Excited about Kevin Everett possible recovery

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I just read about the remarkable limb movement football player Kevin Everett has had. It may foretell that he will recover from his horrible spinal cord injury. I so hope this is the beginning of being able to treat many such injuries immediately after the accident. There are far too many young people living paralyzed and often in nursing homes. I'm excited about this!

Neurosurgeon: Bills' Kevin Everett moved arms and legs, which means he could walk again - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

[LuckyRobin]

Amazing. It's times like this I wish Christopher Reeve were still alive to see the progress.

[Exile]

Call me mean-spirited if you want, but I don't understand all these crocodile tears. I believe that it comes down to personal responsibility. Football players and other gladiator "sports" participants choose to take risks that can--and do--result in serious physical injury. And violence is what attracts fans to these events anyway. Hello. What do you spectators and players think is going to happen? What hypocrisy!

Furthermore, in addition to his 7-figure salary, I doubt that a penny is going to come out of Everett's pocket to pay for his treatment. Now, compare this situation to that of the average Ameican worker without employer-paid health care who cannot afford inurance on his or her own, and who suffers a similar but blameless injury such as through a fall or an automobile accident. Then tell me for whom I should really feel sorry.

[LuckyRobin]

Maybe so. But I think the strides being made in this field of injury are amazing. And it's still okay to have compassion for people who brought their injuries upon themselves. He is luckier than many in a whole lot of ways. And somewhere there's a kid out there who just had a spinal cord injury whose family is going to remember what they did for this famous guy and say, "What about chilled saline for our kid? Will it help?" And they will only know of it through it being publicized in this incident. That alone is worth putting up with the hoopla. Isn't it?

[n_vizion]

Perhaps this incident will cause Kevin to help raise more awereness for these types of injuries and maybe even raise money to help those who can not afford the best treatment. Everything happens for a reason.

[herm4]

Call me mean-spirited if you want, but I don't understand all these crocodile tears. I believe that it comes down to personal responsibility. Football players and other gladiator "sports" participants choose to take risks that can--and do--result in serious physical injury. And violence is what attracts fans to these events anyway. Hello. What do you spectators and players think is going to happen? What hypocrisy!

Furthermore, in addition to his 7-figure salary, I doubt that a penny is going to come out of Everett's pocket to pay for his treatment. Now, compare this situation to that of the average Ameican worker without employer-paid health care who cannot afford inurance on his or her own, and who suffers a similar but blameless injury such as through a fall or an automobile accident. Then tell me for whom I should really feel sorry.

Mean spirited and how about heartless? The guy is still a human being that was nearly paralized for the rest of his life, but because of great medical intervention he will probably be o.k.. I think that's what is most important here.

[fairy74]

I heard this on the radio this morning, I hope he makes a full recovery

[Aleta]

I was happy to hear about the report. He is so young and it would have been the worst thing ever to be paralized at his age with so much life ahead of him. He went to the University of Miami.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Exile, are you bitter about this whole situation?

As I understand it, the immediate intervention done for Everett is inexpensive, and could be done at any little community or public hospital in the country. Further, if it saves people from a life of paralysis, it can save our society many, many dollars per patient. Do you know what it takes to maintain for the next many decades of his life a 13 year old child who has broken his neck tumbling from an ATV ? He may need to be on a ventilator just to breathe and have his every single physical need tended to by others. He is unlikely to ever feel happy with his life again. Or how about if the same football accident happened to a high school player? Yeah, how about someone who has been injured on the job---someone like my brother, Mark, who fell off a roof? Sorry, but my brother's care ended up falling on you and all your fellow citizens, Exile. It ended up on you because he wound up taken care of by the VA system. How much better if he could have been "saved" as it looks like Everett may be.

It seems to me that inexpensive initial treatment that prevents paralysis would indeed be offered to any victim in the ER, money or not. So it is something to celebrate if we have a breakthrough treatment.

I am happy for the possibility Everett has for recovery, and am happy for all the other future accident victims who may be able to get this very treatment and return to normal lives instead of the life of an institutionalized invalid. There are a lot of paralyzing spinal chord injuries, and right now, maintaining the injured person is very expensive. I want people to be healthy and happy again, regardless of whether they are sports figures or just the neighbor kid who dove into shallow water, or whomever.

[herm4]

Well said!!!

[jIM_Ohio]

I was watching the game when it happened (I am a die hard bills fan). WOW.

I was shocked when the reporters at initial press conference asked if he would walk when doctor's said they needed 24-72 hours for swelling to go down.

12 hours later a new reporter reported he was paralyzed for life

6 hours later the same doctor's which held 1st new conference reported he had voluntary movement in all extremeties.

If you want to watch the initial press conference which describes how they treated the injury, here is the link off the Buffalo Bills web site:


Multimedia - Buffalo Bills

[DebbieL]

I am overjoyed with any progress in treating (or preventing) paralysis. It is one of my biggest fears in life. I feel for ANYBODY who suffers such an injury. I will definitely ask for such a treatment if someone I love goes through a similar injury (and the sooner the better).

[Exile]

Exile, are you bitter about this whole situation?

As I understand it, the immediate intervention done for Everett is inexpensive, and could be done at any little community or public hospital in the country. Further, if it saves people from a life of paralysis, it can save our society many, many dollars per patient. Do you know what it takes to maintain for the next many decades of his life a 13 year old child who has broken his neck tumbling from an ATV ? He may need to be on a ventilator just to breathe and have his every single physical need tended to by others. He is unlikely to ever feel happy with his life again. Or how about if the same football accident happened to a high school player? Yeah, how about someone who has been injured on the job---someone like my brother, Mark, who fell off a roof? Sorry, but my brother's care ended up falling on you and all your fellow citizens, Exile. It ended up on you because he wound up taken care of by the VA system. How much better if he could have been "saved" as it looks like Everett may be.

It seems to me that inexpensive initial treatment that prevents paralysis would indeed be offered to any victim in the ER, money or not. So it is something to celebrate if we have a breakthrough treatment.

I am happy for the possibility Everett has for recovery, and am happy for all the other future accident victims who may be able to get this very treatment and return to normal lives instead of the life of an institutionalized invalid. There are a lot of paralyzing spinal chord injuries, and right now, maintaining the injured person is very expensive. I want people to be healthy and happy again, regardless of whether they are sports figures or just the neighbor kid who dove into shallow water, or whomever.

Bitter? You're darn right I am.

All the examples that you gave of paralysis victims made my point, Joan. The above treatment whether expensive or inexpensive (and for people without insurance the latter is a relative term) should be available to anybody, but unlike in other Western industrialized countries which have some form of universal health care, medical care in the U.S. is a privilege, not a right. And speaking of which, do you have any idea how costly a trip to the ER can be?

Joan, suppose your brother's accident weren't covered by the VA (which sounds unusual anyway for that agency to cover a non military work-related injury). What then?

It's a matter of priorities. Gladiator athletes contribute nothing to society Yet they make outrageous salaries because there are too many people who are willing to spend ridiculous amounts of time and money on sporting events instead of utilizing their resources on improving their own and their families' lives, such as by contributing funds and volunteering time to campaigns that call for government funding of decent and affordable health care for all Americans, regardless of income--or fame.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Emergency rooms treat all kinds of uninsured people for all kinds of problems. We are talking about an emergency treatment for spinal cord injuries.

The VA gives medical care for veterans for ailments that develop after their service. Most choose to go elsewhere for care, though.

[herm4]

Bitter? You're darn right I am.

All the examples that you gave of paralysis victims made my point, Joan. The above treatment whether expensive or inexpensive (and for people without insurance the latter is a relative term) should be available to anybody, but unlike in other Western industrialized countries which have some form of universal health care, medical care in the U.S. is a privilege, not a right. And speaking of which, do you have any idea how costly a trip to the ER can be?

Joan, suppose your brother's accident weren't covered by the VA (which sounds unusual anyway for that agency to cover a non military work-related injury). What then?

It's a matter of priorities. Gladiator athletes contribute nothing to society Yet they make outrageous salaries because there are too many people who are willing to spend ridiculous amounts of time and money on sporting events instead of utilizing their resources on improving their own and their families' lives, such as by contributing funds and volunteering time to campaigns that call for government funding of decent and affordable health care for all Americans, regardless of income--or fame.

But doesn't it matter to you that a possible break through in spinal cord injugy treatment, may have been found with this incident? It's huge! This may come in handy for you or someone you care about in the future. I can't believe you don't see the that.