to get answers before we head to the weekend. that will wrap it up for us. we'll see you later on this evening. captioned by closed captioning services, inc [ applause ] >> glenn: from new york, tonight, i want to bring you a story on this memorial day of real hope. first of all, thank you to anybody who has fought for our country. americans i hope this weekend are deciding who they are and what is important. and realizing that it is in their future to not necessarily pick up a gun and fight for their nation, but to fight with everything in them for what they believe. and what is important. and our way of life.

every night i come to and i tell you -- i mean really, how much of the audience is spooked by half the crap i say on the air? [ laughter ] all right, clowns, put your hands down. i talk about spooky things on the air. one of the things i hear all the time from you, or at least i feel all the time and i hear is "okay, glenn, we get it. now what?" now then comes when your life is in order enough to withstand what is coming. what i've tried to do on the program is not only inform you of what is coming and also try to do something that i don't think has ever been done on commercial television before, not successfully, at least. talk to you about ways to find hope. your life, like it or not, my life, all of our lives are

about to dramatically change. that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. life is what we make of it. my father used to say and i think everybody's father used to say. this it's not whether you win or lose. it's how you play the game. so how is it you play the game? how do you get through a game inning after inning where it feels like you are getting hit in the face? it boils down to who you are before the event happens. what seeds do you have inside? when i first told you the story on this program, a couple i'm going to introduce you to, i think it was last week. i told you this story. it was on a day there were two stories in the news.

one a friend of mine had seen on abc's "20/20." about a family that had gone through a real tragedy. the woman was burned to the point where her children didn't recognize her. the other story was about a woman in iran that had acid thrown on her. she was horribly disfigured. she was in the news because she was angry that the government wouldn't let her, as she felt was due, burn him back. one was filled with anger and darkness and rage. the other had found hope. and faith and god and beauty and love. stephanie and christian neilson. stephanie is 29 years old. this is somebody who has gone through the worst fire of life and survived.

literally. we all have fires in our life. this one was literal. i contend this couple and this family is not just surviving but they are thriving. they will tell you the story but i want you to know, it's not the crash or the burn that this program wants to concentrate on. it is my sincere hope, that you get out of this program, the apss to this question. how are they doing it? how did they survive? who were they before? who are they today? how can i do it? stephanie neilson, plane crash survivor and the author of the blog "the neeny dialogue," read by millions of people. i can not tell you how many friends of mine has said oh, my gosh, you met stephanie!

big deal. joined by her husband christian neilson who also survived the plane crash, four children. claire is here, she is nine. jane is eight. polly is six. and nicholas is four. welcome, guys. how are you? >> good. thank you. >> glenn: for someone who doesn't know the story, who wants to tell it? >> which part of the story? >> glenn: how it happened. what happened? >> well, stephanie and i, the day of our accident we were going to the family ranch in mexico. we were flying to, i had recently become a pilot. stephanie and i and a friend of mine, my flight instructor, four of us. had plans, long planned a trip to the ranch and then back

home. we had experienced a beautiful day together. beautiful flying conditions. on the way home, we made a scheduled stop, in a town the last stop of the day before we arrived home back to our children. that's when we, that's when the accident occurred. after taking off from that stop. >> glenn: pilot error, mechanical error? do you know? does it matter? >> there is a pending lawsuit. >> investigation. >> glenn: so now the plane is down on the ground. what happens? >> well, we had fuel on board and at the time of the crash, there was a lot of -- not sure exactly how the fire started, but the three of us, when we crashed, each of us woke up and came to at different

times. i think i was the first to regain consciousness after impact. when i opened my eyes there was fire everywhere. the flames and the fire had matureed. so i don't know how long it had been since we impacted the ground. but the flames were quite mature. at that point, it was just -- >> glenn: get out. >> we needed to get out. >> glenn: the pilot didn't get out? >> we all got out at different phases on our own. i got out my door. stephanie followed me. she exited behind me. hi friend who was in the pilot seat got out last. >> glenn: stephanie, you don't remember him saying get out? >> mm-hmm.

no, i don't remember him telling me to follow him and get out. it felt like really i was drowning. with fire. which is a terrible feeling. i just, i wasn't -- i didn't like think well, where is he? where did he go? why didn't he help me out or anything. i just remember people were there, that were helping me, that helped me get out of the airplane. about i felt that it was a miracle how it happened. i don't think i could ever explain it in a way without people thinking that i was kind of crazy. but i know what happened. >> glenn: you believe you were helped beyond? >> yes. i was helped by people and friends and loved ones who told me -- >> glenn: can you go into that a little bit? do you mind going into that? >> no, sure. i remember feeling like okay,

this is the end. this is what it feels like to die. so i thought okay, i'll just -- it's going to hurt me. it's going to hurt really bad for maybe five more minutes and then i'll wake up and i'll be with my grandma or something. that's what i was thinking. i couldn't get the seat belt off. i was really confused. i probably had a concussion that i was just, had no idea what was really going on. the people that loved me said this isn't is end. it's not over. i have still have a lot to do. so they told me what to do and how to take my seat belt off and where to reach my hand and open the door and get out. that's what i did. i remembered my second grade teacher telling me to stop, drop and roll in my head. so that's what i did. >> glenn: okay.

so you get out of the plane. now you are in a coma for how long? medically induced coma? >> my first recollection after being woken up was five or six weeks. they told me i was asleep. >> glenn: you were in a medically induced coma for how long? >> three months. >> glenn: you wake up and barack obama is president. >> yeah. that is -- that is honestly the first thought i thought. i woke up and there was a whileboard. they had written the date on the board. it was like november 6. i was like who is our president? i don't know it is. who won? >> glenn: i have to make the joke. so did you think you were in hell? laft sorry. somebody had to make it. c'mon, you were thinking it! [ laughter ] so all this time passes. >> yeah. >> glenn: and now your

children haven't seep you. tell me about that. >> they were two-and-a-half years younger than they are now. sonic las, the little one, was just about 18 months. so they haven't seen me and my family, both of our families just sort of game and we picked them up, and took over. my sister took care of the three oldest and my other sister who didn't have chirp took the baby. they lived as if their parents might not make it. they lived for three months thinking maybe their mommy wouldn't ever, never come back. so, they're miraculous. they're amazing the way they just, you know, they just thrive. they're okay. they're good kids. but so, yeah, no, i haven't seen them. i knew something was wrong and i didn't -- i knew something

was wrong with me. and i didn't want them to know. i didn't want them to see me. >> glenn: so they looked through a sheet for a while. >> yeah. for a while. my room had a sheet. that went. >> it was a privacy curtain. >> yeah, we talked through that. >> glenn: what was your thought when you first saw your wife? >> i was in a real low spot emotionally and physically when i woke up. the first time i saw stephanie, she was far worse than i had even imagined. comatose, bandaged from head to toe in a pile of medical equipment, bandages. it could have been anyone under all of that stuff. my first thought was i could feel, i could feel her in that room. when i went to see her. we made a spiritual

connection. i felt like -- i was relieved she was alive and i had seep her with my own eyes. i had every faith that she was going to recover. >> glenn: i want to tell you. >> i'm so sorry. >> glenn: i knew you were thinking that. >> i can't concentrate. >> glenn: i have children, too. the chirp are like jumping around. >> i knew they need to go out, the boys. >> glenn: i'm sitting here and i'm listening and i know i can see you look over to them and i'm thinking as a parent right now, i'm thinking i'm going to kill you when i get home. >> i know. i know. >> glenn: don't be. don't be. tell you what. we'll take a break and let the kids go to the play room and concentrate. we all have kids. back in just a second. [ applause ]

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>> glenn: we're back with stephanie, plane crash survivor and author of the blog nieny dialogue read by millions of people. joined by her husband christian neilson who also survive the plane crash. we were talking about you seek your wife for the first time in the hospital. and what was it like for you? were you afraid to see yourself? >> yeah, out my own eyes, i felt totally fine. but i knew the way that people

were looking at me. i could tell that something wasn't right in the burn centers, they don't usually have mirrors around. i want you to wait until you're ready to look at yourself. but i never got to that point, so they were saying to me, time to look at yourself. you need to see what your children are going to see. i didn't want to do it. >> glenn: do you still see yourself the way -- i still, i look sometimes in the mirror and i'm like whoa. you have gone downhill quickly. i still see myself younger. you're always kind of 19 in your head. when your children saw you, and you. obviously, my facial injuries were not as serious as

stephanies, but i -- >> glenn: did it help your chirp get prepared? because you're burned on your legs, too, right? >> yeah. our legs and arms. so they saw my inyourries and i think that probably did help them understand what they were going to see with their mom. maybe, maybe not. but i don't think that they -- we tried and tried to prepare as much as we could with the children. it was almost all in vain. no effective wi to help them understand what it would be like. >> ious're her pro -- i understand you're her protector now. when you're out in public, i heard you say that you have heard people in the

supermarket and chirp say things less than kind. >> yeah. >> glenn: how do you deal with that? >> children are children. they're just being honest. they're okay. it's the adults that i think i'm shocked that you would say something, you know, that hurtful. >> glenn: what are you -- adults say? >> yeah. ladies at the grocery store will say oh, i feel as bad as you look. you know, things like oh, thanks so much. you know, just things like that. that are i think didn't your mother teach you better than that? so i think i'm using this more in hopes that my children won't be as careless and rude to people. so in a way, yeah, it hurts me.

what an opportunity to teach my own little children, you know, how to treat people. weapon love people. we respect people. it doesn't matter what they look like. we're all people. >> glenn: who are you guys -- because, we met, and i'm so sad to say that most of my meetings are at a very high velocity. >> there was a huge ongoing waiting. >> glenn: but we met in arizona, right? >> no, it was in utah. >> glenn: it was in utah. >> at the freedomfest. >> you were holding the freedom festival in utah. >> glenn: oh, my gosh. we met and what were you like as a couple before? what did you have that prepared you for this?

>> we're just the same. really. just the same. don't you think? >> yeah. but i think that that, the love that we have now is the same love we had then. that is what helped us prepare us for the tragedy. a lot of the people who are experts in the burn, the burn world and the healing arts, the doctors and the physicians and the nurses, a lot of them had some experience that a lot of times marriages don't work out. >> glenn: a lot of times, i would imagine most time. >> most of the time. >> glenn: nothing to do with scars here, but the scars inside. be honest. you have to both be kicking yourself to get on the plane. whoever said let's go to the ranch this weekend. you wanted to be a pilot. i didn't hear you say get out. you got out. whatever the deception or the

lie is that is running through your head had to have played out. had to have. >> well, i mean there were. >> i'm sure i thought, i felt guilty for getting in the airplane because why did i do that to my children? my children are, they're going to be motherless or they will have -- >> glenn: so in pain and with everything, the stress of life, c'mon. really? >> no. >> glenn: there is no time that you guys have -- i'm not saying for -- i'm saying you're being human. you never at some point either said to each other or to god why? none of it? >> i think what you're getting at, condemning the situation. you know -- >> or even your own guilt.

>> well. >> inside of. >> for something that you didn't -- there is no guilt there. >> we decided early on we were going to be burn survivors, not burn victims. it's a little bit semantics but it's meaningful in how we deal with our problems. we often corrected people about calling us victims of our injuries. we sr. survived injuries. we're alive today and with our families. >> glenn: i don't think you are survivors. because i often talk about surviving something. you know, what is coming or whatever i'm spooking the audience with. being made fun of my jon stewart. i always say you're not going to survive. you're going to thrive. i think you're burn thrivers. you have taken it and done much more than survive. >> that is a good way to put it. i am now to the point and i think maybe i'm to the point

now that i have forgotten all of whatever madness and guilt that i've had, but i am grateful. >> glenn: like childbirth? >> yes. that's a good point. >> glenn: god that is some sort of wicked magic, because women are screaming i want to kill you. then the baby comes out and they're like we have to have another. >> let's go do it again. >> that sounds familiar. [ laughter ] >> that's totally true. >> glenn: we're the ones on earth going don't you remember? >> i know. i know. >> it's a goo thing otherwise we'd only have one child. >> i'm grateful for it now. i can honestly tell you, and my kids ask me all the time. don't you want to just go back? just to how it was before? i don't. i really don't. i have been blessed beyond come rehens that anyone -- comprehension that anyone, they could have everything the

whole world and they would haven't what i have. even though i deal with pape regularly. i am just so, you know, honored to have this, to be given this opportunity. i see it that way. >> glenn: how do you see it? >> i see it. >> glenn: the thing that your wife just said. >> i see it the same way. i remember thinking that all you can do is live in the moment and talk about howed be this sucks and how our life has changed and everything about our life has changed. but it was soon after when stephanie woke up and we started talking about it and processing our feelings together, we got to the point where it was kind of, it was hard to wish it away. because of the way our family had grown. the way our our family rallied around us as we healed. the influence of the blog.

peel all over the world are, a lot of them are total strangers to us from other countries but they read her blog. we were on the receiving end of their prayers and faith on their behalf. that experience alope to me seems worth it all. remarkable experience. >> it's an actual tangible feeling. >> stephanie and i both made the same observation when we came to after being awoken from the coma. that we could feel people's prayers. >> glenn: i remember when george bush used to say that after september 11. he used to say i can feel your prayers. i can tell you that is true. i can feel them, too. it's amazing, isn't it? it's really amazing how you can feel it. you know when he is attending. i don't know if he has ever -- sometimes he's done it now

twice to me recently where after 8-28, after i did restoring honor event he kind of let me go for a vacation or something. i don't know what it was. i was just thinking about this today. i've missed him a great deal. you can develop a nice relationship. you are used to having that and feeling prayers of others. i want to talk a minute about the role god played in your life and any tips on, you know, how to survive -- i feel guilty about whining about anything at this point. the question, the audience has questions, too. we'll do that next. >> okay. [ applause ]

i'm patti ann browne. president obama makes a visit to the white house briefing room, telling reports about his meeting with leaders of both parties about the nation's debt. he call the talks constructive but said the parties are still far apart op a range of issues. lawmakers in the house voted to keep funding operation in libya. even though the president never sought congressional approval for the mission. the judge in the casey anthony murder trial is considering releasing the names of the jurors, but not for at least a few more days. anthony will be set free on

wednesday. for more on the sentencing today, go to foxnews.com. encore presentation of glenn beck returns in a moment but first, bret previews "special report." to comin >> bret: coming up, who knew what when? we're joined by darrell issa with new details tonight. join me in 27 minutes for "special report." now back to the glenn beck show. ♪ ♪ >> glenn: we're with the neilson family. they are plane crash thrivers. they are people that i think haven't sur viveed but are doing more than that and they are teaching others how to survive. on this program we talk about

spooky things. and people's lives are about to change. your lives have dramatically changed. is anything really the same anymore? really? >> superficially, no. >> yeah, yeah. >> glenn: and not something that you would have on the other side picked. you would haven't said you know what i? i'll have a can of that, right? >> no. >> glenn: i think that is the way a lot of americans, that is why they don't want to look at what is ahead because they don't want a can of that. they i'll get served a can of that, whether they want it or not. some will. i want you on because i want to know what got you through. i think i know the answer but i watched the "20/20" and i didn't see god in that story. >> no. he didn't really show up in

that story. >> glenn: was he mentioned? >> he was a huge part. he was the part. he played the role in the story. >> glenn: but no god was hurt in tillming of that story? >> no, definitely not. >> glenn: is that the reason you made it through? >> yeah. >> without question. >> 100%. >> glenn: members of your faith, strong members of your faith. we're both members, three of us are the members of the same faith. were you strong members before? >> yes. did any of this channel your faith at any point? >> no. not especially a little bit. >> what role did it play? >> it was central to everything that we did.

for the first five weeks of the accident before i woke up, it was just stephanie's parents, my parents and our siblings. close friends and people reading the blog. but the people that came to the hospital and visited us interacting with the doctors and the bleak reports they were giving about how things were, our outlook. our family had great faith in god, supreme being who was overseeing this healing. they expected a great miracle and they got it. they had been exercising great faith and great prayer on our behalf or weeks. and when i woke up, realized

at what point they were at spiritually and it gave me a lot of hope. realized that they were in a good place. spiritually in how they were looking at our accident. i got on board with that. i wanted the same miracle. i wanted stephanie to come out and make it through and to have our life and health restored. the doctors always said, as far as stephanie, if she makes it, she probably will never walk again. if she makes it she won't nose or fingers or toes or legs. if she makes it -- and it was pred kateed op "if she makes it." -- predicated op "if she makes it." we had great hopes in a miracle and she the bona fide

miracle we see today. >> glenn: what was the god part that you wanted people to hear? >> we all have problems. with all do. every single one of us. not up with of us can go through the mortal life without trials. it was when i woke up from my coma that i realized i was up with of those people that actually needed to rely on god. to help me get through this. you know, i have had minor problems where you say your prayers and you get answers. but this was something much bigger. than just a simple little prayer can fix this. this was relying on and giving everything up to him and leaving everything up to him. it was hard to do that. once i did that, once i remember just being alope in my hospital room and just

praying outloud, just over and over again. making deals like if i can live, i will share the gospel with every single person that i know. i'm trying to live up to that because i believe it was part of the deal. i'm doing it. i'm trying to do it. so he was everything. he was the one that would be with me at nighttime when it was so awful and scary and i missed my children and my family. he was there with me. he never left my side. never. not once. to tell my story, it would have been wrong if he wasn't a part of it. he is the story. he is the one that made it triumphant and glorious. so i was just, i felt a little bit saddened that he wasn't

mentioned in the "20/20" piece because that is the story. >> glenn: have you ever read the book "the survivors club"? >> no. >> glenn: "survivors club" is a book written by now the guy i think heads abc news, does he not, joe? yeah. he heads abc news. he is a friend of mine. he is a good man. he wanted to find out as a journalist, what do all these survivors have in common? people in plane crashes, mountain climbing, boat -- whatever happened to them, how do they survive? number one thing they had in common. god. >> of course. >> glenn: that's what gets them through. back in just a second.

>> glenn: we have two amazing people. plane crash survivors stephanie and her husband christian. i think i want to start with is it tina? tina. hi, go ahead. >> thank you, glenn. hi, stephanie. my question was regarding the relationship with your dad. when i read about your story i was so moved by his courage to tell you that you are a mother and that's what you always

wanted to be and just do that have you always had that connection with your father? >> yes, i have. i'm actually the eighth of nine in my family. my dad, he has got a special connection with all of us. but i'm his namesake so i feel like we have something there that not everyone has. i remember, you know, after the accident, everyone was really nice to me. they were sympathetic and kind. you do whatever you want to do. whatever you want, we'll give it to you. i think it was one day i was just complaining a lot. to my father. he and i always sort of, you know, he would make me walk laps with him to get exercise. my theory done with him. he said what do you want?

what do you want to do? off family, beautiful children. you always wanted to be a mother. you know, you know just do it. just choose to do it. you can choose. at first i was like you're supposed to be nice to me. i just got in a plane crash. [ laughter ] but it was true. you can't, you can't mope around. so after that i realized this is what i want to do. i was born to be a mother. i love it. it's what i'm good at. i know my purpose. >> glenn: they told you that you may not walk or they told you she may not walk. or have hands. they also said you weren't going to have any more children. >> right. >> glenn: but now that's changed. >> wrong again. >> yeah. >> glenn: this is a double blessing is it not? can you explain? >> you can only give, you can

only give skin to yourself really. >> skin graphs. >> they can put pig skip or cadaver skin as the base. the temporary and then you can only give skip to yourself. being burned 80% there is not a lot you can give yourself. so for my neck, they did a similar thing where they put, it's kind of like breast implants in and they blow it up, each week i'd go in for another treatment and it would get bigger and bigger and bigger. then they took the big skin and made a neck out of it. they want me to get pregnant so they can use the skin for other parts of my body which is really exciting. i want a baby more than anything. i nod, you know -- >> amazing. >> i know. yeah. >> glenn: let's go to joe.

>> thanks, glenn. thanks for sharing the story. it's amazing. and your outlook. awfully, your faith got you through, made you thrivers. but other people who may not have that, how would they react and how long does the process take to get back to normal? or is that changed for goods, other people reaction a your intersection with other people in your daily lives, your job, neighbors? >> you talk about people who don't have that faith? >> glenn: i think, joe, you are talk about the people around you have you had friends and family that have been shook by this. >> yeah. >> glenn: you can't get them. >> yeah. because it kind of, it changes you that you are going through it. they don't know how you're going through it. they are looking for -- >> glenn: i lost every friend i had when i was in my alcoholism and i lost everything. lost everything. i can count the friends that i

have now that i had then on one hand. same question here. how have your friends reacted? >> our friends, stephanie and i talk about this. we have the best friends. we don't have a lot of friends but the ones we have are good, stellar friends. >> glenn: c'mon, stop. throw somebody under the bus. >> i really mean that. [ laughter ] >> we really only have like two friends. it's not a big deal. >> they were, they were instrume tall in our healing as well. two of our friends, they were the god parents of our children. in the interim while our family was trying to figure out what to do with our situation, with our children, our house and stuff, they steppedded in and played the role as god parents and took the kids for overnight, or couple of days while our,

stephanie's family and my family worked out some things. but you know, we have good friends in that regard. plus, you know, our friends the few friends we have, we share the bonds of our faith as well. we share a common belief in god. having that foundation as part of our mutual friendship made enduring and thriving in our accident possible. >> glenn: with that faith, is there anything that you believe you cannot conquer? >> i don't think there is anything. with god, all things are possible. >> of course. >> glenn: back in just a second.

>> glenn: we are back with stephanie neilson and christian neilson. we have the final remaining minutes. i wanted to -- i'm sorry. i can't remember your game again. you're from portland, oregon. what is your name? >> daphne. >> glenn: yes. your question? >> how did you change from a negative mind set to a positive one? >> it didn't happen really fast. it took me a while. but the being positive to me means look at what i have already that is wonderful. i still have wonderful things. i still have four beautiful children and a handsome husband. i still had my faith and my

relationships. so i just remember thinking about those things and pretty soon they outnumbered the awful things i was going through. so it was just spin around. i could do it all day long and i wanted to do it all day long because i was pretty bummed a lot. but i just never let go of the feeling that god never left me. my chirp will never leave me and my husband loves me regardless of whey look like. all of a sudden it seems good. it seemed okay. >> glenn: you two are amazing. you really are. >> thank you. >> glenn: a minute each, last two minutes.

probably 2, 2.5 million people are watching. i can't tell you how many people are struggling with something. give them a message. what is the most important thing you could say to somebody? >> i would say that everybody has challenges in life. everybody suffers. at one point or another. a lot of people lace up their boots and put on a happy face knowing things are just as bad as the day before and the day before that. for some people it may not feel like there is much hope in their life. but that is not true. there is hope no matter how low you can get or how bad you think your life is. if you have hope in your future. and trust that god is more

powerful than you are. then things will turn out. and i believe that the level of truth that you put in him, somehow equates to the outcome of how much hope you will have. have. >> glenn: stephanie? >> similar to what christian said. i believe and i know, i know that there is a god. he loves me and he loves my chirp. he wants my happiness. he wants everyone's happiness. not just mine, not just the people who are good. everybody. he will accomplish that. if i can help people do that, i'm willing. i believe i'm a blessed perp so i want to share that with everybody. so, i would say that to them.

>> glenn: back in a minute.

>> glenn: a year ago last summer, i asked you to take the 40-day and 40-night challenge, a blueprint for national survival. is it the first line in the challenge that is the last line of the declaration. with a firm reliance on protection of divine providence. that is the key.