ATLANTA (WSVN) — A Georgia teenager is sharing his survival story after a tornado sucked him out of his second story window and threw him hundreds of feet in the air.
Malachi Chaney spent his 19th birthday in the intensive care unit. Days later, he can hardly believe he is able to walk and talk.
“I’m still in shock at how fast I recovered,” he said. “It’s a blessing from God, honestly, that I’m still here.”
Malachi doesn’t remember anything about the storm that almost took his life.
“I don’t remember that tornado hitting me, and I don’t remember that week, or my two weeks at Grady [Hospital]. I don’t remember any of that,” he said.
The tornado threw Malachi hundreds of feet into the air back in late May, leaving him in a field behind his home in Atlanta. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, broken ribs and a punctured lung.
Malachi said he woke up confused, unaware of how close he came to death.
“I thought I was having a bad dream, just a blessing that I’m living, and still, you know, get up and watch TV and eat breakfast food and all of that,” he said.
The teenager is thinking about next steps, including a visit to his home to see what’s left.
“I do want to see it in person, just to look at the – look at it in awe, in a way, just like, ‘Dang, so this really did happen.’ Yeah,” he said.
Malachi shared his plans, including a return to college to master his passion of acting.
“Just getting back to Savannah, and getting back to acting, my love.” said Malachi. “Getting my PlayStation back; my PlayStation was destroyed.”
He also hopes to receive a visit from Shaquille O’Neal, who made him a video following the disaster.
“I was pretty starstruck, seeing that message from Shaq, saying like, ‘Uncle Shaq,'” said Malachi.
Malachi’s dad, actor Tray Chaney, was also hit by the tornado.
“Thinking of the image of my dad crawling out beneath the house and then just shouting my name.” said Malachi.
While Malachi still has to recover, his dad said they are already living a miracle.
“To see him now, walking with his neck brace, talking, all the beautiful things that the Shepherd Center did for our son,” said Tray. “Grady Hospital saving our son’s life, getting him prepared to come to Shepherd, it’s a blessing from God.”
Malachi continues to undergo treatment from a program that helps brain injury patients get back to independent life.
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