Wayne Broughton, Sr., grew up in New Jersey, one of 18 children. In 2015, he moved to Florida for work that didn’t pan out. So, he enrolled in classes to become a licensed HVAC professional.

Things got bad Valentine’s Day 2015. A fight with his girlfriend, who lives in the Atlanta area, left him hurting. He went out with friends to drink and do drugs. But that didn’t take away the pain. While watching a train go by, he stepped into it.

Broughton was able to put together the time line while in the hospital. He had lain by the tracks for six hours before the sun came up and someone found him. He doesn’t know who called 911, but it saved his life—as did the EMTs who were able to resuscitate him. After blood transfusions and three or four days in a coma, he survived. While nursing six broken ribs, the doctors had to remove his severed right leg below the calf and use rods and pins below the shoulder to put his left arm back together.

“God was saying to me that I had all reasons to live; I didn’t have the right to take my life. It wasn’t his plan,” he said.

His grades were high, so the HVAC training school forgave the time off and allowed him to graduate with his class. “I finished near the top of my class. But then I was stuck. Busted up and no way to get experience in the field.”

Confined to a wheelchair, Broughton couldn’t get the assistance he needed in Florida. So he moved to Georgia just before Thanksgiving 2015 and started seeing his girlfriend again. He stayed in a hotel for a while, but then ran out of money.

“That’s when I met Lee Hampton who gave me hope I could find housing,” Broughton said. “I wanted to get better. And Mercy Care opened the door.”

Hampton, Mercy Care’s case management coordinator, connected Broughton to primary care and behavioral health specialists at Mercy Care and was able to get him temporary housing at Clifton Sanctuary Ministries. Eventually, Hampton secured him an interview with O’Hern House where Broughton articulated his fears and needs perfectly and secured the permanent housing he needed to continue to get better.

Mercy Care helped Broughton manage his depression and trauma from the accident. He now can see better with glasses and eat healthy again with teeth. When he was given an electric wheel chair, Mercy Care provided the battery. A referral from Mercy Care to First Step led to supplemental security income, and Mercy Care helped him sign up for Medicaid which led to a prosthetic leg.

“After 22 months in a wheel chair, Mercy Care arranged for physical therapy so I could walk again,” he said. “They provide all my primary care needs.”

After living at the O’Hern House for almost a year, Broughton bought his girlfriend a ring, asked her to marry him and moved in with her.

“I’m still learning to listen to God’s plans for me. But that’s okay, life is a journey. I still make life harder on myself sometimes with the decisions I make, like getting back together with the girlfriend I nearly gave up my life for.”

After six months, the relationship ended leaving Broughton homeless again. But, Mercy Care was able to get him temporary housing in its Recuperative Care program while working to find him something permanent. He talks often to his daughter, two sons and siblings who live in New Jersey. He has no family here in Georgia. But, he has Mercy Care. “I feel like family when I walk into the clinic,” Broughton said. “They know I’m continually trying to improve my life, and they open their arms. I am so grateful.”

“I’m up and coming,” Broughton said. “Not shining yet, but I’m getting polished.”