Hadley Twp.- Kyle Deachin, like many other high school seniors, will walk in commencement exercises this month.
However, unlike most, those steps toward the podium to receive his diploma were not an absolute certainty nearly three months ago, when the 17-year-old suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury.
‘This whole experience has gone so fast,? says Lisa Deachin, Kyle’s mother, as she sits with her son and Kyle’s father, Todd, at their township home. ‘It’s overwhelming.?
Kyle was snowtubing at the New Life Camp in Rose City on Feb. 21 with a large group. As the ‘pusher,? he got the tube with seven people on it going to a fast speed, then dove on top. But as they sped down the hill, Kyle saw another tube below that hadn’t managed to get out of their way. Kyle’s head took the impact when they crashed instead of the tube and his C-5 vertebra ‘exploded.?
‘I felt a snap and that was it,? says Kyle, who never lost consciousness. ‘I told them I couldn’t move. They didn’t believe me, they thought I was too calm. The first thing I did was tell them to pray for me. I knew something was wrong.?
Although he couldn’t feel anything, Kyle remained calm. His parents on the other hand, had a few moments of panic.
‘He called me when he was waiting for the ambulance and I felt myself start to fill with fear,? Todd recalls. ‘I just said, ‘God, I trust you.? I got home and told Lisa and she started to panic, and I just told her God is in control.?
Kyle was taken to a West Branch hospital initially, but they lacked the capabilities to deal with his injury and he was shipped to St. Mary’s of Michigan Medical Center in Saginaw. X-rays and MRIs showed that Kyle’s C-5 vertebra was shattered and he had bruising from the C-5 to the T-1. Doctors told Kyle and his parents that he was paralyzed from the shoulders down and they couldn’t give a prognosis. For 10 days after his accident, Kyle couldn’t move. Doctors deemed surgery necessary and surgeons went through an incision in the front of Kyle’s neck, removed the pieces of broken vertabra and put in a plate connecting the C-4 and C-6 vertebrae, then placed the broken pieces in a tube and inserted it with the expectation it will fuse over time.
‘He came out of the surgery with no ventilator, no pain or medications,? Lisa said. ‘Everyone was shocked. We got him moving a little and he was able to start moving his arms and legs some.?
Kyle was moved to the Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids on March 3. Dr. Adam Rush, a pediatric physiatrist, was assigned to Kyle.
‘He had a spinal cord injury, the technical level is a C-6 or cervical 6,? Rush explains. ‘Severity is graded A for the worst, and E for the best. Christopher Reeve was an A. You or I could be E’s, almost entirely recovered.?
Kyle began physical and occupational therapy, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day of the week, walking, using pulley systems, lifting weights and doing balance and coordination exercises.
‘I was starting at square one,? said Kyle. ‘I remembered how to do things, but my body wasn’t responding. It was disappointing, but I didn’t think I’d be like that forever.?
Kyle, a student at Genesee Christian High School and a baseball player, was determined. He became frustrated when his weekend therapists didn’t push him hard enough.
‘It helped that he is a very athletic guy in the first place and was very motivated and is a very emotionally tough guy,? Rush said. ‘Physical therapy helps someone to more efficiently use the strength that they get back. It won’t make the injury heal… He has made a very good recovery. It’s not out of the ordinary, but at the very top end of normal range.?
Rush said he sees a few dozen of these types of injuries per year in kids, most caused by recreational activities such as skiing, tubing, or using an all-terrain vehicle. He advises parents not to let their children ride ATV’s and also says younger children in cars should be secured in appropriate car seats and booster seats. Kyle’s accident, however, was a fluke. It may take up to 18 months for him to heal, Rush says, but he will not be surprised if he makes a complete recovery.
Kyle was discharged on April 6 and returned home to his family, which includes brothers Trevor, 14, and Kreg, 11. and has completely caught up on his schoolwork. April 24 was ‘the coolest day? when he walked into St. Mary’s in Saginaw without a neck brace, where they had asked him to return and see them if he ever walked again. The staff was shocked to see him return so soon and his surgeon called him ‘the poster child for spinal cord injuries.?
Kyle missed baseball season, but is driving again, attended prom and is looking forward to graduation. He has learned several things from his accident and recovery.
‘One, anything is possible with God,? said Kyle, who will attend Kettering University in the fall to major in engineering. ‘Two, every problem is mind over matter. Three, what you get out of something is proportional to what you put into it. Four, your mental outlook has a huge factor on your limitations. Five, if something needs to be done or said, say and do it while you have the chance.?