By Brandon Shulleeta From Richmond Times-Dispatch

How to donate

To help with Harrison Zierenberg’s medical expenses, visit www.gofundme.com/rm6xv6x6x

Four days after her 16-year-old son was hit by a van, a Midlothian mother stood along a 40 mph road in the Cayman Islands as cars whizzed by the spot where his blood still stained the pavement.

She was struggling to process what had transpired there April 6, the day Harrison Zierenberg was left on the verge of death or a state of vegetation, she recalls.

He had become the most recent pedestrian struck on West Bay Road on the island of Grand Cayman. Officials had long contemplated changes to improve safety on that stretch of road but had not acted before Harrison was hit.

The speed limit has since been reduced to 30 mph, and a crosswalk has been added in that area of the road. That stretch is often crossed by vacationers, many of whom are Americans accustomed to vehicles driving on the right side of the road instead of the left.

As for Harrison, he has made an odds-defying recovery. He is as articulate and funny as he was before the accident, and hoping to teach himself how to walk again.

But four days after the van’s side-view mirror struck Harrison’s head and severely cracked his skull, as Lee Ann Zierenberg stood roadside at the scene of the accident, the mother was fearing that he might die and was preparing to tell him goodbye.

“I had to say goodbye. I didn’t know if I was going to see him again,” the mother of three said in a recent interview.

“And I’m sitting there staring at the blood spot, and I just start praying,” she said. “And honestly, as I was praying, I felt like God was telling me, ‘I saved him. I saved him. I was there.’ ”

Sitting in a den in his family’s Midlothian home this month, Harrison said getting hit by a van and almost dying “sucks.”

But he spent most of the interview saying that he’s progressing every day and is grateful for his life and what has become an onslaught of community support.

“I’ll use this for my college essay,” he said with a chuckle. “That’s what I’ve gotten out of this, is my college essay. It’s worth it.”

Harrison said he’s confident he will be able to walk again, having already made great strides and undergoing intense therapy using a walker.

Now 17, Harrison had been a standout lacrosse player for James River High School and a high achiever in a program for advanced students. He said he’s cognitively back to his former self, but with a new appreciation for life, and he’s determined to make a physical recovery, too. In addition to trying to regain control of his movements and improve his strength, his voice is still weak and he can’t taste food, though he expects those challenges to be temporary.

The last thing Harrison remembered when he woke up weeks after the accident was watching a televised college basketball game in the Cayman Islands. He had no recollection of walking to a store to buy bottled water just before getting hit by the van as he crossed the road on his way back to the resort where he and his family were staying.

It happened about 9 p.m. on April 6, and the 67-year-old driver who struck him had been arrested and charged with dangerous driving but was released pending the outcome of what has been a prolonged investigation, according to authorities.

His mother said those near the scene had assumed Harrison was dead when he was hit. Still alive, he remained on the verge of death for days after being rushed to a neurosurgeon. Even then, there was so much swelling in his brain that doctors weren’t sure whether he would ever be able to recognize his loved ones, much less be able to move, Zierenberg said.

But gradually his body started coming back to life.

During the upcoming academic year, when he will be a junior, he plans to do some schoolwork at home and some in school. And he said he’s confident he can recover from the accident and become a better person.

“God — he’s helped me get through this for sure. I mean, there’s no doubt about it,” said Harrison, who lost his father to a vehicle accident years ago. “I still pray every night. I just ask him for his help. But I keep telling myself, if nothing happens, if I stay where I am, at least I’m alive.”

His mother added: “Every neurosurgeon tells us: ‘There’s no reason why he should be alive. He shouldn’t have survived that.’ ”

But she said she believes God must have intervened, adding that they were fortunate Harrison has been under great medical care.

Zierenberg said she hopes to go back to the Cayman Islands one day.

“I do want to go back and celebrate when he can swim and run and walk. We’re going to go back as a family, and we’re going to have our vacation,” she said.

Harrison said he’s thankful for the seemingly endless encouragement he has received. A “Harrison Strong” support and fundraising campaign has been a powerful success.

And he has advice for others: “Be thankful for what you have.”

IMAGES: P. KEVIN MORLEY TIMES-DISPATCH

Harrison Zierenberg, 17, talks with his mother, Lee Ann Zierenberg, in their Chesterfield home. Harrison is recovering after being hit by a van while on family vacation in the Cayman Islands in April. He suffered severe head trauma. He is undergoing physical therapy and is learning how to walk again. He is a rising junior at James River High School. The family dog, Zooey, stays closer to Harrison since his accident. Aug. 13, 2015.

Lee Ann Zierenberg helps her son, Harrison Zierenberg, 17, exercise with his walker in their Chesterfield home. Harrison was struck by a van while on a family vacation in the Cayman Islands in April. He suffered severe head trauma. He is undergoing physical therapy and is learning how to walk again. He is a rising junior at James River High School. Aug. 13, 2015.

For more on this story and video go to: http://www.richmond.com/news/local/article_da1d3587-0002-5ef7-aa3f-b47eddc87895.html