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September 11, 2007 | 12:24 pm

Godspeed, Kevin Everett

My wife just messaged me this story and reminded me to keep praying for Kevin Everett, the Buffalo Bills back-up tight end who broke his neck making a routine tackle Sunday.

Injured Bills tight end Kevin Everett has voluntary movement of his arms and legs, according to a report from Buffalo TV station WIVB-TV. WIVB medical reporter Dr. Peter Ostrow says the voluntary movement shows dramatic improvement over the prognosis Everett was given Monday, when orthopedic surgeon Dr. Andrew Cappuccino called Everett’s spinal-cord injury suffered in Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos “catastrophic” and life-threatening.

At the time, Cappuccino said Everett’s chances of regaining a full range of body motion were not very likely.

But according to WIVB-TV, Cappuccino is much more optimistic Tuesday evening.

“We may be witnessing a minor miracle,” Cappuccino said, according to the report.

My wife and I were watching the game when Everett went limp and collapsed on the field, and I can’t recall the last time either of us were so shaken by the plight of a stranger. I make the same request my wife did of me: Keep praying.

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg in 12 Comments — Leave your comment

Tags: prayer, sports

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I live in Buffalo and this was one of the few games I watched, not being much of a sports fan.

It seemed like such a routine tackle and then there he was, lying there face down and not moving.

Almost everyone here is in shock.

Comment by Keli Ata on 9/11/07 at 7:50 pm

“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.”

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/09/11/bills.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

If you gave me the choice, I’d rather have the saline and skip the prayer than the other way around.

Comment by Anonymous on 9/12/07 at 7:29 am

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a Christian Scientist, and I’m not advising against using medical innovation to save Everett’s spine. But he could still use our prayers.

Comment by Brad A. Greenberg on 9/12/07 at 7:50 am

While you’re praying, will you tell God to save the rest of the billions of people on the planet whose injuries weren’t televised nationally and treated almost instantaneously with all the health care that a millionaire can garner?

I don’t understand how praying is supposed to work.  Is the the number of people praying for this football star that will make him get better?  Or the ernestness with which they pray?

Does a successful prayer mean that Kevin Everett gets to cut in line for miracles in front of an unknown child in Bangladesh?

Anyways, miracles always seem to happen to people with proper healthcare.  Meanwhile the rest of the world suffers and dies.

God bless the whole world, but millionares and celebrities more than most.

And sorry for being bitchy about this.  I just find the concept totally off.  The same folks who will ignore medical science and say “prayer helped Kevin” will be the ones fighting against research to save others, fighting against healthcare for the poor and middle-class, fighting against science education, fighting against, well, everything that may ACTUALLY save Kevin.

Present company excepted, Brad.  But excuse me for not getting why the most famous injured guy in the world doesn’t have enough prayers beseaching the Maker already, and maybe if folks have God’s Ear they could point it toward the rest of this suffering bastards on this planet.

Comment by Anonymous on 9/12/07 at 11:25 am

Touché.

Let’s not overstate Kevin Everett’s celebrity status or his earning power, which I’m sure is near the league minimum, but anonymous makes some important points:

A. There are a lot of people in this world—in this country and certainly in Buffalo—suffering more than Kevin Everett, and I hate to think that God is overlooking the pleadings of people praying for them.

(A poorly executed story I did along those lines:  Disasters shake the faithful)

B. Science cannot be overlooked in Everett’s treatment, or that of most people who make “miraculous” recoveries, and we should support medical advancement. At the same time, God-fearing believers shouldn’t discount the role the creator plays. (I would advise the same of those who don’t believe in God.)

C. Lastly, I’d say we should all prayer a bit more for world peace. But I don’t want to sound like a Miss America contestant.

Comment by Brad A. Greenberg on 9/12/07 at 11:51 am

Thanks.

And apologizing again for my snippyness.

Comment by Anonymous on 9/12/07 at 2:16 pm

No offense taken.

Come on: I wish I could explain why a God who is good allows evil and why some people are spared while others suffer.

I’ve often told friends that if I created my own universe, I would run it differently. I didn’t, and I’m stuck living in God’s.

Many people would call that a cop-out. And it is. But I still believe it to be true.

Comment by Brad A. Greenberg on 9/12/07 at 2:22 pm

I’m not a believer, but I don’t think that prayer is meaningless. I doubt that any god worthy of faith considers prayers as an all access pass to healing or salvation. But why not give a moment of your day and your mental processes to the sufferings of a man--perhaps unknown to you personally--who needs help? Does that contemplation take away from a baby in the Sudan? How does prayer for Kevin diminish you or anyone else?

To carp about Brad’s request is so petty. Thinking about another person and wishing them well is not a wasted action.

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Comment by Anonymous on 10/26/07 at 10:36 pm

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