Two months ago, Slayton Maness’ family and friends were unsure if he would get to see 2012.

The Robbins Elementary School third-grader was critically injured Nov. 3 when a pickup truck strick him as he was crossing North Moore Road to board a school bus.

The bus had activated its flashing lights, was slowing to a stop but had yet to deploy its stop sign when Slayton left his driveway to cross the road and was struck by the truck driven by Billy Joe Binkley, 60, of Bonlee. State Highway Patrol troopers did not charge Binkley after an investigation found that he was not exceeding the 55 mph speed limit at the time of the accident.

Slayton suffered breaks and fractures in his neck, ribs, pelvis, ankle and left hand. He also experienced severe head trauma and suffered a stroke at some point after the vehicle struck him.

He was airlifted to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill after the accident, where he remained until Nov. 18, before being transfered to a rehabilitation center in Charlotte.

Now, Slayton and his parents, Karen and Jonathan Maness, are back home in Moore County, and though life is far from normal, the family continues to see great improvements in his health.

Karen Maness, who witnessed the accident, still finds it hard to believe that her son is alive after what happened.

“A lot of people come up to me and ask how come he’s not gone,” she said. “God had his hands on him. It’s hard to explain how amazing this little man is. Doctors were even amazed by his progress.”

Slayton and his parents spent three weeks in Charlotte, where he learned how to walk again while wearing a halo brace that stabilizes his neck.

“It’s a lot of weight,” Maness said. “But he tries.”

She added that her son especially enjoyed riding a three-wheel bicycle to regain strength in his legs among the many different exercises he performed, since he is unable to ride his bike now.

The family returned home from the rehabilitation center Dec. 5, and since then, they have adjusted to a lifestyle of recovery.

Slayton still requires a lot of care, and his mother admits that the whole situation has been overwhelming.

“I’m his 24-hour nurse,” she said. “It’s just nonstop stress, especially since he always wants ‘Mom,’ but I’m here for him if he needs me.”

The family threw Slayton a surprise party for his ninth birthday Dec. 17. He enjoyed seeing many of his friends from school, and many people gave him presents to celebrate.

‘Little Miracle’

Slayton also got to give his own surprise when he visited Robbins Elementary before school let out for the holiday break.

Principal Heather Seawell said she was amazed to not only have him visit, but also to watch him walk through the school’s doors by himself. She called the visit “bittersweet” because Slayton and his classmates were so excited to see each other, but the visit also made Slayton realize what he has missed at school.

“It was overwhelming in a sense because it was kind of sad for him to think, ‘I haven’t been here with all my friends,’” she said. “When you’re Slayton’s age, it’s hard to think about that too.”

Seawell sees progress each time she visits Slayton.

“For me, the best part is that every time I go see him, he’s asking, ‘Can I go to school yet?’” she said. “I think that’s really exciting that he does miss school, and he wants to be back with us. We want him here, and we will support whatever it takes to get him here.”

The school has offered homebound services to Slayton since he has been home. His teacher, Judy Oerke, visits him regularly and has been helping him catch up on the schoolwork he has missed.

Oerke finds inspiration each time she sees Slayton because despite everything that has happened, “his spirit hasn’t been broken.”

She wasn’t able to see him walk into the school, but Slayton did surprise her when he got up from his wheelchair during a recent home visit.

“He was trying to trick me,” Oerke said. “When I turned around, he stood up and was walking to me. I don’t think words can explain just how happy I felt seeing him stand. He’s like my own son. My [students] are my kids.”

Oerke said her class has dealt with the situation positively by sending Slayton cards and writing him letters regularly because they know he loves hearing from them. She said her class has also talked about the power of a positive attitude.

“His attitude can help him heal faster,” she said. “So we’re doing all we can do to encourage him to get well and come back to school.”

She looks forward to Slayton’s first day back to school, whenever that may be.

“We will all try to get back to normal, welcome him back with open arms and let him know he’s been missed,” she said.

Oerke added that Slayton’s story is one of hope for the community.

“He has been an inspiration to all of us,” she said. “He’s our own little Robbins miracle.”

‘Hard to Comprehend’

Maness said her son won’t return to school until the halo brace is removed, but even then, she worries that her son could still injure himself. She especially worries that Slayton will fall and hit his head.

“If he fell, I could lose my son in a second,” she said.

Besides stabilizing his neck, the halo brace protects a sensitive part of his head that doctors say must continue to heal over the next year.

The family expects to get a better idea of Slayton’s progress when he goes back to UNC Hospitals for a checkup and some X-rays later this month.

Slayton doesn’t remember anything about the accident, and when asked about what life has been like since, his response is, “I don’t know.”

Maness said her son is still coming to terms with what happened. She and her husband talk to him about the accident every day.

“All he can say is, ‘Oh, man,’” his mother said. “He knows he was hit by a truck. He’s shocked about it. It’s hard for him to comprehend.”

Though Slayton has made incredible strides in the two months since the accident, both he and his family have a long way to go before life returns to normal.

Maness said Slayton gets frustrated sometimes because he wants to do the things he did before the accident, like seeing his friends at school and playing outside, instead of listening to his parents tell him that he needs to be careful.

“He gets bored of that,” she said.

‘Hanging in There’

The family is also still uncertain of the long-term effects of the injuries and stroke he suffered after the vehicle struck him. He won’t be able to have an MRI until the halo brace is removed.

“You have to sit there and hope everything is all right,” Maness said. “It’s definitely a waiting game.”

She has already noticed that her son has some problems with his memory. Sometimes Slayton won’t remember a story she read him the day before.

Uncertainty also builds as the Manesses try to figure out how they will pay the medical bills and additional costs that have accumulated over the past two months.

“It’s a lot of hassle just to get the gas money to go up [to Chapel Hill],” she said. “It’s hard to explain everything. We don’t have the means financially. It’s hard. It really is. It’s just a lot — too much.”

Through all of this uncertainty, Maness said her family appreciates all the support they have received from the community, and they hope residents will keep the family in their thoughts and prayers as they move forward.

“We’re hanging in there,” she said. “We’re just taking things one day at a time. It’s a lot.”

Contact Hannah Sharpe at hannah@thepilot.com.