I don't know about football helmets, but I'd look to others for guidance. A motorcyle magazine did a test a couple of years ago and found that while kevlar and carbon fiber helmets held up better, they didn't protect the wearers head as well as plastic and foam style. And generally, the cheaper the foam (tended to be higher volume), the safer the helmet. It made the really expensive helmet manufacturers mad, and at least one quit advertising with them. link
man, i hope he recovers like Dennis Byrd. anyone remember him? i remember seeing his tv made movie too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Byrd
I just read that he has voluntary movement on his arms and legs! That's amazing, hope he defies the odds and recovers.
Doctors are now saying that he will probably be able to walk out the hospital. Unbelievable!! Hope there arent any setbacks, but things are looking good for the young fella.
heard the "he may walk out of the hospital" thing on sportscenter. so happy for this kid if it happens.
http://www.comcast.net/sports/index.jsp?cat=SPORTS&fn=/2007/09/11/761001.html&cvqh=itn_billsplayer Bills' Everett Improves, May Walk Again By JOHN WAWROW, AP Sports Writer 2 hours ago BUFFALO, N.Y. - 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.
We probably can't even imagine what him and his family are going through.....heres hoping for a near perfect recovery.......I'm sure all of PAT is pulling for him! Good news for sure
Quick update -- amazing news... ______ Everett will attempt to stand soon Doctors say Bills tight end could be walking soon Kevin Everett will be transferred Friday morning to a Houston hospital to begin the next phase of his rehabilitation, less than two weeks after the Buffalo Bills tight end sustained a life-threatening spinal cord injury. And doctors said Thursday they believe he will be walking within weeks -- perhaps sooner. "Soon ... they're going to stand him up," Dr. Barth Green told The Associated Press, shortly after discussing Everett's condition with Bills orthopedic surgeon Dr. Andrew Cappuccino. "They're very confident he'll be walking very soon ... in the next days or weeks, not months." Eric Armstead, a partner of Everett's agent Brian Overstreet, said Everett was going to Houston's Memorial Hermann Hospital and would be traveling by private plane. "I talked to him today, and he's very excited," Armstead said. The prognosis is remarkable after Everett arrived at Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital paralyzed from the neck down after being hurt while making a tackle in Buffalo's season opener against Denver on Sept. 9. Doctors initially expressed fears Everett would never walk again. Green is chairman of the neurological surgery department at the University of Miami school of medicine and has received regular updates from Everett's doctors on the player's progress. "Now that doesn't mean he'll be walking normally, but standing up and holding his own weight," Green said. "I think the future for him is very bright." Despite numerous requests, the Bills have provided few regular updates of Everett's status since he was hurt and were not immediately available for comment Thursday. Everett makes his offseason home in Houston, where many of his family members and friends live. Green suggested Houston would be the best place to move Everett because it's important for the player to have his family and friends nearby. Everett was strong enough to sit up on his own in his hospital bed this week. link
GREAT NEWS! <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/V0KmjqabDUU"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/V0KmjqabDUU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
Vince Young visited him in the hospital yesterday or today. He will likely play football again -- and win a gold medal in gymnastics at the China Olympics.
Haha, I was watching that video in a seminar, so I had the volume down...I was thinking, WTF???? So now I come home and listen to it. Funny stuff.
