“Prayer warriors, please keep my brother in your prayers. Tonight, Evan went into cardiac arrest.”

That message, sent out by Evan Hinson’s sister Carlie the night of Dec. 8, wasn’t something anyone could have expected. Evan, a 23-year-old CrossFit enthusiast from Columbus, was in the peak of health. He had no history of heart problems. He told nobody he was feeling ill. But something had gone very wrong, very fast.

As doctors rushed him to the hospital, the family learned just how bad things were.

But Carlie’s message that night started a fire. Prayers rose up, not only from their family members and church, but also from across the community — and then from across the country.

As doctors struggled to stabilize Evan’s stuttering heart, thousands of people turned their thoughts toward him — and asked God to step in.

Two weeks later, in what Hinson’s family say doctors have described as a miracle, Evan is home for Christmas.

Evan works for an event production company called Fade to Black Productions, and was getting ready for a gig at the Teen Advisors holiday party. Fade to Black owner Carson Hand met up with Evan shortly before the event. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

“We spoke for just a minute,” Hand said. “He seemed just like his normal self. We said hey and then he left to go set up at the other event.”

Evan met with his coworker, 19-year-old Dylan Rice, a student at Columbus State University and a DJ with the company, and the two got to work.

“Evan and I were just cutting up, having a regular conversation. He was standing about 5 feet away, and all of a sudden, he just said, ‘Oh no,’ or something like that, and plummeted face-first into the floor. On the descent, he hit his head on one of the cases we keep our lights in,” Dylan said.

Dylan had no idea what had happened. Evan was still shaking a bit, but suddenly began having serious trouble breathing. Dylan immediately called 911, Carson and others, and began CPR.

Hinson’s family said doctors are convinced this was a major factor in keeping Evan alive.

“I’m not a professional by any means, but I found his heart and was trying to ... just get something out of him,” Dylan said. “I was kind of holding his hand. It just didn’t feel real.”

Dylan doesn’t know how long he kept up the CPR.

“It was probably a few minutes, but it felt like hours,” he said.

Paramedics came and rushed Evan to the hospital. Two minutes after he was admitted, most of his family was gathered in the waiting room.

Evan’s family waited for answers. In the meantime, his sister, Hailey, called her friend, Brad, and told him to start calling as many people as possible, and to tell them to begin praying.

He started dialing.

The doctors called the family into a private room and told them the news. Evan had gone into cardiac arrest four times since being admitted. Most people, they said, don’t survive even two times.

Hailey and her family dropped to their knees.

“Carlie was praying, we all just started praying out loud, praying that God would save him,” she said. “It was sinking in that we might lose our brother in 5 minutes.”

The doctors told the family there were three possibilities. One, Evan was going to die soon. Two, he would make it through the night, but then die the next day. Or three, he would make a full recovery.

“They did not seem optimistic about the third option,” Hailey recalled.

Evan was put on a cooling treatment to keep his heart rested. At one point, the doctors tried to get him stable enough to take a brain scan, but his vitals began plummeting and they were forced to intervene. Eventually, they were able to perform the scan, which came back clean. They waited.

“We had several people come and pray over him. Right before a lot of people left, we holed up in the waiting room and prayed together,” Hailey said. “We had a college ministry at St. Luke, so a lot of our friends went to the college house and prayed.”

The next morning, the doctors told the family Evan needed to be moved to Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, where he could get more specialized heart treatment. He was taken aboard a helicopter and flown to the hospital, a more dangerous trip than normal as the skies had dropped nearly a foot of snow in parts of metro Atlanta the previous evening.

He was put on an ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, which works as a kind of bypass for the heart and lungs, allowing them time to recover if damaged. The doctors said he could be on it for days.

While all this was going on, Evan’s story was spreading across social media. Family members, friends and strangers began sharing Carlie’s original call for prayers. A friend, Laura Toepfer, started a GoFundMe account to raise money to offset missed work and lodging expenses for his family.

“His faith and love for Jesus Christ outshine everything else!” Toepfer wrote on the campaign page. “He’s not afraid to share the praise song that has begun his day or a Bible verse that has helped him. He is also very passionate about CrossFit. He always greets those that walk in with a great big smile and a kind word.”

In 10 days, the campaign had raised $10,200. And as the days went on, Evan’s story spread and spread. Hailey began posting regular updates on Evan’s Facebook page for those praying for his recovery. A black and white photo with the request “Pray for Evan” soared across the web.

“At one point, all I could see on my news feed was Evan. People sharing that photo and praying for him,” Hailey said.

Carson Hand, of Fade to Black, said the same thing.

CrossFit gyms across the country started performing workouts in honor of Evan. Two were as far away as Alaska. His buddies from the local gym drove up to see him in the hospital, and cried and prayed over him, Hailey said.

“It was so encouraging to see how many people were responding and saying, ‘We don’t know you but we’re praying for you. Just all the texts and calls. It’s so crazy how many people it had touched, and who love our family so much, and love the Lord. And the community comes together in those moments,” Hailey said.

When Evan was able to be taken off the ECMO machine earlier than expected and began being weaned off sedation, those following his story erupted in cheer. Shortly after, he awoke for the first time. He couldn’t talk, but when the nurse asked him questions and told him to squeeze her hand to answer, he aced every question. His family, who were unsure whether his brain was damaged, prayed and wept.

On Dec. 14, six days after his initial attack, Evan was strong enough to speak.

“When you hear your brother, after coming out of heavy sedation and knowing all he has been through in the last 6 days, call you by name and say, ‘I love you and I’m gonna be OK,’ without any prompting, you can’t help but let the happy tears flow,” Hailey wrote. “I believe God is carrying us all in the palm of His righteous right hand. He cares for each of us so, so deeply. No matter what we are going through, He is there.”

The days went on, and Evan improved. He was able to talk and move more. The doctors still had no idea what the cause was, but they began thinking he could go home for Christmas.

“The doctors still can’t believe how well he is doing recovery wise. They are truly blown away. Thank you Jesus, because you are our answer to how Evan is making this comeback,” Hailey wrote.

Soon, he was able to eat a little solid food for the first time in days. Then he was able to leave the bed and move around the hospital in the wheelchair. After another day, Santa hat atop his head, Evan was able to walk down the hall. As a precaution, Evan had one more surgery to install a defibrillator that would guard against any other attacks — and then he came home.

He’s returned to a community that came together to support Evan in whatever ways they could. It will also be a return that some say may never have happened without the faith of a family and a community.

“We pray for miracles sometimes. When they happen, all of us are shocked or surprised,” Hand said. “But really, I believe that as followers of God, we shouldn’t be surprised when miracles happen. I think that as believers, we believe in the power of prayer and the power of miracles.”

Hand said Evan’s story and miraculous recovery will give him the ability to be that “positive voice, that positive light for other people that are going through things.”

For now, though, Hinson’s family is just happy to have him back.

“To have him home for Christmas ... it is a miracle,” Hailey said. “It’ll help us reflect and just be so appreciative. That’s all I need, is for him to be with us. I can’t imagine life without Evan. It just will be a miracle. The best Christmas gift.”