Kevin Everett (Buffalo Bills) may not walk again

[Xray]

Kevin Everett sustained a "catastrophic" and life-threatening spinal-cord injury while trying to make a tackle during the Buffalo Bills' season opener and is unlikely to walk again, the surgeon who operated on him said Monday.

"A best-case scenario is full recovery, but not likely," orthopedic surgeon Andrew Cappuccino said. "I believe there will be some permanent neurologic deficit."

Everett was hurt Sunday after he ducked his head while tackling the Denver Broncos' Domenik Hixon during the second-half kickoff. Everett dropped face-first to the ground after his helmet hit Hixon high on the left shoulder and side of the helmet.

Cappuccino noted the 25-year-old reserve tight end did have touch sensation throughout his body and also showed signs of movement. But he cautioned that Everett's injury was life-threatening because he was still susceptible to blood clots, infection and breathing failure.

Everett is in the intensive care unit of Buffalo's Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital, where he is under sedation and breathing through a respirator as doctors wait for the swelling to lessen. Cappuccino said it will take up to three days to determine the severity of the injury and the recovery process.

Cappuccino repaired a break between the third and fourth vertebrae and also alleviated the pressure on the spinal cord. In reconstructing his spine, doctors made a bone graft and inserted a plate, held in by four screws, and also inserted two small rods, held in place by another four screws.

Doctors, however, weren't able to repair all the damage.

Bills punter Brian Moorman immediately feared the worst when Everett showed no signs of movement as he was placed on a backboard and, with his head and body immobilized, carefully loaded into an ambulance.

"It brought tears to my eyes," Moorman said after practice. He said the sight of Everett's motionless body brought back memories of Mike Utley, the former Detroit Lions guard, who was paralyzed below the chest after injuring his neck in a collision during a 1991 game.

Utley, Moorman recalled, at least was able to give what's become a famous "thumbs up" sign as he was taken off the field. Everett didn't.

"That's what I was waiting for, and that's what everybody else was waiting for," Moorman said. "And to have to walk back to the sideline and not see that made for a tough time."

Utley, who lives in Washington state, was saddened to see replays of Everett's collision.

"I'm sorry this young man got hurt," Utley told The AP. "It wasn't a cheap shot. It was a great form tackle and that's it."

Cappuccino said Everett was alert and aware of the extent of his injuries.

"I told Kevin that the chances for a full neurologic recovery were bleak, dismal," said Cappuccino, who works for the Bills as a consultant, specializing in spinal surgery. "I was honest with him, and he told me, 'Do everything you can to help me.'"

Cappuccino received permission to operate from Everett's mother, Patricia Dugas, who spoke by phone from her home in Houston. She and other family members arrived in Buffalo on Monday.

Buffalo's 2005 third-round draft pick out of Miami, Everett missed his rookie season because of a knee injury. He spent most of last year playing special teams. He was hoping to make an impact as a receiver.

The Bills now attempt to refocus while preparing to play at Pittsburgh on Sunday.

"It's difficult because you know the situation," said running back Anthony Thomas, one of Everett's best friends on the team. "We have to move on. But he'll always be in our thoughts and in our prayers."

Quarterback J.P. Losman said it was difficult to concentrate during practice.

"It seems like every couple of seconds that go by it's always popping into your head," Losman said. "Going through a walk-through, we're looking for him, wanting to hear his voice."

Coach Dick Jauron said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called him Sunday evening, offering the league's support.

"We honor ourselves by our work, and we honor Kevin by moving forward and working while never forgetting Kevin and never getting him out of our thoughts and prayers," Jauron said. "We're going to wait and see what the outcome is here and we're really hoping and praying for the best."

[Xray]

I was watching that game, and the hit didn't look that bad, but then he didn't move. They brought in an ambulance. Dr. are now saying he may walk, but no more football.

(Side note: The Bills were up 14-12, but in the last 3 seconds of the game, Denver kicked a field goal, beating the Bills by 1 point. Disappointing.)

[tjw61]

Good news!!!

Neurosurgeon: Bills' Kevin Everett moved arms and legs, which means he could walk again

By JOHN WAWROW, AP Sports Writer
September 11, 2007

AP - Sep 10, 6:28 pm EDT
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Kevin Everett voluntarily moved his arms and legs on Tuesday when partially awakened, prompting a neurosurgeon to say the Buffalo Bills' tight end would walk again -- contrary to the grim prognosis given a day before.

"Based on our experience, the fact that he's moving so well, so early after such a catastrophic injury means he will walk again," said Dr. Barth Green, chairman of the department of neurological surgery at the University of Miami school of medicine.

"It's totally spectacular, totally unexpected," Green told The Associated Press by telephone from Miami.

Green said he's been consulting with doctors in Buffalo since Everett sustained a life-threatening spinal cord injury Sunday after ducking his head while tackling the Denver Broncos' Domenik Hixon during the second-half kickoff of the Bills' season opener.

Everett dropped face-first to the ground after his helmet hit Hixon high on the left shoulder and side of the helmet.

Asked whether Everett will have a chance to fully recover, Green said: "It's feasible, but it's not 100 percent predictable at this time. ... But it's feasible he could lead a normal life."

On Monday, Bills orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Andrew Cappuccino, said Everett likely wouldn't walk again.

"A best-case scenario is full recovery, but not likely," said Cappuccino, who operated on the reserve tight end. "I believe there will be some permanent neurologic deficit."

Cappuccino and officials at Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital did not immediately return several messages left with them by The AP.

In a report Tuesday evening, Buffalo's WIVB-TV quoted Cappuccino as saying: "We may be witnessing a minor miracle."

Bills owner Ralph Wilson said the team has been in contact from the beginning with Green and the Miami Project, the university's neurological center that specializes in spinal cord injuries and paralysis.

Everett's agent, Brian Overstreet, also said Everett's mother told him the player moved his arms and legs when awakened from a deeply sedated sleep.

"I don't know if I would call it a miracle. I would call it a spectacular example of what people can do," Green said. "To me, it's like putting the first man on the moon or splitting the atom. We've shown that if the right treatment is given to people who have a catastrophic injury that they could walk away from it."

Green said the key was the quick action taken by Cappuccino to run an ice-cold saline solution through Everett's system that put the player in a hypothermic state. Doctors at the Miami Project have demonstrated in their laboratories that such action significantly decreases the damage to the spinal cord due to swelling and movement.

"We've been doing a protocol on humans and having similar experiences for many months now," Green said. "But this is the first time I'm aware of that the doctor was with the patient when he was injured and the hypothermia was started within minutes of the injury. We know the earlier it's started, the better."

Everett remains in intensive care and will be slowly taken off sedation and have his body temperature warmed over the next day, Green said. Doctors will also take the player off a respirator.

Cappuccino said Monday that the 25-year-old did have touch sensation throughout his body, showed signs of voluntary movement and was able to breathe on his own before being sedated. But he cautioned that Everett's injury remained life-threatening because he was still susceptible to blood clots, infection and breathing failure.

Green noted that Everett and Wilson have ties to Miami and the Miami Project -- Everett played there and Wilson is one of the project's largest donors.

"It's an amazing group of circumstances. It's a home run. It's a touchdown," Green said.