“Coop’s Story, God’s Glory”: Family Holds to Faith After Life-Changing Diving Accident

By: Nora Almazan

There are moments that divide life into before and after. For Cooper Boydstun and his family, that moment came at their home in Macon, during something Cooper had done countless times before. He dove into the family swimming pool.

This time, however, the water level was lower than usual. With floats covering portions of the pool, Cooper misjudged the depth. In an instant, the husband and father of two suffered a devastating C6 fracture in his neck. Cooper couldn't walk. He couldn't feel his legs.

His wife, Nicollette—known to most as Nic—called 911, and Cooper was airlifted from their home to Grady Hospital in Atlanta. What followed was emergency surgery, an ICU stay, frightening conversations about an uncertain future and, for a family grounded deeply in faith, a decision about how they would face whatever came next.

They would pray. They would believe. And they would trust God with the outcome.

Their message has become simple: “Coop’s story, God’s glory.”

A Life Changed in Seconds

During emergency surgery, doctors removed broken pieces from Cooper's injured cervical spine and placed a cage and plate to stabilize the area. His spinal cord was damaged, but it was not torn.

There were encouraging signs from the beginning. Cooper had movement in his hands and sensation in his chest. But there were no promises.

Nic said the doctor explained that he had seen people with this type of injury make remarkable recoveries. He had also treated people who never walked again. Only time would reveal what Cooper's recovery would look like.

After his time in intensive care, Cooper was accepted into Shepherd Center, where he is now undergoing intensive rehabilitation and physical therapy. And slowly, there are victories.

Cooper is no longer dependent on tube feeding. His swallow test went so well that he was able to skip pureed foods and move to solid food. Most of his fingers are moving well. He can play catch with his 6-year-old son, Bridges, more easily now. He particularly enjoys “garden time,” when he can sit outside in his wheelchair and feel the sunshine.

His family says Cooper is pouring everything he has into therapy, even when the effort leaves him completely exhausted at the end of the day. And Cooper's sense of humor has survived intact. “Breaking your neck isn't all it's cracked up to be,” he joked.

A Love Story That Became a Faith Story

To understand how Cooper and Nic are walking through this valley, however, you have to go back years before the accident. The couple met at Young Harris College before Cooper later transferred to Georgia College & State University. Nic remembers Cooper as one of the nicest people she had ever encountered.

But spiritually, the two were in very different places. Nic's faith in Jesus Christ was central to her life. Cooper struggled with faith and doubt and, during a particularly difficult period, sometimes described himself as an atheist. As their relationship grew, however, something began to change.

During the year they dated, Cooper came to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Nic says Cooper's mother and the people around him continued encouraging him with Scripture during some of his darkest days. 

On November 23, 2013, Cooper proposed. Nic said yes for a reason she remembers clearly all these years later. She had never met anyone, she said, who acted more like Jesus than Cooper.

Even before professing faith himself, Cooper was constantly putting other people before himself—serving, sacrificing and caring for those around him. Nic believed he would become an extraordinary husband and, someday, an extraordinary father. She says she was right.

Today, Cooper and Nic are parents to Bridges, 6, and Primrose, 3.

“The Reward Is Worth the Wait”

The Boydstuns have a family motto: “The reward is worth the wait.”

Those words weren't born from Cooper's accident. They had already learned to live them.

Before welcoming their children, Cooper and Nic endured two miscarriages and faced the painful uncertainty of whether they would ever become parents. Then came Bridges and Primrose.

For Nic, their children became reminders of something she believes God has shown their family repeatedly: He can make a way when there appears to be no way.

Now they are clinging to those words again. This time, the waiting involves Cooper's spinal cord, his rehabilitation and questions no one can answer yet. But Nic says their faith isn't dependent upon getting the answer they want.

Jesus, she says, never promised that life on earth would be free of trouble. He promised to walk through those troubles with them. “He is for us. He is with us,” she said.

If One Person Finds Jesus

Long before the accident, Cooper and Nic had prayed that God would use their lives to lead other people to Him. They never imagined it might happen this way. But Nic says that if even one person finds Jesus because of what their family is walking through, this valley will have purpose.

For her, that is ultimately why they are here—to point others toward the One they believe can save them. She also has a message for the person who wonders whether God sees your suffering. He does, she says.

She wants people who feel forgotten by God to know that His heart hurts with theirs, that His love is greater than they can comprehend and that He remains with them even in the darkest places.

“His Heart, As Always, Overflows”

For now, the Boydstuns are living in increments:

A finger moves.

A swallow test goes well.

Solid food replaces a feeding tube.

A father catches a ball with his little boy.

A wheelchair rolls outside into the sunshine.

And a mother gets to hear her son's voice and see his smile.

Cooper's mother, Jennifer Boydstun, perhaps captured the significance of those seemingly ordinary things best.

“It is such a joy to see Cooper ‘back,’” she said. “I honestly haven't thought about much besides how amazing it is to see his smile and have a conversation.”

There is still no feeling in Cooper's legs, and there are still enormous unknowns ahead. But Jennifer sees something an injury to the spinal cord couldn't touch.

“His legs may not have feeling yet,” she said, “but his heart, as always, overflows.”

And so the Boydstuns keep going.

Cooper goes to therapy and gives everything he has. Nic stays beside the man she once chose because she saw in him the heart of Jesus. Bridges gets a little better at playing catch with his dad. Primrose still has her daddy to snuggle and sing her favorite song with.

And a family that once prayed for God to use their lives is trusting Him to use even this.

The reward is worth the wait.

Coop’s story. God’s glory.

If you would like to make a donation to help support the Boydstun Family, here is a link at https://www.supportnow.org/the-boydstun-family