‘God saved him’ | GHS teen shows resilience through positivity, faith in dealing with losses

One local teen’s positive attitude and unwavering faith in God are helping him cope and persevere through the unimaginable.

On Dec. 10, 2022, Granbury High School sophomore Trevor Vossler was riding in the car with his dad, Arthur Vossler, as they were traveling on Loop 567. While turning onto Lipan Highway, Arthur rapidly accelerated, lost control of the car, and slid into the southbound lane where he collided with another car, according to a previous Hood County News article.

Arthur was “found to be deceased at the scene,” and Trevor was immediately transported to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

"When he got (to the hospital), they had to remove his spleen, and he had internal bleeding,” Trevor’s mom, Crystal Bagwell, told the HCN on March 13. “They had to remove his right leg immediately because it was already kind of dead on him. He had a lot of degloving — a lot of dead tissue and muscle.”

Bagwell said according to the doctors, Trevor only had about a 15% chance of survival.

"But because of his age and how fit and active he was, that's kind of what saved him,” she explained. “Plus, the big man upstairs, because looking at the car, it was like, not a car anymore; it was bad.”

For three weeks, doctors tried to salvage Trevor’s left leg, but unfortunately, there was nothing more they could do.

"It was just so far gone that they had to actually amputate that as well, so he could have a full active lifestyle with a prosthetic rather than dragging around a leg that didn't work,” Bagwell said.

For the past three months, Trevor remained at the Fort Worth hospital, where he underwent several skin graft surgeries — with his mom never leaving his side.

"I've been at the hospital with him every single day,” she said. “I've been by his side since everything happened.”

On March 10, Trevor was discharged from John Peter Smith Hospital — exactly three months since the accident.

“He's got to heal for like six months, and then we'll be working with physical therapy and working with his prosthetics because the ultimate goal is to get his prosthetics and get him walking again," Bagwell said.

Trevor still has a long road to recovery ahead, but Bagwell said she is proud of her son’s resilience and strength.

"They were calling him 'Baby Hercules' in ICU because of how well he kept pushing through," she said. "They were amazed at all of his progress."

His positivity and faith have also played a major role in his attitude and optimism in what the future holds.

“He's been having a pretty positive attitude about everything,” she said. “He's still trying to be independent, and he’s really been leaning on God with everything that's happened. God saved him because things could have been worse, but (I’m so proud of him because) I don't know how I would handle what he's going through."

Bagwell said Trevor has received an outpouring of love and support from teachers, counselors, and students at Granbury High School.

“A lot of his friends are cheering him on,” she said.

Before the accident, Trevor enjoyed fishing, boxing, and welding — with the goal of turning welding into a career.

But Bagwell said she knows once he heals and obtains his prosthetics, he will eventually continue an active lifestyle and achieve every goal he sets his mind to.

“He was a very active kid before all this, so I feel like once he gets his life back and everything, he'll get back to it,” she said. “He's a very tough kid, and he's a go-getter. He’ll be active again.”