Spinal Cord Injury - Spectacular, Unexpected Recovery

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/n ... 1c18727eb9
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Devastating hits in sports can happen to anyone

Spinal cord injury suffered by Buffalo Bills' Everett latest in long list of life-changing occurrences

John MacKinnon The Edmonton Journal Wednesday, September 12, 2007

If Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett is experiencing the "totally spectacular, totally unexpected" recovery from what the team physician earlier had termed a "catastrophic" spinal cord injury, then that is unreservedly wonderful and welcome news.

Dr. Andrew Cappucino, the Bills' orthopedic surgeon whose initial diagnosis had been grim, was quoted Tuesday saying: "We may be witnessing a minor miracle."

It can go either way in these sorts of violent collisions that will happen from time to time in football. So, Everett voluntarily moving his arms and legs represents hope where there seemingly was little to none a day or two before.

Edmonton Eskimos rush end Brandon Guillory had seen the videotape of Everett's life-threatening injury. Guillory had heard the pessimistic outlook for Everett and had reason to see it as a cautionary tale.

After all, Guillory will miss the entire 2007 CFL regular season owing to spinal-cord damage of his own suffered in a pre-season game, when he took a helmet-to-chin hit from Calgary Stampeders offensive lineman Bobby Singh.

Guillory has no illusions of invulnerability. He knows he's not bulletproof, he knows the risks. He also knows he wants to return to CFL action at some point.

"I'm aware of it," Guillory said of the 25-year-old Everett's injury. "It's something that could happen to anybody playing this game.

"I guess I'm just different. I know I'm OK."

Actually, that cast of mind makes him severely normal among pro football players, who make their personal peace with the risk inherent in their sport early, then store the notion up in the attic of their minds and move on.

"It's just something that's there, and If it happens, it happens," said Eskimos assistant coach Dan Kepley, who has had close calls of his own and witnessed teammate James Bell suffer a paralyzing hit during a regular-season game between the Eskimos and the Lions at B.C. Place Stadium back in 1986.

"It's kind of like you hear about wrecks and accidents on the freeway everyday," Kepley said. "But does that stop you from getting in the car? Never."

It is a sickening sight watching a supremely fit young athlete literally broken in front of your eyes; his life and that of his family irrevocably and radically made nightmarish in a split-second. Football players are taught not to lead with their heads when tackling, they're instructed to "see what you hit."

But in the fluid chaos of live action, dangerous hits occur.

In the NFL, the cases of Darryl Stingley, Mike Utley and Dennis Byrd are well-known. For me, watching Everett plummet to the turf after trying to tackle Domenik Hixon of the Denver Broncos evoked the memory of being in the stands at Bishop's University's football stadium the day 17-year-old Butch Voce suffered a disastrous injury way back in 1971.

Voce, a talented high school quarterback, was playing defensive back for the Gaiters, whose superstar at that time was a swift, powerful running back named Larry Smith, who had a solid pro career with the Montreal Alouettes and now is the club's president.

At any rate, Voce's headfirst tackle on an opponent for Sir George Williams (now Concordia) University, fractured and dislocated his third and fourth cervical vertebrae and left him a lifelong quadriplegic.

Unable to move his arms or legs, Voce's life was dramatically improved in the mid-1980s when he learned to manipulate a computer keyboard by breathing in and out through a plastic straw in Morse code. He was able to teach computer skills to disabled people and thereby achieve a measure of independence and job satisfaction.

Voce died in 1998 at age 44. Stingley, a paraplegic after suffering a devastating open-field hit by Jack Tatum of the Oakland Raiders, was 55 when he died this past April.

Bell was luckier. Told he would never walk again after his on-field accident, Bell did regain mobility. He walks with a stiff gait, but only has limited range of motion in his right arm.

Guillory, who is awaiting the results of an MRI, remains as pleasantly upbeat as possible in the face of skepticism about his pro football future.

But, given a doctor's green light, he'll get right back into the thick of the action.

"My plan is to come back," Guillory says, simply. "Accidents like that just come with playing football.

"It could happen to anybody -- it happened to me. I obviously have to consider other things outside of football, too. Like walking down the aisle at my wedding one day, playing with my kids in the backyard, and just coaching.

"I take all that into consideration. But, at the same time, I know my God is good. I'll be out there (again) 10 times better than what I was."
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Scary stuff, but sometimes miracles do happen.

Best wishes to Kevin Everett for a complete recovery.

I had the privilege of bringing Rick Hansen, a Canadian hero, to my school as a guest speaker, one of the highlights of my career.

One day, someday, they will find a way to reattach severed spinal cords ... Let us hope.

(Sorry, this should be in All Sports or NFL thread. Not sure how to edit that function).

[WestCoastJoe]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id ... type=story
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The original report.
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Monday, September 10, 2007
Updated: September 11, 1:39 PM ET
Surgeon: Everett has life-threatening spinal-cord injury

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Associated Press

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Kevin Everett sustained a "catastrophic" and life-threatening spinal-cord injury while trying to make a tackle during the Buffalo Bills' season opener and is unlikely to walk again, the surgeon who operated on him said Monday.

"A best-case scenario is full recovery, but not likely," orthopedic surgeon Andrew Cappuccino said. "I believe there will be some permanent neurologic deficit."

Everett was hurt Sunday after he ducked his head while tackling the Denver Broncos' Domenik Hixon during the second-half kickoff. Everett dropped face-first to the ground after his helmet hit Hixon high on the left shoulder and side of the helmet.

Cappuccino noted the 25-year-old reserve tight end did have touch sensation throughout his body and also showed signs of movement. But he cautioned that Everett's injury was life-threatening because he was still susceptible to blood clots, infection and breathing failure.

A trainer attends to Kevin Everett after he showed no signs of consciousness following a helmet-to-helmet hit on Denver's Domenik Hixon at the start of the second half.

Everett is in the intensive care unit of Buffalo's Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital, where he is under sedation and breathing through a respirator as doctors wait for the swelling to lessen. Cappuccino said it will take up to three days to determine the severity of the injury and the recovery process.

Cappuccino repaired a break between the third and fourth vertebrae and also alleviated the pressure on the spinal cord. In reconstructing his spine, doctors made a bone graft and inserted a plate, held in by four screws, and also inserted two small rods, held in place by another four screws.

Doctors, however, weren't able to repair all the damage.

Bills punter Brian Moorman immediately feared the worst when Everett showed no signs of movement as he was placed on a backboard and, with his head and body immobilized, carefully loaded into an ambulance.

"It brought tears to my eyes," Moorman said after practice. He said the sight of Everett's motionless body brought back memories of Mike Utley, the former Detroit Lions guard, who was paralyzed below the chest after injuring his neck in a collision during a 1991 game.

Utley, Moorman recalled, at least was able to give what's become a famous "thumbs up" sign as he was taken off the field. Everett didn't.

"That's what I was waiting for, and that's what everybody else was waiting for," Moorman said. "And to have to walk back to the sideline and not see that made for a tough time."

Utley, who lives in Washington state, was saddened to see replays of Everett's collision.

"I'm sorry this young man got hurt," Utley told The AP. "It wasn't a cheap shot. It was a great form tackle and that's it."

Cappuccino said Everett was alert and aware of the extent of his injuries.

"I told Kevin that the chances for a full neurologic recovery were bleak, dismal," said Cappuccino, who works for the Bills as a consultant, specializing in spinal surgery. "I was honest with him, and he told me, 'Do everything you can to help me.' "

Cappuccino received permission to operate from Everett's mother, Patricia Dugas, who spoke by phone from her home in Houston. She and other family members arrived in Buffalo on Monday. Everett was born in Port Arthur, Texas, and played high school football there.

Buffalo's 2005 third-round draft pick out of Miami, Everett missed his rookie season because of a knee injury. He spent most of last year playing special teams. He was hoping to make an impact as a receiver.

The Bills now attempt to refocus while preparing to play at Pittsburgh on Sunday.

"It's difficult because you know the situation," said running back Anthony Thomas, one of Everett's best friends on the team. "We have to move on. But he'll always be in our thoughts and in our prayers."

Quarterback J.P. Losman said it was difficult to concentrate during practice.

"It seems like every couple of seconds that go by it's always popping into your head," Losman said. "Going through a walk-through, we're looking for him, wanting to hear his voice."

Coach Dick Jauron said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called him Sunday evening, offering the league's support.

"We honor ourselves by our work, and we honor Kevin by moving forward and working while never forgetting Kevin and never getting him out of our thoughts and prayers," Jauron said. "We're going to wait and see what the outcome is here and we're really hoping and praying for the best."

Everett, who was on placed injured reserve Monday, was not the only injury sustained by the Bills.

Cornerback Jason Webster (broken forearm) and free safety Ko Simpson (broken ankle) had surgery, and Jauron said both could miss the rest of the season. Also, linebacker Coy Wire has a sprained knee and is out indefinitely.
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The original report of his injury. The prognosis looked bad.

[TheLionKing]

Good to see he has regain some movements. That hit was so innocent looking.