Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL

A little over four months ago, Buffalo Bills TE Kevin Everett lay on the Ralph Wilson Stadium turf unable to move. After making a hit on a kick return against the Denver Broncos in both teams’ 2007 season opener, Kevin suffered a catastrophic and life-threatening injury that caused a fracture to his cervical spine. He was diagnosed a quadriplegic by team physicians right there on the field and it wasn’t believed he would ever again regain the ability to move.

I’ve been writing about Kevin’s injury since the day it happened. I first met Kevin at the Northwest Buffalo Community Center in November 2005, when he was a rookie. He and his fellow first-year teammates were serving Thanksgiving dinner there. Two years later (this past 2007 season), I took an opportunity to work the press box and locker room at all the Bills’ home games in Orchard Park. So I felt close to Kevin’s situation. And I talked with his teammates about his progress every time I saw them. I received numerous emails and comments about Kevin from those who knew him at one point in their lives and from others who had never heard of him before, but who were concerned about his status. Everyone had hopes that he would somehow recover to live a normal life again.

Kevin made his first public appearance yesterday on Oprah and his much-anticipated book, Standing Tall, is in stores today. You can win one of four copies, courtesy of Triumph Books, by simply commenting on this post. Keep reading.

I was anxious to get my hands on this book so I could somehow try to understand what Kevin has been through the past four months. I was hoping to hear what his life has been like because his is a story of triumph and recovery. Not only is Kevin walking again, he is improving each day and working toward living the normal life he once enjoyed.

As I turned to the first of 224 pages, my initial question was whether Kevin was aware of what was happening when the injury occurred. Did he know he was paralyzed? What did he remember about the hit and what was that moment like? You’ll find out in the chapter “Normalcy Turns to Terror.” This is an honest book. Author Sam Carchidi and Kevin weren’t afraid to tackle the personal and painful experiences on the road to recovery. It’s all in here. You’ll also get:

• The controversial medical procedure used on Kevin
• Specific entries from the personal journal of his fiance Wiande Moore
• Detailed accounts from his rigorous rehab the past four months

Kevin Everett is a walking miracle. He wasn’t supposed to have been able to recover from this injury. He wasn’t supposed to be walking around as he is today. When a doctor gives you 5% odds on ever walking again, your future isn’t looking very bright. But Kevin beat those odds. And he turned his situation into, as the front cover of this book states, a “remarkable story of love and recovery that captivated a nation.”

This is a wonderful and powerful story. And it affords Kevin the opportunity to share his heart. One of Kevin’s occupational therapists, Rafferty Laredo, said it best near the end of the book:

“I told him he has a very important story to tell. He has experienced something (amazing) and at this point, he has ears that are listening … and I think his experience is so important that people need to hear it. People need to hear about the power of the human spirit …”

I’ve got four copies of Standing Tall from my friends at Triumph. To be eligible to win one, just leave a comment on this post and the winners will be notified on February 15. Only one entry per person, please. You must enter a working email address to win. If you simply can’t wait and you want to order your book today, just click here. For my previous writings about Kevin, visit my Kevin Everett category page.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Kevin Everett ‘Standing Tall’ With New Book

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL

Here is the front cover of the forthcoming Kevin Everett book Standing Tall: The Kevin Everett Story. Published by Triumph Books, it was written by Sam Carchidi who has been a staff writer and South Jersey sports columnist at The Philadelphia Inquirer since 1984. He co-authored Miracle in the Making: The Adam Taliaferro Story, about a Penn State player’s remarkable recovery from a paralyzing spinal injury, so he’s got some experience on this difficult subject. Here’s how the book’s being described:

“In a matter of a few seconds, a strong, promising young Buffalo Bills player lay paralyzed and very mortal after a violent collision on the second-half kickoff return during the opening weekend of the 2007 NFL season. Kevin Everett, second-year tight end and special team’s player, went helmet-to-helmet with Denver Broncos return man, Domenik Hixon, with all the force a 6′4″, 260-pound 25-year-old can muster while running downfield full-bore.

Fate was on Kevin’s side. Only a few days prior, the medical-training staff had practiced a spinal-cord drill supervised by Dr. Andrew Cappuccino, an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Cappuccino was on the sidelines during this game as a regular member of the Buffalo Bills medical staff, one of the few NFL teams to be so staffed. Cappuccino determined that Everett was quadriplegic, as he lay on the field of Ralph Wilson Stadium. And so began a real-life drill.

With controversial and aggressive medical care, Kevin began a tougher challenge than any Sunday-football warrior faces; he was in a fight for his life and faculties. Dr. Cappuccino employed a daring, debated, but not scientifically proven, hypothermic method of treating Everett’s paralysis. Kevin’s body temperature was lowered to 91.5 degrees to prevent further damage from neurological swelling. Yet within twelve days, during which Dr. Cappuccino risked his medical career in order to look Kevin in the eye knowing he did everything to help him, Everett was flown to Houston (his home) to begin rehab. Less than a month later he would be walking with assistance.

This remarkable and heart-warming story is not just about a doctor and his patient; it is about the love of a family and a fiance who have been at Everett’s side throughout his grueling rehabilitation. It is a story of Kevin’s strength of will and his determination to regain his life. There is also an unfinished story of new beginnings and coming to inner peace, as Everett contemplates his rehabilitation, future health, and life after NFL football. This amazing story of recovery begins with Kevin’s appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, where he will tell Oprah’s national audience the dramatic saga.”

Yes, Oprah gets first dibs on the story, but thanks to my friends at Triumph, I’ll have a full review and some giveaway copies before the book hits store shelves February 1. If you want to pre-order the book, just click here.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Kevin Everett Book Due February 1