The teen’s incredible rehabilitation is a story worth sharing.
After being trapped for weeks, a paralysed 14-year old boy was able to walk out of the hospital and make a miraculous recovery.
Kyle Koehn suffered a fracture that “involved every vertebrae in his back,” according to Dr. Connie Simmons, a doctor at Ranken-Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.
It all started last December, when a tornado ripped through four states, causing damage of over 200 miles. It claimed many victims, including the Koehn family of Dresden, Tennessee.
After returning from dinner, a friend informed them of the tornado warnings.
“He made the comment, keep your shoes on tonight,” said Darwin Koehn, Kyle’s dad.
The twister was getting closer and the Koehns began to gather in a hallway.
“The house started dusting a little bit and you could see it and I was like, this is for real,” said Kimberly, Kyle’s mom.
“I dove for the hall and no more than sat down and heard the house start splintering, and that’s the last we remember until we woke up in the field,” Darwin recalled.
The tornado destroyed two hundred homes, two church buildings, more than twenty businesses, as well as the firehouse in Dresden.
The strong winds drove most of the Koehn families 180 feet from their home. Kyle was unable to breathe and landed just a few yards away.
“And I said right there, that boy is hurt bad,” Darwin said.
“I don’t remember the pain so much. I just remember it was cold and it was wet,” Kyle said.
Kyle was admitted to RankenJordan two weeks after the severe storm.
Dr. Simmons said he “had no feeling from his umbilicus, his belly button and basically down.”
Kyle is a strong, determined individual, regardless of his physical condition.
“We knew this was a kid that was going to fight hard,” Dr. Simmons said.
Ranken-Jordan’s mission is to help kids transition from the hospital to home, and Kyle was determined to make that happen. He dedicated himself to his rehabilitation sessions, walking on a treadmill and working together with his therapists to climb the stairs.
“They’ll make you do stuff that you think is really hard but they’ll make you do it,” the brave teen said.
Remarkably, the rest of Kyle’s family was still in Tennessee while he was recovering. Kimberly and Darwin also recuperating from broken bones were at the hospital.
“The first time we saw him was here six weeks later. That’s how long it took for us to recover enough to travel up here,” Kimberly said.
After three months of persevering, the day of Kyle’s release finally came. After he was discharged, his friends and school chartered a bus from Tennessee to take him home.
After a series of intensive rehabilitation exercises, Kyle was able to walk out of the hospital with a triumphant smile. It’s surely a happy moment, but it’s quite bittersweet for the family.
“It’s going to be hard to leave, honestly,” said Kimberly. “They have become very dear friends to us.”
“They’ve been wonderful, couldn’t ask for better,” Kyle added.
Although he is out of the hospital, Kyle’s road to recovery still has a long way to go.
“We’re expecting that to continue to improve so he can return to some fun teenage activities,” Dr. Simmons said.
Kyle’s dad is in the logging business, and he hopes to be able to help him this summer.
Although it may be some time before Kyle can get back to his old self, kudos for showing us that you can take control of your healing with the right attitude.
Check out the video below to learn more about Kyle’s incredible rehabilitation story.
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