10-Year-Old Boy Is in Recovery after Being Struck by Plane Debris while Protecting Little Sister
The little hero, Andre Howard, didn’t have time to think, only time to act. One moment, he was just a brother. The next, he was a protector. “Get down,” he told his little sister, and he shielded her, instinct moving faster than fear, faster than the metal that tore through the air and found him instead. A piece of the wreckage lodged into his head, the world spun, and everything went black.
His Father Heard the Words, “He Might Not Make It”
His father, Andre Sr., turned at the sound—the shatter of glass, the explosion of noise. And there was his boy, his son, his brave-hearted warrior with blood marking his face, metal pressed into his skull. The kind of image a father should never have to see, the kind of moment a father should never have to live. But even in the horror, there was mercy. A stranger—just someone passing by—ripped off his shirt, pressed it against the wound, held life in place until the paramedics came.
And then—then came the words no parent should ever hear. Doctors told them, “He might not make it.” And then another: “He might never walk.” But a father knows his son. A mother knows her child. They knew their Andre was made of something stronger than steel, something deeper than fear. And God? God knew, too.
Because tonight, Andre is not just breathing. He is fighting. He is moving. He is proving the impossible wrong, step by step. He is the living, breathing miracle of a child who stood between disaster and his sister and somehow survived the wreckage.
He’s a Hero for Protecting His Little Sister
His mother, Lashawn, whispers through tears, “He’s strong, he’s a superhero.” And she’s right. He’s the kind of hero who doesn’t wear capes but stitches the world back together with his courage. The kind of hero who faces down the dark and finds a way to stand in the light again.
His father looks at him, his voice thick with emotion. “He’s my hero,” he said. And isn’t that what love does? It stands in the gap. It shields. It sacrifices. It believes.
Maybe that’s the kind of love Jesus talked about—the laying-down-your-life kind. Maybe it’s not always about the big, sweeping gestures but about a ten-year-old boy who shouts “Get down” and takes the hit so someone else doesn’t have to. Maybe that’s what it means to love the way God loves.
Boys Stand in the Gap
So tonight, we hold our breath in the weight of it all—the brokenness, the miracle, the beauty wrapped in the ashes. We pray for Andre and his family. We pray because we know this world is a place where planes fall from the sky but also a place where boys stand in the gap and show us what love really means.
Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
WATCH: 10-Year-Old Boy Is in Recovery after Being Struck by Plane Debris while Protecting Little Sister
This content originally appeared on GodTube.com; used with permission.
Photo Credit: ©YouTube/6abc Philadelphia
Originally published February 19, 2025.
