antiquity
01-11-2003, 06:14 PM
A twist of fate
Publication date:
Saturday, January 11, 2003
By CHERYL CARMIN SHAVER
Pharos-Tribune staff writer
Derrick Kerschner, 15, a new resident of Logansport, smiled when he reminisced about visiting his cousin who lives near Riverside Park; about the days last summer when he just "hung around the river" playing and swimming near the dam.
Even so, if Derrick could, he would do it all again next summer.
But he can't.
On Sept. 30, when Derrick lived with his father, Kenneth Kerschner, in Peru, he and Derrick were "horsing around," much like many fathers and sons do, but in a split second, Derrick's world changed.
"We lost our footing and we fell," said Derrick. "My father and I landed on the floor. I had no way to break the fall and my forehead took the blow of both my dad's and my weight." The pressure had forced Derrick's head back and snapped his neck in two places.
Derrick immediately knew that his injuries were serious. "My body felt numb," he said.
Derrick's mother, Kim Sims, recounted the moments after the fall.
"Derrick rolled over onto his back and said, 'Don't touch me, dad, I broke my neck.' His dad didn't believe him and he said, 'Don't fool around with me, Derrick.'
"Derrick told his father 'No, if you move me, it will kill me,' and finally convinced his father that it was not a joke," said Kim.
Within the hour, Derrick had been taken to Dukes Memorial Hospital, Peru, given a large dose of steroids to prevent swelling and more damage, and airlifted to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne.
Before the accident, Derrick was living with his father in Peru. His mother lived in Logansport; however, she was at his side before the helicopter began its flight to Fort Wayne.
The grim reality of the injuries was discovered at Parkview. Derrick had broken the cervical four and five vertebrae in his neck.
"There are four sections of disks in the spinal cord; the first eight vertebrae at the top of the spine are called the cervical vertebrae, the second 12 are the thoracic vertebrae, the third five are the lumbar, and the last five are called the sacral vertebrae," said Kim, as she leafed through an information notebook given to her by the hospital.
She explained that each vertebra has several nerves running off it that are individually responsible for the control of different parts of the brain. By sending messages to the brain, the nerves enable every body function to be achieved, such as stabilizing blood pressure, blinking, moving an extremity and even breathing.
"I was impressed with Dukes because they knew to give him steroids right away," said Kim, noting that steroids prevent swelling that would cut off circulation to nerves, causing them to "die off."
Kim explained that those "dead" nerves no longer send messages to the brain, causing paralysis of the area controlled by them.
Some swelling did occur, resulting in temporary paralysis of his lungs. Normally they would not be affected by damage to the C four or five vertebra.
"He was on three different respirators for about two months," said Kim, noting that this was one of the few treatments that Derrick found difficult.
In the first week at Parkview Hospital, Derrick underwent five surgeries.
"They put a "halo" (a head brace) on my head and neck," said Derrick as he laid in his bed. "It was a metal frame." The frame was secured to his head with metal screws inserted in his skull. "It didn't hurt, but when they took the screws out it did," Derrick said, grimacing.
Derrick was in the hospital's intensive care unit for 21 days, then was transported to St. Vincent Children's Specialty Hospital, where he would undergo physical and psychological rehabilitation.
"Derrick's really taken this well," said Kim, from her living room out of earshot from Derrick. "He's only cried once, and that was when they told him that he was going to be moved from Parkview to the rehab center where he would be sitting up for several hours each day."
According to Kim, typical in the early weeks of quadriplegic cases, her son was having difficulty moving from his bed to his chair without getting dizzy.
"His blood pressure would drop and he would get sick. He was afraid that the center had planned to keep him in a prone position for an extended time all at once. He said, 'Mom, I can't do it,'" said Kim.
After explaining that the rehabilitation center would slowly increase his sitting time, his apprehension disappeared, she said. Photos taken of a smiling Derrick while still at Parkview reflect his positive attitude. According to Kim, he has taken everything "in stride."
"I don't remember who told me that I was going to be paralyzed. I guess I kind of knew," he said.
Derrick was released from the rehabilitation center Dec. 23.
"It was fast. I had to make a home in four days," said Kim, noting that the decision to keep Derrick with her in Logansport was a mutual agreement with his father. She could be with him all the time.
But difficulties are a daily thing for Derrick and Kim.
"People take the handicapped parking spaces," she said of the lot in front of her Canterbury House apartment.
Also, Kim, who is on disability, is a diabetic, who needs four insulin shots daily along with oral medications.
"Derrick must have a new catheter inserted every three hours. I feed him when he is hungry because we just haven't been able to get the feeding tray that would enable him to feed himself. He goes to bed from between midnight and 2 a.m., and at 4 a.m. I have to wake him to give him more medicine, but the hardest thing is getting his hair washed," she smiled at her son.
A home nurse arrives every morning at 7 a.m. and she stays until 1 p.m. This will only last for 30 days.
"After that, I don't know what we'll do," Kim said.
One of the biggest dangers of a quadriplegic is autonomic dysreflexia, a severe condition that can happen from an irritation below the injury level, one that cannot be felt by the patient. The signal from the nerves is blocked and not able to reach the brain, causing a "state of confusion."
Symptoms are high blood pressure, blackouts, seizures or strokes, and eventually death, according to Kim.
She said if Derrick should get a pounding headache, he must be catheterized, checked for an impaction and examined for places where circulation might be cut off at extremities. If no cause can be found, the patient must be rushed to a hospital.
Although Derrick has no interest in returning to school, his mother believes that someday he will be able to do so. "He's just self-conscious right now."
Derrick spends most of his time watching television or listening to music. He talked about the actor Christopher Reeves and his injuries that resulted in his paralysis. He keeps watch on new technology and stem cell research, and he believes that someday he will be able to go to the river and "hang out" again.
"Hey, Bruce," Derrick called to the Pharos-Tribune photographer, Bruce Pyke just as he was leaving the room after photographing Derrick.
Pyke turned and quickly walked to Derrick's side, "Yeh, buddy?"
"Did you get a picture of my mom?" he asked his head turned toward the photographer. Derrick's mother, who has given him love and care since the accident, immediately went to her son's side and Pyke snapped a quick shot of him and his mother.
"Thanks, man," Derrick said, looking relieved as he smiled at Kim. His hopeful eyes sparkled.
http://www.pharostribune.com/cgi-bin/LiveIQue.acgi$rec=36544?lp_story
Publication date:
Saturday, January 11, 2003
By CHERYL CARMIN SHAVER
Pharos-Tribune staff writer
Derrick Kerschner, 15, a new resident of Logansport, smiled when he reminisced about visiting his cousin who lives near Riverside Park; about the days last summer when he just "hung around the river" playing and swimming near the dam.
Even so, if Derrick could, he would do it all again next summer.
But he can't.
On Sept. 30, when Derrick lived with his father, Kenneth Kerschner, in Peru, he and Derrick were "horsing around," much like many fathers and sons do, but in a split second, Derrick's world changed.
"We lost our footing and we fell," said Derrick. "My father and I landed on the floor. I had no way to break the fall and my forehead took the blow of both my dad's and my weight." The pressure had forced Derrick's head back and snapped his neck in two places.
Derrick immediately knew that his injuries were serious. "My body felt numb," he said.
Derrick's mother, Kim Sims, recounted the moments after the fall.
"Derrick rolled over onto his back and said, 'Don't touch me, dad, I broke my neck.' His dad didn't believe him and he said, 'Don't fool around with me, Derrick.'
"Derrick told his father 'No, if you move me, it will kill me,' and finally convinced his father that it was not a joke," said Kim.
Within the hour, Derrick had been taken to Dukes Memorial Hospital, Peru, given a large dose of steroids to prevent swelling and more damage, and airlifted to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne.
Before the accident, Derrick was living with his father in Peru. His mother lived in Logansport; however, she was at his side before the helicopter began its flight to Fort Wayne.
The grim reality of the injuries was discovered at Parkview. Derrick had broken the cervical four and five vertebrae in his neck.
"There are four sections of disks in the spinal cord; the first eight vertebrae at the top of the spine are called the cervical vertebrae, the second 12 are the thoracic vertebrae, the third five are the lumbar, and the last five are called the sacral vertebrae," said Kim, as she leafed through an information notebook given to her by the hospital.
She explained that each vertebra has several nerves running off it that are individually responsible for the control of different parts of the brain. By sending messages to the brain, the nerves enable every body function to be achieved, such as stabilizing blood pressure, blinking, moving an extremity and even breathing.
"I was impressed with Dukes because they knew to give him steroids right away," said Kim, noting that steroids prevent swelling that would cut off circulation to nerves, causing them to "die off."
Kim explained that those "dead" nerves no longer send messages to the brain, causing paralysis of the area controlled by them.
Some swelling did occur, resulting in temporary paralysis of his lungs. Normally they would not be affected by damage to the C four or five vertebra.
"He was on three different respirators for about two months," said Kim, noting that this was one of the few treatments that Derrick found difficult.
In the first week at Parkview Hospital, Derrick underwent five surgeries.
"They put a "halo" (a head brace) on my head and neck," said Derrick as he laid in his bed. "It was a metal frame." The frame was secured to his head with metal screws inserted in his skull. "It didn't hurt, but when they took the screws out it did," Derrick said, grimacing.
Derrick was in the hospital's intensive care unit for 21 days, then was transported to St. Vincent Children's Specialty Hospital, where he would undergo physical and psychological rehabilitation.
"Derrick's really taken this well," said Kim, from her living room out of earshot from Derrick. "He's only cried once, and that was when they told him that he was going to be moved from Parkview to the rehab center where he would be sitting up for several hours each day."
According to Kim, typical in the early weeks of quadriplegic cases, her son was having difficulty moving from his bed to his chair without getting dizzy.
"His blood pressure would drop and he would get sick. He was afraid that the center had planned to keep him in a prone position for an extended time all at once. He said, 'Mom, I can't do it,'" said Kim.
After explaining that the rehabilitation center would slowly increase his sitting time, his apprehension disappeared, she said. Photos taken of a smiling Derrick while still at Parkview reflect his positive attitude. According to Kim, he has taken everything "in stride."
"I don't remember who told me that I was going to be paralyzed. I guess I kind of knew," he said.
Derrick was released from the rehabilitation center Dec. 23.
"It was fast. I had to make a home in four days," said Kim, noting that the decision to keep Derrick with her in Logansport was a mutual agreement with his father. She could be with him all the time.
But difficulties are a daily thing for Derrick and Kim.
"People take the handicapped parking spaces," she said of the lot in front of her Canterbury House apartment.
Also, Kim, who is on disability, is a diabetic, who needs four insulin shots daily along with oral medications.
"Derrick must have a new catheter inserted every three hours. I feed him when he is hungry because we just haven't been able to get the feeding tray that would enable him to feed himself. He goes to bed from between midnight and 2 a.m., and at 4 a.m. I have to wake him to give him more medicine, but the hardest thing is getting his hair washed," she smiled at her son.
A home nurse arrives every morning at 7 a.m. and she stays until 1 p.m. This will only last for 30 days.
"After that, I don't know what we'll do," Kim said.
One of the biggest dangers of a quadriplegic is autonomic dysreflexia, a severe condition that can happen from an irritation below the injury level, one that cannot be felt by the patient. The signal from the nerves is blocked and not able to reach the brain, causing a "state of confusion."
Symptoms are high blood pressure, blackouts, seizures or strokes, and eventually death, according to Kim.
She said if Derrick should get a pounding headache, he must be catheterized, checked for an impaction and examined for places where circulation might be cut off at extremities. If no cause can be found, the patient must be rushed to a hospital.
Although Derrick has no interest in returning to school, his mother believes that someday he will be able to do so. "He's just self-conscious right now."
Derrick spends most of his time watching television or listening to music. He talked about the actor Christopher Reeves and his injuries that resulted in his paralysis. He keeps watch on new technology and stem cell research, and he believes that someday he will be able to go to the river and "hang out" again.
"Hey, Bruce," Derrick called to the Pharos-Tribune photographer, Bruce Pyke just as he was leaving the room after photographing Derrick.
Pyke turned and quickly walked to Derrick's side, "Yeh, buddy?"
"Did you get a picture of my mom?" he asked his head turned toward the photographer. Derrick's mother, who has given him love and care since the accident, immediately went to her son's side and Pyke snapped a quick shot of him and his mother.
"Thanks, man," Derrick said, looking relieved as he smiled at Kim. His hopeful eyes sparkled.
http://www.pharostribune.com/cgi-bin/LiveIQue.acgi$rec=36544?lp_story