I just remember holding his hand that first night, and it was so warm, and I couldn’t help but think, ‘He is here right now, and he’s alive,’ and I was just so thankful that I even had that little small moment to just hold his hand, even if it was just for one more night. I was able to hold his hand and just tell him how much I loved him and how proud I was of him and how lucky I was to be his sister. – Autumn Shipp
“No, things aren’t OK.”
That phrase shook 20-year-old Autumn Shipp’s world. She was in her third semester at the University of Utah, where she was a softball player on scholarship, but in early November 2014, her dad said those four words, and her life changed.
Initially, the accident seemed minor. Her brother, Britton, had fallen off an all-terrain vehicle in the Pine Valley Mountains in southern Utah and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. Based on the report Autumn's mother received, the injuries didn’t seem serious. When Autumn didn’t hear back from her mom for a while, she called to check in. That’s when she heard her dad’s voice say, “No, things aren’t OK.”
Before his accident on Nov. 1, 2014, 16-year-old Britton loved sports and played football, baseball and basketball. His mother describes him as “a good boy.”
“He’s just a loyal friend and a great athlete,” said Britton's dad, Jesse Shipp, expounding on his wife’s words. “He’s kind. He’s quiet. He’s humble. He’s got a really strong testimony of the church. He’s just a good boy. … He’s a boy you would want your boy, your son, to be a friend with and hang out with.”
Autumn and Britton have two younger brothers, Greyson and Ledger. According to Autumn, they are “normal siblings.” They’ve gone through stages where they annoyed each other, Autumn bugs Britton about dates while he keeps details to himself, and they both live for sports. Autumn and Britton have taken turns being there for each other after athletic losses and are each other’s biggest fans.
“I just remember there would be nights where I’d be crying in my room, and Britton would come in my room, and he’d be like, ‘It’s OK, you’re going to be OK. You just had one bad game, and you’ll get ’em next time,' ” Autumn said. “And then there would be times when Britt would be in his room crying with the door locked, and I would just sit there and knock until he opened it.”
Autumn is still Britton’s biggest fan, but she is now cheering him on in something more important than baseball. She’s rooting for him as he fights for his life.
Britton suffered a traumatic brain injury and is in the Southern Utah Neurological Acute Rehabilitation Unit in St. George in a semi-coma state.
The Shipp family considers it a miracle that he is still alive. Prior to a school Sadie Hawkins dance, Britton and his date were on an ATV, racing for cover as it began to hail. The ATV hydroplaned, and both Britton and his date, 15-year-old Cassidy Otteson, were thrown off the ATV. Despite being injured herself (she has since recovered), Otteson saw that Britton's head was bleeding and that he was struggling to breathe, so she turned him on his side to clear his mouth and airways. Another man just happened to drive by and helped them call 911.
“As bad as the circumstances were and as terrible as it was, everything happened so perfectly, and it all just lined up so perfectly,” Autumn said. “It’s hard not to look back on that day and say, ‘OK, there was a bigger plan.’ ”
It is faith in that plan that has helped the Shipps, who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, make it through the last 90 days. Although Britton was unresponsive for days, he is now communicating through hand motions and body language. The doctors remain unsure as to what kind of recovery can be expected. The family's hope is born of a belief that this life is just a small piece of that plan.
“It all stems from the knowledge that my family and I have that it’s not just all about this life but that we knew what we were coming down here to do before we even came here, and we accepted that," Autumn said. "We try to do the best we can while we’re here, and there’s going to be a time again when our bodies are all perfected, and we’re all together again for eternity, and that’s the end goal, that’s where we want to get.”
Still, Autumn and her family are grateful Britton is still with them in this life. They are uncertain what the future holds, but they know they are blessed to have him.
“I just remember holding his hand that first night, and it was so warm, and I couldn’t help but think, ‘He is here right now, and he’s alive,’ and I was just so thankful that I even had that little small moment to just hold his hand, even if it was just for one more night," Autumn Shipp said. "I was able to hold his hand and just tell him how much I loved him and how proud I was of him and how lucky I was to be his sister.”
Shortly after the accident, Autumn created a blog, hoping that even if few people read it, Britton would someday be able to look back and see all that he has gone through. Just three short months later, the blog has been viewed over 5 million times.
“I type my feelings, and that’s exactly how I feel,” Autumn said. “But I think the majority of the time it is healing even if it is hard at first. So it’s a way for me to bear testimony of what I believe and what my family goes through every day and what Britt goes through every day. And when hard things happen, there’s a way to get through them, and there’s a way to get through them well.”
The blog’s page views are just one indication of the love and support the Shipp family has received. An entire community has rallied around the Shipp family, and you can’t spend a day in Santa Clara, Utah, without seeing “Believe for Britton” printed on something. Autumn’s blog has led people all over the world to follow Britton’s story and offer prayers for him.
Recently, Autumn faced a big decision. Having worked her entire life to achieve her dream of being an intercollegiate athlete, she had to decide whether she should return to the University of Utah for her sophomore season or stay with Britton and her family. With the support of her team and coaches, she decided that being with her family and with Britton is most important to her now.
“I just know Britt would do the same thing for me,” Autumn said. “And I feel like, you know, I don’t want to miss out on this miracle that’s going to happen with him. So I’m going to be here because it takes every single one of us. … I feel like each one of us plays a role, and that role is so important. … This is where I need to be and where I want to be.”
Jesse and Sommer Shipp are proud of their daughter's decision and said a recent comment from an older man who came to visit Britton in the hospital best summarizes Britton and Autumn's relationship. He said, “I don’t think in all my 80 years I’ve ever seen a greater missionary than your boy Britton in there lying on that bed, and I’ve never met a greater companion than his sister.”
Through the blog, Autumn has been able to share Britton's triumphs and explain the tenets of the LDS faith that have helped them face this trial with hope.
“It’s a story about tragedy and triumph and faith,” Jesse Shipp said. “And what a missionary he is lying in there, and what a great missionary he has been, … and what a companion she’s been to tell his story and to tell her testimony of faith and her testimony of love.”
The outcome of Britton's story remains unwritten. Doctors have explained that he may never be the same, but Autumn has deliberately chosen not to read any information about traumatic brain injuries. She hasn’t researched similar cases. She hasn’t asked many questions. She says she doesn’t care what is normal because she believes her brother is not normal. He’s special.
“As his sister, I feel like it’s my responsibility to believe that he’s capable of anything,” Autumn said. “I believe that my brother is going to make an incredible recovery, and he’s going to come back to us the same way he was when he got in the accident. It is really unrealistic, and it’s probably crazy, but I don’t care. That’s what my hope is. My hope is that he’ll defy the odds of what’s supposed to be, and he’ll be a miracle — a huge miracle, more than he already has been.”
A Go Fund Me account for Britton can be found by clicking here.
Email: mjones@deseretdigital.com