A mother’s love has no bounds and there’s no time like a life-or-death situation to see the full extent of how far a parent will go to protect their child.
So much so, that in Jennifer Duncan’s case, she lost a limb, shattered multiple bones and damaged internal organs to save her son’s life.
As reported by TODAY, the 24-year-old mum was driving her 8-month-old son Xzavian (who goes by his middle name rather than his first, which is Daniel) to daycare when a car spun out of control, causing an accident on a bridge in the Texan town of Waco in May last year.
In what can only be described as a freakishly tragic turn of events, a separate accident occurred on the bridge after Ms Duncan’s incident, with a truck consequently hurtling towards the mum and bub, who were standing on the side of the road.
Shockingly, Ms Duncan and Xzavian were knocked off the bridge, plummeting nine metres on to concrete below.
Ms Duncan was hailed a hero for how she protected her son, bringing her knees up around his body, cradling him tightly, her hands around his head.
Xzavian was only left with a scratch on his head. However, Ms Duncan’s leg had severed from the crash, her other leg and pelvis were in pieces. She also broke nine bones in her back, fractured ribs and damaged internal organs.
Ms Duncan was forced to spend three months in hospital and rehabilitation, and has undergone countless surgeries.
And while she is mostly restricted to a wheelchair, the young mum is learning to walk and be mobile again – something she says is all for her son.
“I want to be able to walk with my son. That’s my major goal,” she tells TODAY.
“I definitely need to catch up with him,” Duncan said. “He is my number-one motivation. I see how he looks at me and how he wants me to play with him.”
Here’s wishing the stoic mum all the best on her road to recovery and mobility.
