My nephew Kevin (in the neon yellow sneakers) as he completes
his first half-marathon in 1:29:29 one year have almost dying
from fracturing his skull in 5 places and spending 9 days in a coma.
Today, my mom continues to recover more from the radiation and chemo then the cancer which is in remission. She has started a new daily medication, which is not chemo but is still very strong and over $10,000 a month if not for Medicare (we LOVE Medicare), and continues to be do well although she still needs my constant care.
I recovered from my liver failure (which I have since learned surprised the doctors they expected me to die and at the very least need a transplant) and after an endoscopy, several sonograms, a biopsy and a CatScan, my official diagnosis is that I have stage 2 cirrhosis of the liver of unknown origin (only 5% have this diagnosis) and am healthy once again but will always have the cirrhosis and a greatly increased risk of liver cancer. For now and at least several years, I don't need to be on the transplant list.
But this in not about my mom or me, this is about my nephew Kevin, a college student and star on his college soccer team. Because of all that was going on with me and my mom, my sister didn't really share how dire his condition was. Also, the doctors couldn't give definitive answers. He was crossing from one dorm to another over a flat roof and fell 13 feet to the sidewalk below - he hadn't been drinking. He was in a coma and had fractured his skull in 5 places. He was flown from the local hospital to the fairly close, top head trauma hospital - Leigh High Valley, PA, in Allentown, where they said he had less than a 5% chance of living and if he should regain consciousness, he would likely be a vegetable. This was August 26, he woke up nine days later and was able to talk and move - slowly. He progressed at an amazing rate, was only the 3rd person out of 600 with his type of injury to recover and was the first to walk out of the hospital - 18 days later on September 13. He returned to school in January, had his best semester and played on the soccer team again.
Kevin's progress and recovery stunned and amazed the doctors. A true miracle, he is a bit of a celebrity at Leigh High Valley Hospital where he has visited other patients to offer them hope and spoken to families and investors about how critical the care he received was to his recovery. He required almost no physical or mental therapy and although he still (and may never) have any memory of how the accident happened, he is 100% recovered and in someways is even better for it. He has an appreciation for life and a commitment to studying he didn't have before.
When I say his recovery was a miracle, I'll soon be about it say it literally. You see, unlike me, my family and my brother-in-law's family are very devout catholics (without the judgement and hypocrisy). Kevin's recovery is being considered and is likely to be ordained (I think that's the correct term) a miracle by the vatican. If that happens then it will also result in a special priest, whom Kevin's family prayed to in addition to god, becoming a saint.
To put a wonderful exclamation mark on the end of what was a challenging and close to tragic year, Kevin ran in the Leigh High Valley Hospital Charity Marathon this weekend. He ran the half marathon in 1:29:29 - 10th overall (men and women) and 2nd in his age group!
This ran in the local paper a few weeks after he came home from the hospital:
Local soccer player sustains serious head injury
Kevin Becker making a ‘miraculous’ recovery in rehab
|
Kevin Becker, 21, of Lynbrook, was seriously injured on August 26 when he apparently fell off of the flat roof outside of his campus bedroom window at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. The fall was approximately 13 feet.
“It was divine intervention that Kevin was found by a friend who had decided to leave Kevin’s house to take a walk approximately 10 minutes after the fall,” said Damian Becker, Kevin’s father.
His injury occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. The friend immediately called 911, and Kevin was rushed to Pocono Regional Medical Center, where he was listed as stabilized but in grave condition with severe head trauma. He was then transferred to Lehigh Valley Hospital where he underwent surgery to insert a monitor to measure his intracranial brain pressure and drain blood and excess fluid to relieve pressure.
The family is staying in Pennsylvania to be at their son’s bedside as he begins rehabilitation. Kevin is the nephew of Lynbrook Village Trustee Hilary Becker and Leg. Francis X. Becker.
“ … Kevin’s recovery has been nothing short of miraculous,’ said his father, Damian Becker. “He was life or death, and if he survived, there was a possibility he would not gain consciousness. This recovery is due to Kevin’s will to live, the power of prayer and faith of hundreds of friends in the St. Raymond’s Lynbrook and East Rockaway community, and the compassionate, expert care he received from the nurses and medical staff of the LVH Neuro Intensive Care Unit.”
According to Damian, Kevin is now walking on his own, has easily completed physical therapy tests and has performed well with cognitive therapy tests. “He took a shower by himself, and he’s walking today … the therapist said that out of 600 who took the cognitive test, only three have completed it without any issues — and Kevin was one of those three.”
He should be discharged to inpatient or even outpatient therapy [this Tuesday], said Damian. He is expected to return to school, East Stroudsburg University where he is a junior, perhaps as early as October. Kevin is a college lacrosse player.
“Kevin was in a coma for nine days following his injury, and his life was in balance for much of that time,” said Damian. “His miraculous recovery is a testament to faith, prayer and love and high-quality compassionate care provided by the nurses and doctors.”
“It was divine intervention that Kevin was found by a friend who had decided to leave Kevin’s house to take a walk approximately 10 minutes after the fall,” said Damian Becker, Kevin’s father.
His injury occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. The friend immediately called 911, and Kevin was rushed to Pocono Regional Medical Center, where he was listed as stabilized but in grave condition with severe head trauma. He was then transferred to Lehigh Valley Hospital where he underwent surgery to insert a monitor to measure his intracranial brain pressure and drain blood and excess fluid to relieve pressure.
The family is staying in Pennsylvania to be at their son’s bedside as he begins rehabilitation. Kevin is the nephew of Lynbrook Village Trustee Hilary Becker and Leg. Francis X. Becker.
“ … Kevin’s recovery has been nothing short of miraculous,’ said his father, Damian Becker. “He was life or death, and if he survived, there was a possibility he would not gain consciousness. This recovery is due to Kevin’s will to live, the power of prayer and faith of hundreds of friends in the St. Raymond’s Lynbrook and East Rockaway community, and the compassionate, expert care he received from the nurses and medical staff of the LVH Neuro Intensive Care Unit.”
According to Damian, Kevin is now walking on his own, has easily completed physical therapy tests and has performed well with cognitive therapy tests. “He took a shower by himself, and he’s walking today … the therapist said that out of 600 who took the cognitive test, only three have completed it without any issues — and Kevin was one of those three.”
He should be discharged to inpatient or even outpatient therapy [this Tuesday], said Damian. He is expected to return to school, East Stroudsburg University where he is a junior, perhaps as early as October. Kevin is a college lacrosse player.
“Kevin was in a coma for nine days following his injury, and his life was in balance for much of that time,” said Damian. “His miraculous recovery is a testament to faith, prayer and love and high-quality compassionate care provided by the nurses and doctors.”
Post a Comment