ST. GEORGE — The family of a 20-year-old missionary from St. George continues to pray for his recovery from a traumatic brain injury more than two months ago.
Creed Leonard, who had been serving as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Boston, Massachusetts, has been hospitalized since being struck by a vehicle the night of Nov. 30.
Creed’s father Chad Waggoner said Creed and his mission companion were crossing a street at a crosswalk on a rainy and windy night around 8 p.m. when they were both hit.
“The details are not entirely clear,” Waggoner said, adding that the investigation is still ongoing and that the local district attorney’s office is considering possible criminal charges against the driver.
Creed’s companion, who is from Arizona, sustained a broken elbow, pelvis and other orthopedic injuries.
“He’s from Tucson, I believe,” Waggoner said of the companion. “He’s recovering there, and I’m not sure if he’ll go back out on his mission or not. I think he’s been out for about a year.”
Creed’s injuries, which were much more severe, required the temporary removal of a portion of his skull to relieve the swelling in his brain, Waggoner said, recalling that one of Creed’s doctors had said, “We don’t really know a lot about what to expect once he starts to wake up, because most people don’t make it through this injury alive. They don’t just don’t make it.”
After spending several weeks at Massachusetts General Hospital, he was transferred to a long-term acute care facility in Cambridge. He then returned to Mass General in early February. After further tests and treatment, he has now been cleared to be moved to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Boston, in Charlestown.
“He’s had the trach removed but he still has a feeding tube,” Waggoner said, adding that his son has been doing physical therapy, in addition to speech and occupational therapy.
“He’s in kind of a semi-conscious state right now,” Waggoner said. “So, he’ll open his eyes, and when you talk to him, he’ll look at you. And you can ask him questions, and he’ll kind of nod his head, you know, give a thumbs up and stuff. But he’s not quite awake yet.”
Waggoner spoke to St. George News via telephone on Feb. 5 as he was preparing to fly from Boston back to St. George, where he works as an optometrist.
Waggoner said his wife Marla Leonard-Waggoner and Creed’s two younger siblings have remained in Boston ever since the accident, while Waggoner has flown back and forth dividing his time between working in Utah and being at his son’s bedside.
Waggoner explained that when he and Marla married 15 years ago, she was a widow with three young children, then-5-year-old Creed the oldest.
Their daughter Sway Leonard currently attends Utah Tech, while youngest son Cross Leonard is a junior at Crimson Cliffs High. Sway is taking the current semester off, while Cross has been doing his classwork online.
The family moved to Utah from Washington state in 2019 to be closer to other relatives, Waggoner said, noting that his parents-in-law live in St. George. Waggoner also has two other adult children, son Caden and daughter Makayla, who live out of state.
Creed Leonard attended school at the brand-new Crimson Cliffs High starting in the fall of 2019 until he graduated in the spring of 2021. He played football for Crimson, wearing No. 7 as a running back. During his senior year, in the fall of 2020, he rushed for 704 yards on 150 carries and scored seven touchdowns for the Mustangs.
Waggoner said his son was dedicated to staying in top physical shape, including getting up at 5:30 every morning to work out.
“He’s just been that kind of kid his whole life,” Waggoner said. “If you tell him to do 10 pushups, he’ll do 50.”
Creed also applied himself diligently to learning how to speak Spanish for his mission, his father said.
“Even though he’d only been out six months, he’d become proficient,” Waggoner said. “He worked really hard at that.”
On his missionary self-introduction page, Creed wrote of his Spanish abilities: “Sometimes I kill it with the language and sometimes I blow it. I am proud of myself for trying because our friends still understand me, which is all that matters.”
At another place on the page, he wrote, “There is so much to do at times and I want to do it all perfectly. So that’s my problem. Mission is solid, of course ups and downs, but nothing I can’t handle with Christ at my side. I love you all!”
Creed also quotes Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
The page also contains multiple references to the comic book character Batman, with Creed drawing the iconic symbol around his name and flatly declaring, “I’m Batman!”
Waggoner added that he believes Creed’s high level of determination will aid in his recovery.
“I think once he can wake up, and if he knows that he’s got to work … if he’s got a shot, he’ll make it,” his father said. “Creed would want people to know that he’s got a shot, and he’s going to make the best of it.”
“His doctors have all indicated that it’s going to be a long road to recovery for Creed,” Waggoner added. “He’s got a long ways to go. He makes small improvements, but he’s still pretty sick.”
Waggoner said that because of the injuries to Creed’s brain, he will have to relearn how to talk, walk, write and eat.
“Basically, most activities of daily life will have to be learned, which makes his recovery so slow and long,” Waggoner said.
One recent challenge has involved the placement of a shunt to help alleviate cerebrospinal fluid from building up in Creed’s brain, his father added.
The “Messages for Creed” Facebook blog, which has more than 1,000 likes and 2,000 followers and counting, chronicles the ups and downs of Creed’s recovery, in addition to providing scriptures and other messages of faith and inspiration. Waggoner said his wife supplies most of the content for blog posts, which are then written up by her sister Jenny.
The blog’s Feb. 7 entry reads in part: “Grateful for the medical care Creed is receiving. None of this is really straight forward or easy. We are simply grateful for the opportunity to continue moving forward.”
In a separate post shared the previous day, the Leonard family expressed their appreciation for the outpouring of love and support:
Thank you for all of your prayers, beautiful messages, and shared experiences. Each of you are remarkable and the fact that you take a few moments out of your day to express your love and give your prayers for Creed is a beautiful act of charity and is a testament of your goodness. We hope on. We journey on.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to assist with Creed’s recovery. St. George News reminds readers to use proper discretion when making online donations.
Photo Gallery
Creed Leonard's arm rests on a toy football in his hospital bed in Massachusetts, January 2023 | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News Creed Leonard's autobiographical "Get to Know Me" page that he made at the beginning of his mission. | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News Marla Leonard-Waggoner and her son Creed Leonard, St. George, Utah, May 2022 | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News Undated photo of Creed Leonard, serving in the Massachusetts Boston Mission (Spanish speaking) as of May 2022 | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News Undated photo of Creed Leonard, serving in the Massachusetts Boston Mission (Spanish speaking) as of May 2022 | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News Running back Creed Leonard carries the ball for Crimson Cliffs against Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, Sept. 11, 2020 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News Running back Creed Leonard carries the ball for Crimson Cliffs against Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, Sept. 11, 2020 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News Running back Creed Leonard carries the ball for Crimson Cliffs against Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, Sept. 11, 2020 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News Undated photo of Creed Leonard, serving in the Massachusetts Boston Mission (Spanish speaking) as of May 2022 | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News Creed Leonard's mother holds her son's hand at his hospital bedside in Massachusetts, Jan. 1, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News Missionary Creed Leonard has lunch at home on the first day of his home MTC training, May 2022 | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News Creed Leonard's mother holds her son's hand at his hospital bedside in Massachusetts, date not specified. | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News Undated photo of Creed Leonard, running back who played for Crimson Cliffs High School in 2019 and 2020. | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News Undated photo of Creed Leonard, serving in the Massachusetts Boston Mission (Spanish speaking) as of May 2022 | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News Creed Leonard playing freshman football for Olympia in Olympia, Wash., October 2017. | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News Undated photo of Creed Leonard, running back who played for Crimson Cliffs High School in 2019 and 2020. | Photo courtesy of Chad Waggoner, St. George News
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