My son Kyle took a post college trip to Thailand as a healthy 22-year old and came back to the US escorted by a nurse with Flight Angels.  We didn’t know it then, but we were soon to learn that he had severed his nerves at C6 & C7.  Our lives, especially his, were forever changed.  This is a condensed version of our story.

Saturday morning, June 24^th, 2016 I woke up early to go for my typical Saturday morning long run, however, I noticed I had a voicemail message from our friend Kathy whose son was on the trip with Kyle.  It was not good news.  The boys had been on motor scooters riding to a waterfall when a van crossed over the center divide around a curve.  Kyle was hit head-on, his helmet left a major dent in the van where his head hit; thank God he was wearing a helmet, or he might not be with us today.  He was taken by  ambulance to a hospital in the town of Pai.  However, the small hospital was unable to conduct an MRI and therefore the ambulance took him on a winding 3 hour ride to the Ram Hospital in Chiang Mai.  Kyle was unconscious throughout and it is through a friend of his that we learned about the harrowing ride through the rain on  mountain roads.  Upon arrival at the Ram Hospital in Chiang Mai, x-rays determined Kyle had suffered a broken jaw in multiple  places, but there was too much swelling to determine what issues there might be with his neck and spine. Once awake, Kyle realized he was unable to move his left arm although he had some finger function; not good for someone who is left-handed! A Spine Specialist friend recommended that we have the Doctor at the Ram Hospital stabilize Kyle and just get him back home.  Thanks to Travel Insurance we purchased just days before his trip, we were able to activate the Medical Evacuation. While it took 10 days before he could travel home, Kyle was able to do so with a nurse escort from Flying Angels. It was a long trip home and upon his return he went straight to the ER and was analyzed by atrauma doctor who immediately put him in a neck brace. The results of the X-ray & MRI showed that Kyle had a chip on C1 which was very frightening!  The Trauma Doctor told us he had never seen anyone walk out with this before.  We were so thankful.  Due to the swelling, we did not yet know the extent of his spinal cord injury.  While in the hospital Kyle had surgery to fix his broken jaw and was released. Sadly that Doctor caused a new problem that we were not aware of for months after.  But something happened during the surgery that injured a nerve in Kyle's face leaving him with a lifelong issue with his right eye and right side of his face.  

We now had to find out what was wrong with Kyle’s arm?  When would  he be back to normal?  This was a frustrating process and Kyle took it upon himself to find a Neurologist to help him.  He scoured the internet and finally found a highly ranked doctor in our insurance network at UC San Diego, Dr. Justin Brown.  He would became our hero.  

After numerous tests, Dr. Brown explained that Kyle had severed his nerves at C6 & C7.  We were heartbroken.  Lots of tears yet through it all Kyle remained positive and strong.  His first surgery was in October 2016 and involved taking 12” of nerve from his right calf and transplanting it into his left shoulder.  Over time this would allow his shoulder to function and bring his arm back into the socket.  His 2nd surgery followed that November and involved a nerve transfer from his ring and pinkie fingers to his bicep.  This would provide him with bicep function and now when he closes his hand his arm automatically curls up; think bicep curls. While none of these transfers produced immediate results, every tiny movement brought joy!  Dr. Brown felt Kyle could have a better life with one last surgery that would provide him strength for his lats and chest; an intercostal surgery. Time was of the essence and therefore, surgery was scheduled ASAP and the date was on Valentines Day, February 14^th, 2017.  He would use nerves from within Kyle's rib cage and lungs to provide Kyle strength to his lats and chest by relocating two nerves to his pec major and lats. Dr. Brown always referred to the nerves like tiny capellini pasta.  This particular surgery was quite involved, and Kyle has a significant  scar.

One year after his first surgery, October 2017, Kyle began to see tiny sparks of movement in his bicep and over time they turned into major progress.  It is now 2021 and Kyle has made vast improvements with his arm.  He can lift his arm about half-way out to his side and rotate it to the front of his body.  .  

This is our new normal. Through it all Kyle has never asked the question “why me?” nor has he wallowed in self-pity.  He is living on his own, has a full-time job as an analyst and started working on his MBA this fall. He is driving again and can hold on to the steering wheel with his left hard.  He works out at the gym 3-4 days a week; enjoys golfing, fishing and can run about one mile as long as he holds on to something with his left hand or his arm has a mind of it's own. He wants to lead as normal a life as possible.  

Recently he commented, “I have hope that someday there will be more advancements in spinal research and maybe then I will be able to get more functionality with my arm.  Until then, I’m going to live my life and not think of myself as disabled.”

Running with #TeamSpinal for the London Marathon will be tough,
but we believe there will be break-throughs in Spinal Research in the future that may provide Kyle will more functionality, as well as to anyone with a spinal cord injury.  It will be for Kyle, TeamSpinal and your support that I will be able to complete the London Marathon. 

Spinal Research is the UK’s leading charity funding medical research around the world to develop effective treatments for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury. Every year 1,000 people in the UK and Ireland are paralyzed following an injury to their spinal cord. We receive no government funding and rely entirely on the support of the public to raise funds for our research. Because of the efforts of our supporters, we have funded innovative medical research that has achieved a number of ground breaking changes in the field.