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"Well Wishes" for Kevin Everett

Potato Sack

By Potato Sack
in The Stadium

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D'KanSkinFan

D'KanSkinFan

Posted
Posted

Kevin:

Prayers and the best well wishes go out to you and your family ~ if what we are hearing through the media about your movement is correct - go slow - take it slow - heal slow.

And most of all, keep the faith because the love of your family will see you through the "rehab" and recovery days.

D'KanSkinFan and family

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Joe Sick

Joe Sick

Posted
Posted

Glad to see his prognosis looking up.

There is a fairly famous picture (at least to VT fans) of Everett after he dropped a sure TD pass. In the background are two fans pointing and laughing. (There was a whole Photoshop thread somewhere.) After this happen, I deleted those pictures from my hard drive.

Best of luck to him.

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dahogs

dahogs

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Posted

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3014742

Report: Doctor says Everett has voluntary movement of arms, legs

Kevin Everett might walk again after all.

The doctor who performed the spinal surgery on Everett told Buffalo TV station WIVB on Tuesday that Everett has voluntary movement of his arms and legs and as a result he is optimistic that Everett will walk again.

Dr. Andrew Cappuccino told WIVB that Everett's sedation levels were lowered on Tuesday, allowing him to respond to verbal commands. WIVB also reported that Everett's latest MRI shows only a small amount of swelling on his spinal cord.

Dr. Barth Green, chairman of the department of neurological surgery at the University of Miami school of medicine, agrees with the prognosis.

"Based on our experience, the fact that he's moving so well, so early after such a catastrophic injury means he will walk again," Green told The Associated Press by telephone from Miami.

"It's totally spectacular, totally unexpected," Green said.

Green said he's been consulting with doctors in Buffalo since Everett sustained a life-threatening spinal cord injury Sunday after ducking his head while tackling the Denver Broncos' Domenik Hixon during the second-half kickoff of the Bills' season opener.

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 dropped face-first to the ground after his helmet hit Hixon high on the left shoulder and side of the helmet.

Asked whether Everett will have a chance to fully recover, Green said: "It's feasible, but it's not 100 percent predictable at this time. ... But it's feasible he could lead a normal life."

On Monday, Cappuccino said that Everett sustained a "catastrophic" and life-threatening spinal-cord injury and was unlikely to walk again.

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

Bills owner Ralph Wilson said the team has been in contact from the beginning with Green and the Miami Project, the university's neurological center that specializes in spinal cord injuries and paralysis.

Everett's agent, Brian Overstreet, also said Everett's mother, Patricia Dugas, told him the player moved his arms and legs when awakened from a deeply sedated sleep.

"I don't know if I would call it a miracle. I would call it a spectacular example of what people can do," Green said. "To me, it's like putting the first man on the moon or splitting the atom. We've shown that if the right treatment is given to people who have a catastrophic injury that they could walk away from it."

Green said the key was the quick action taken by Cappuccino to run an ice-cold saline solution through Everett's system that put the player in a hypothermic state. Doctors at the Miami Project have demonstrated in their laboratories that such action significantly decreases the damage to the spinal cord due to swelling and movement.

"We've been doing a protocol on humans and having similar experiences for many months now," Green said. "But this is the first time I'm aware of that the doctor was with the patient when he was injured and the hypothermia was started within minutes of the injury. We know the earlier it's started, the better."

Everett remains in intensive care and will be slowly taken off sedation and have his body temperature warmed over the next day, Green said. Doctors will also take the player off a respirator.

On Monday, 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.

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 said. "It wasn't a cheap shot. It was a great form tackle and that's it."

Cappuccino received permission to operate from Everett's mother, 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.

Green noted that Everett and Wilson have ties to Miami and the Miami Project -- Everett played there and Wilson is one of the project's largest donors.

"It's an amazing group of circumstances. It's a home run. It's a touchdown," Green said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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arrowhead

arrowhead

Posted
Posted

Yeah, wow, so many times you see these things turn out bad. I think we're all on the same team any time something like this happens. I hope he regains enough mobility to lead a normal life and football can just be something he tells his grandchildren he used to play when he was young.

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G-Prime

G-Prime

Posted
Posted

In tragedy lessons are learned. Please any youngsters playing keep your face mask up, you are not a battering ram. Any oldsters coaching, preach this over and over again please. It doesn't happen that often, but when it does it's devastating to many people. In literally the blink of an eye Kevin's lively hood was taken away. A split second is all takes kids. My prayers are with him.

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scottie

scottie

Posted
Posted

I sent my well wishes.

It found it a bit tough to describe my feelings on the matter and had to stop and think while going through it in my head. A football player's body seems to be taken for granted by many.

Most die hard fans have a team that they follow, and it seems pretty tough when we get an injury to a player that could last a few weeks or possibly even a season. To see something like this happen seems to make you forget that you have any type of bias towards this sport, and makes you remember that above it all, you are a fan of football.

As I would believe most football fans are doing, my thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Everett and his family. I would also like to thank him for all of the hard work he put in to entertain us.

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Morneblade

Morneblade

Posted
Posted

Stay strong Kevin. You face the most difficult fight you'll ever face. But know that not only do you have your teammates rooting for you and Buffalo Bills fans, you have the entire fraternity of NFL players and every NFL fan rooting for your recovery.

Take it one day at a time, and dont ever give up. You're in all our thoughts and prayers and we're all behind you.

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