Max
08-15-2003, 12:30 PM
CHS senior battles back from adversity
08/15/03
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Eli Wyatt smiles with Shepherd Center occupational therapist Jessica Bedoya.
It wasn't a typical first day back to school for Calhoun High School senior Eli Wyatt.
It was the first time he has been back since his life took an unexpected turn earlier this year.
"It was great to be back and to see all my friends," Wyatt said. "Everybody went out of their way to welcome me back to school, and nobody acted weird from seeing me in a wheelchair."
After falling asleep at the wheel of his car, Wyatt, then 16, was in an accident that left him paralyzed from the mid-chest down. He had left his girlfriend's house around midnight on March 30 and was headed to a friend's house for the night, but he never got there. He fell asleep while driving, and his car ran off the road, slammed into trees, and traveled down a slope.
The impact of the accident broke vertebrae in his back, damaged his spinal cord, and left him with severe head trauma. The high school junior waited in the ditch for nearly five hours before he was found. By the time medical help arrived, he was suffering from hypothermia - his body temperature only 70 degrees.
He was immediately airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tenn. The hypothermia turned out to be a blessing in disguise: Doctors later told his family it was what kept him from bleeding to death while waiting for help.
At Erlanger, doctors gave Eli's grandmother, Judy Wyatt, the worst-case scenario about his injury.
"They told me he could be a quadriplegic. There was no way of knowing how much movement he would get back," she said. "They told me he would be paralyzed, and he might not even get arm movements."
Doctors also explained to his grandmother the critical surgery that Wyatt required. Using donor bone, doctors replaced two of the damaged disks in his back.
"It was devastating," Mrs. Wyatt said. "All I could think was 'let him live and not have a brain injury.' The rest we can deal with."
Wyatt remained at the hospital for the next three and a half weeks on a ventilator in intensive care before being transferred to Atlanta-based Shepherd Center, the country's largest catastrophic care hospital specializing in the treatment of spinal cord and brain injuries.
There, therapists worked to wean him from the ventilator and began his rehabilitation.
"I was scared because I didn't know anything about spinal cord injuries," Wyatt said. "I wondered what life was going to be like. At first, I couldn't feel or move. I just knew I didn't want to be stuck in a bed for the rest of my life."
However, Wyatt soon learned that he wouldn't be confined to his bed. Every day he participated in occupational and physical therapy and therapeutic recreation. He's been on camping trips, gone to the mall, the airport and the movies - all designed to get patients out in the community and show them that they are still capable of living an active life.
When Wyatt first arrived at Shepherd near the end of April, he had little to no movement. Now, he has good upper body movement from the mid-chest level.
"I feel good," Wyatt said. "I keep getting better and better."
His friends and teachers from Calhoun were a major part of Wyatt's recovery, taking him out to concerts and to the mall on the weekends.
"He has wonderful friends," Mrs. Wyatt added. "They've been here from the very beginning."
But the rehabilitation hasn't been all fun and games. One of the hardest parts for Wyatt and his family was accepting what had happened and how it affects their lives.
"It hasn't been easy," Mrs. Wyatt said. "There have been times when you think you can't go another minute, but you do."
The Wyatts' house was already fairly accessible, so only minor modifications have had to be completed to accommodate Wyatt's wheelchair. The biggest obstacle the family is facing is trying to find a van to make travel easier.
Now that he's home, Wyatt plans to return to his part-time job at Piggly Wiggly, get evaluated for adaptive driving, look for colleges, and work on gaining back more and more of his independence. He is also talking to the basketball coach about assisting the team so that he can remain active in sports.
"I just want to have a normal life," he said.
His grandmother agreed.
"A spinal cord injury doesn't end your life but changes it dramatically," she said. "The opportunities are still there. He can still do whatever he wants to do."
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08/15/03
Email this story to a friend
Eli Wyatt smiles with Shepherd Center occupational therapist Jessica Bedoya.
It wasn't a typical first day back to school for Calhoun High School senior Eli Wyatt.
It was the first time he has been back since his life took an unexpected turn earlier this year.
"It was great to be back and to see all my friends," Wyatt said. "Everybody went out of their way to welcome me back to school, and nobody acted weird from seeing me in a wheelchair."
After falling asleep at the wheel of his car, Wyatt, then 16, was in an accident that left him paralyzed from the mid-chest down. He had left his girlfriend's house around midnight on March 30 and was headed to a friend's house for the night, but he never got there. He fell asleep while driving, and his car ran off the road, slammed into trees, and traveled down a slope.
The impact of the accident broke vertebrae in his back, damaged his spinal cord, and left him with severe head trauma. The high school junior waited in the ditch for nearly five hours before he was found. By the time medical help arrived, he was suffering from hypothermia - his body temperature only 70 degrees.
He was immediately airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tenn. The hypothermia turned out to be a blessing in disguise: Doctors later told his family it was what kept him from bleeding to death while waiting for help.
At Erlanger, doctors gave Eli's grandmother, Judy Wyatt, the worst-case scenario about his injury.
"They told me he could be a quadriplegic. There was no way of knowing how much movement he would get back," she said. "They told me he would be paralyzed, and he might not even get arm movements."
Doctors also explained to his grandmother the critical surgery that Wyatt required. Using donor bone, doctors replaced two of the damaged disks in his back.
"It was devastating," Mrs. Wyatt said. "All I could think was 'let him live and not have a brain injury.' The rest we can deal with."
Wyatt remained at the hospital for the next three and a half weeks on a ventilator in intensive care before being transferred to Atlanta-based Shepherd Center, the country's largest catastrophic care hospital specializing in the treatment of spinal cord and brain injuries.
There, therapists worked to wean him from the ventilator and began his rehabilitation.
"I was scared because I didn't know anything about spinal cord injuries," Wyatt said. "I wondered what life was going to be like. At first, I couldn't feel or move. I just knew I didn't want to be stuck in a bed for the rest of my life."
However, Wyatt soon learned that he wouldn't be confined to his bed. Every day he participated in occupational and physical therapy and therapeutic recreation. He's been on camping trips, gone to the mall, the airport and the movies - all designed to get patients out in the community and show them that they are still capable of living an active life.
When Wyatt first arrived at Shepherd near the end of April, he had little to no movement. Now, he has good upper body movement from the mid-chest level.
"I feel good," Wyatt said. "I keep getting better and better."
His friends and teachers from Calhoun were a major part of Wyatt's recovery, taking him out to concerts and to the mall on the weekends.
"He has wonderful friends," Mrs. Wyatt added. "They've been here from the very beginning."
But the rehabilitation hasn't been all fun and games. One of the hardest parts for Wyatt and his family was accepting what had happened and how it affects their lives.
"It hasn't been easy," Mrs. Wyatt said. "There have been times when you think you can't go another minute, but you do."
The Wyatts' house was already fairly accessible, so only minor modifications have had to be completed to accommodate Wyatt's wheelchair. The biggest obstacle the family is facing is trying to find a van to make travel easier.
Now that he's home, Wyatt plans to return to his part-time job at Piggly Wiggly, get evaluated for adaptive driving, look for colleges, and work on gaining back more and more of his independence. He is also talking to the basketball coach about assisting the team so that he can remain active in sports.
"I just want to have a normal life," he said.
His grandmother agreed.
"A spinal cord injury doesn't end your life but changes it dramatically," she said. "The opportunities are still there. He can still do whatever he wants to do."
©2002 MyWebPal.com. All rights reserved.
Contact us at webmaster@mywebpal.com
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=722&NewsID=482471&CategoryID=3388&show=localnews&om=0