A New Jersey community has gathered in prayer for 12-year-old Xavier Taylor, who remains in a coma nearly four months after suffering cardiac arrest when he was struck in the neck by a baseball during a warm-up.
Friends, relatives and fellow players attended the vigil at Kenny Karcher Jr Memorial Field in Maple Shade on Saturday, turning the youth baseball ground into a place of music, prayer and reflection.
Taylor was injured on 26 May before a championship game and was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital. His father, Gregory Taylor, said the boy remains on a ventilator but has shown signs of improvement, including gaining weight and regulating his body temperature, and has since moved to a short-term care facility.
“Xavier loves baseball, he loves our community and he loves Jesus and he would be so happy to see everyone supporting him,” Mr Taylor told supporters.
Many at the gathering wore blue and yellow “Xavier Strong” shirts bearing the youngster’s number six. Other teams have also displayed his number, while families in the area have left baseball bats outside their homes in solidarity.
Support for the Taylor family has spread well beyond Maple Shade, with churches, prayer groups and youth baseball organisations across the United States taking part in fundraising and sending messages of encouragement. More than $100,000 has been raised to help the family.
Sarah DiPhillipo, one of the organisers, said the event was intended to pray for Xavier’s recovery while bringing the wider community together.
“We are here because we are believing God for a miracle for Xavier, but we are also believing for a move of God throughout our entire community and nation,” she said.
Mr Taylor said the family had been sustained by the steady stream of messages, videos, cards and prayers received since the accident.
“The videos, the prayers, the thoughts that we see every day going through Facebook and texts and just people sending us a card or just a thank you,” he said.
The family has not released a detailed medical prognosis or indicated how long Xavier’s recovery may take. For now, they have urged supporters to continue praying for the boy.
