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SALT LAKE CITY — What began as a sentimental family vacation on Italy's Amalfi Coast turned into a nightmare for a young Utah mother — and a journey of faith, resilience and recovery.
Miranda Preston and her husband, Isaac Preston, had traveled to Italy to celebrate his graduation from medical school. With a narrow window before Isaac Preston began his residency, the couple brought along their two toddlers and Miranda Preston's parents for what they hoped would be a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
But just days into the vacation, tragedy struck.
"We were trying to recreate a memory," Miranda Preston said, referencing a cherished moment from 20 years ago when her older sister, who later passed away from cancer, had ridden a moped with their father along the same coastal road. "They said it was just the most memorable thing."
Moments after filming a video on a Vespa, she and her father crashed.
"I have a split-second right before I hit the wall," Miranda Preston recalled.
The crash left her with a broken spine, fractured ribs, a brain bleed, liver lacerations and several knocked-out teeth.
The couple, unfamiliar with the area and unable to speak Italian, found themselves in a terrifying situation.
"We got a phone call from Miranda's dad. He was very confused," Isaac Preston said. "Then the police got on the phone, was yelling at us in Italian to go to this hospital."
Back in the U.S., friends reached out to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A senior missionary couple from Utah, fluent in Italian, arrived at the hospital to help.
"Me and Elder Montanelli gave her a blessing that night," Isaac Preston said.
Isaac Preston described the night apart from his wife as one of the hardest of his life.
"I literally, when I got back to the hotel, me and my mother-in-law just bawled," he said.
After four days in the hospital, Miranda Preston was moved to an Airbnb as plans were made to bring her home. Her parents flew back to the U.S. with the couple's 1- and 2-year-old sons.
In the days that followed, the Prestons said they witnessed miracle after miracle.
"I just feel like God's hand is so involved in every detail of our lives," Isaac Preston said.
Miranda Preston added, "I felt completely surrounded by angels."
This week, she was finally reunited with her children — a moment filled with emotion and gratitude.
"I'm just filled with gratitude for it. God is good," she said.
Now back in the U.S., the Prestons have moved into a fixer-upper in Texas, just in time for Isaac Preston to begin his medical residency. They said they are overwhelmed with gratitude for the financial help, prayers and support from friends, family and strangers alike.
"We couldn't have done this without the army of people who lifted us up," Isaac Preston said.
