12-Year-Old Boy Nearly Died After Being Hit by a Truck Trying to Save His Dog — Now He's a Paintball Champion

• Grayson Manning, 12, was hit by a truck in June while trying to save his puppy
• His mother tells PEOPLE she was “convinced he wasn’t going to survive” after she was hit
• In November, the boy returned to his competitive paintball team and won the World Cup Championship

Less than a year after Grayson Manning was hit and nearly killed by a truck while trying to save his dog, a 12-year-old Louisiana boy has returned to competitive paintball — and his team recently won a World Cup championship.

Manning was unloading his gear with his mother around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, June 16, when his six-month-old Great Dane puppy, Muffin, ran into the road at their home in Slidell, La. The boy sprang into action, running at road, when a black RAM truck ran into him.

His mother, Mindy McConnell, principal of an alternative high school in New Orleans, says she thought her son “died on impact” when he was hit. “It looked like he was dead,” she tells PEOPLE.

McConnell remembers how strangers stopped on the road to pray for the boy before he was rushed to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans after a police officer assured the distraught mother that her son was still alive.

“I was convinced that it wouldn’t work,” she remembers. “I saw what happened and I didn’t think anyone could survive that.”

Grayson Manning in the hospital after being hit by a truck.

Mindy McConnell

At the hospital, surgeons inserted a shunt to control the swelling in Manning’s brain and treat his multiple injuries. His lungs collapsed, his jaw was shattered, his eye was trapped, his pelvis was broken in two places, his collarbone was broken and he needed a feeding tube.

The boy was in a coma for nine days.

Doctors were also concerned Manning suffered a spinal cord injury when his head blackened, snapping his neck, during the impact. There was also concern that the boy would never walk or talk again, his mom tells PEOPLE.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date with the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Churches across the country put Manning on prayer lists and sent blankets and cards. He had visitors at the hospital every day, including his paintball coach, Matt Hodges, who visited him often, and his mother read the thousands of messages people posted on Facebook.

“I think that makes a difference in healing, just constantly hearing people rooting for you and people caring,” his mom says. “I think the strength of the community and prayer saved him. I’m not even a religious person, but there’s just no other explanation.”

Grayson Manning in the hospital.

Mindy McConnell

And on July 9, McConnell says she told her son, “I love you,” and he responded with his first word after the accident — “Love.”

Two days later, Manning was talking non-stop. “It was amazing,” says his mom.

Ohio wrestler, 19, killed in car crash: ‘Heartbreaking start to 2025,’ says coach

Determined to play paintball again, Manning kept asking doctors when he would be able to walk. The boy was told he couldn’t even try until his hip healed, but on June 30 he was able to get out of his wheelchair with help.

Manning was released from the hospital on August 30, and two days later he was back on the paintball field and able to shoot his paintball gun.

“Grayson has a very aggressive mindset, I want to win no matter what – he’s a very good player. He’s not afraid,” says 39-year-old Hodges. “A lot of kids his age are shy on the field – Grayson is not shy at all.”

Grayson Manning with the world championship in paintball.

Mindy McConnell

By mid-September — against medical advice — his mother adds, he was back on the field playing paintball. In those first games, his teammates did not shoot back, but at the beginning of October he played paintball again.

Determined to play in the World Paintball Championship in Orlando in November over Veterans Day weekend, Manning “wouldn’t take no for an answer” when his mom told him he wouldn’t be able to compete until the new year. “He said, ‘No, I’m playing,'” she recalls.

“It’s really fun,” the boy tells PEOPLE while playing paintball.

Fla. youth football coach. dies in crane accident 3 weeks after teenage daughter dies of cancer: ‘Send prayers’

On Sunday, November 10, the competitive paintball team he played with for three years won the championship.

“It was like a movie,” says his mother. “He was moving his body in a way he hadn’t since the accident. He dived, slid, ran. He didn’t do that.”

Grayson Manning at the World Youth Paintball Cup Final.

Mindy McConnell

“It’s just unbelievable,” Hodges says of Manning’s resilience and determination. “I knew deep down that he was going to come back, somehow, some way – and I’m extremely proud of him and impressed with his drive.”

While the sixth-grader hasn’t yet returned to regular classes — he still doesn’t have his short-term memory — Manning’s now-one-year-old Great Dane is training to be a service dog, learning how to squeeze the boy when anxiety attacks him.

Grayson Manning and his dog Muffin.

Mindy McConnell

He goes to school for half a day for individual tutoring, and in the afternoon he has a speech to work on memory, as well as occupation and physical therapy. He sometimes complains of pain in his hips. “I just give it a little time and then it goes away,” she tells PEOPLE.

Even though the season is over, Manning and his team are still practicing, according to his coach, noting that he worked with him as recently as last weekend.

“He’s going to continue to get better — I’ve told him many times that paintball is the best physical therapy he can get — because that’s exactly what a kid wants to do and does his best when he’s out there playing,” Hodges says. “It was really, really impressive to see what he did. And I think he’s going to keep getting better and continue to shock us all.”

As the family continues to recover, his mother says, “I know he’s going to continue to get stronger. I’m thankful for life. I have so much to be thankful for.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education