ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 27, 1996 TAG: 9612270072
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SUFFOLK
SOURCE: SONJA BARISIC ASSOCIATED PRESS
DOCTORS SUGGESTED the family read books to her and play music that she liked, because it is believed that people in a coma can hear things around them.
For 12 days, Heather Harcum's parents helplessly stood by as the 9-year-old lay in a coma from head injuries she suffered in a car crash.
Then, her mother played a tape of Heather's favorite song, ``Angels Among Us,'' performed by the country group Alabama - and Heather awoke.
``When it came on, she started crying, which we always did when we heard that song,'' Penny Harcum, 30, of Suffolk, said in an interview. ``That clued me in that she knew what was going on.
``I crawled in bed with her, told her `I love you,' and asked her to tell me `I love you' back. She did. I asked her to say it again because her voice was muffled, and she did.''
Penny Harcum, who had been leaning over her daughter, was so startled that she nearly fell on top of her. ``I just started bawling,'' she said.
Heather's doctors said she had been making slow and steady gains, but a major step had been accomplished when Penny Harcum played the song.
``The first time the little girl said a whole sentence that made sense was when she listened to the little song,'' said Dr. Jean Shelton, director of rehabilitation services at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk.
Penny Harcum was driving home from Christmas shopping Nov.30 when her car was involved in an accident with two other cars. She declined to discuss details of the crash.
She and her younger daughter, Holly, 6, were not injured in the crash. But the force of the impact caused some bruising or swelling and hemorrhaging on Heather's brain, leaving the girl in a coma.
Doctors couldn't tell the family how long Heather might be comatose. They suggested the family read books to her and play music that she liked, because it is believed that people in a coma can hear things around them.
Penny Harcum thought Heather would like to hear the song, which always made Heather, Holly and Penny Harcum cry because it reminded them of deceased relatives. She went home and fetched the tape, which had been tucked in Heather's Christmas stocking.
``When Mommy played the song, I woke up and started crying,'' Heather said. ``I think it's a pretty song.
``It reminds me of my great-grandfather. When he died, my Aunt Sherry was with him,'' she said, her voice trailing off.
The song, about angels coming down to Earth ``in our darkest hours to teach us how to live,'' was released shortly after Heather's great-grandfather died about a year ago.
Heather thinks Aunt Sherry - Penny Harcum's sister, who died at 17 - was an angel watching over her great-grandfather on his deathbed, Penny Harcum said.
``I told her, `Evidently you also had an angel watching over you,''' Penny Harcum said.
Heather awoke Dec.12, but remained in the hospital until last Friday while doctors performed tests. She has some short-term memory loss and coordination problems, and tires easily, but otherwise is doing well.
Heather will undergo outpatient therapy and stay home from school for about a month until she gets stronger.
On. Feb. 2, the Harcum family, including father Jim, will go to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to see their first Alabama concert.
The front-row tickets were donated by two members of Alabama's fan club, Lynn Knight of Chesapeake and Angie Walker of Portsmouth, who had heard about Heather's story. WGH-FM, a country music station in Virginia Beach, will pay for the hotel stay.
'Angels Among Us'
The lyrics to ``Angels Among Us,'' performed by Alabama and written by Becky Hobbs and Don Goodman:
I was walking home from
school
on a cold winter day
took a short cut through the
woods
and I lost my way
it was getting late
and I was scared and alone
then a kind old man
took my hand and led me
home
Momma couldn't see him
but he was standing there
I knew in my heart
he was the answer to my
prayer
Oh, I believe there are angels
among us
sent down to us from
somewhere up above
they come to you and me in
our darkest hours
to show us how to live
to teach us how to give
to guide us with a light of love
When life held troubled times
and had me down on my
knees
there's always been someone
to come along and comfort
me
a kind word from a stranger
to lend a helping hand
a phone call from a friend
just to say ``I understand''
Ain't it kind of funny
at the dark end of the road
someone lights the way with
a single ray of hope
They wear so many faces
show up in the strangest
places
grace us with their mercies
in our time of need
Used with permission from RCA Records, Beckaroo Music and Richville Music.
LENGTH: Long : 129 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Heatherby CNB