frozen. That doesn't happen in Missouri. So the three of us got a rock that only the three of us could bear, and we threw it on the lake. We noticed that it did not—it didn't do anything. It didn't go through. It kind of just stayed there. So eventually, we sat on the dock and put our feet on there and moved it back and forth. And then after that, we put our hands on the dock and put more body weight on the ice, until eventually all three of us ran on the ice sliding around, doing a little penguin on our belly, jumping up and down, listening to music, just having a good time.

We eventually went back to Josh Rieger's house, and we spent the night. The next morning, we had breakfast but we decided to bring Jamie Rieger with us, Josh Rieger's older sister. She was scared to go on the ice, so she stood on the dock. We were doing the same thing, just having a good time, until I got a phone call from my mom. So Mom was asking me if I wanted to go to the local recreational place to shoot hoops and get some gym time in. And of course, I said yes. So, she says, “I love you,” and I say, “I love you too, Mom.” And seconds later, I fell in the lake.

Me and Josh Rieger were about 25 or 50 feet out. We were away from shore. The ice consumed us, and as we were fighting, we were constantly screaming, “Call 911, call 911. I don't want to die. Call 911.”

The ice was cutting our skin. The water was burning. Jamie Rieger was panicking but, God bless her. She helped get the call in right away, and if it wasn't for her, I don't think we would have made unless the CA person who also made a phone call as well.

Just the constant of me pushing ice out for Josh Rieger so he could stay just a little bit more afloat. The three of us were brothers, and we do anything for each other. And the next thing I remember is just waking up in the hospital.

Joyce: Once I got the call from—you know, that they pulled John out of the lake, and he was without a heartbeat. You know, it's the call, as a parent, you never want to get. And so, when the doctors heard that I was coming in, for some reason, they decided that they were going to wait before they called time of death, which is something they normally don't do.

In fact, Alex had made the comment, had they called time of death before I got there, that it had been half hour, 45 minutes before they would have let me back to see John, and I would have never gotten this opportunity. So it was just one more time that God was coming in and setting things in motion for this miracle. They had given him eight doses of epinephrine. They had given him shock treatment to get his heart, and nothing, nothing they had done would work.

But I really believe this, that God was waiting until man had done everything they could possibly do, and that there was no doubt that when my son came back to life that it was God that brought him back. And so, when I prayed that prayer, all of a sudden she gets a pulse, and she was so stunned. She said, “I was just—I've been waiting for this, and it didn't come. It didn't come.” So when it came, she goes, “I have a pulse. I have a pulse. I have a pulse.” And then the other people that we're working with her said, “Yes, we're getting it too.”

John: It was truly a miracle. I didn't realize the extent of how great what God did for us was until a few months later, until I heard it—the whole process of it all going on. I didn't know the extent of it, I should say. And even to this day, we're still learning new pieces of the puzzle and new pieces that were added to this miraculous story.

The way I'm living right now is cherish every moment. Love your family. Every night before bed, I tell my dad I love him. He comes into my room, squeaks the little door open. He says, “I love you, son. Good night.” And I say, “I love you, Dad. I'll see you in the morning.” And every time I go out and give my mom a big hug and give her a kiss on the cheek.

Joyce: I've read many of the rescue stories that have been in Guideposts, and now, here we are as another one of their stories. So God is good. Come full circle.