My Side Of That Horrific Day

Today is September 1st which in it of itself brings so many wonderful things. The start of football, which is just absolutely perfect, the start of pumpkin spice everything, and the start of Spinal Cord Injury Awareness month. This month is something that honestly up until four years ago I had no idea existed, but four years ago we joined a very rare club and our lives have looked different since. Over 200,000 people live with a SCI in the United States and Kaleb is just one of them. The next month my goal is to share my side of Kaleb's injury, Kaleb's side of his injury, the road to recovery, and where we are today. 


November 10th 2012, the day our world changed forever. This was one of those days that I will remember every moment, every detail, and every emotion. I had just turned 21 five days prior and was still living in the birthday celebration glow. That morning was busy with trying to get things done through out the day so that I could head to a family member's house for dinner to once again celebrate my birthday. In the midst of the busy day I had only spoken to Kaleb a few times through out the day, most of which were just short "I love yous" and "have fun today". Last I had heard he was going to go hang out at a friend's house and maybe do some hunting, I had no idea that plans had changed. As I was sitting there opening presents, laughing with friends, and enjoying the day I remember seeing "LA" pop up on my phone. I made a joke about something regarding the fact that LA was calling me, me being me I didn't consider that LA stood for Louisiana. The called rolled to voicemail and I checked it moments later. "Ms Brittany this is LSU Trauma Center calling for you please call us back as soon as possible." My heart stopped, my world stopped, why was LSU calling me? I called back as fast and frantically as I could and the words that followed just put me into more confusion. "This is LSU Trauma Center we were calling to inform you that Kaleb Wilson has been in an accident, we are very happy he talking." I begged for more information and was denied based on the fact that I was just his girlfriend. What did it mean that they were happy he was talking? What did kind of accident was he in? The only thing I could think of was a car accident, was he wearing his seat belt, was he drinking and driving? What was happening! 

His dad called me moments later and told me that he wasn't sure what had happened but they were trying to find out more information and would keep me updated. They were looking into flights out of Denver to get to New Orleans so that they could be with Kaleb. The events that happened the rest of that night may not be in the correct order, but the bits and pieces are listed below. I called my grandma told her the bits and pieces I knew and we started working on a game plan on what needs to happen. We knew I needed to get to New Orleans we just didn't know what I was going to stumble into once I got there. I called my best friend Becca and tried out of what I'm sure at that point was hysterics that Kaleb was in an accident, and that I needed her. She drove thirty minutes to come and recover me from a party that had shifted from a birthday party to a keep Brittany from losing it party. I received a message from Kaleb's best friend telling me to call his wife ASAP, this was three hours after the initial phone call from the hospital. I called Molly and she told me Kaleb dove into a lake and had to be taken from City Park in New Orleans to the hospital in the ambulance because he was unable to move his limbs. They were all in the waiting room waiting to know more, but she encouraged me that everything would be okay, he was going to be okay. She suggested maybe it was a pinched nerve or maybe his body was in shock, but what ever it was he was going to be okay. That was hopeful, that was encouraging. 

Kaleb called me and with fear in his voice he just kept telling me that he was sorry and he loves me. I have never heard him sound so terrified, I had never wanted to just hold him so desperately. The tears just flowed. 

His dad called again... They were taking Kaleb into surgery, he had fractured his neck. The surgery was extremely dangerous but The Lord was going to see Kaleb through it. 

One thing about Kaleb's dad is he is one of the most cool, calm, collected individuals. He did not seem shakened, he did not seem scared, he seemed to know everything was going to be okay. His mom and I were a lot more on the same page. We were scared, we were crying, we didn't have answers and were so far away it was the worst feeling I had ever felt at that point. 

The surgery was expected to last only a few hours as long as they did not have to flip him. As far as I can remember they took him into surgery around 8:30 pm or 9:00 pm, I'm not exactly sure. I just know I expected a call around 11:00 or midnight got a call at 2:30 am. His dad stated the surgery went well, obviously took longer than expected. They were very happy that they did not have to flip him, but that several of the bone fragments were pushing on his spine which caused his paralysis. Kaleb suffered from a burst fracture which means the pressure of the impact caused his C6 and T1 to push on each other and burst the C7. Bone fragments hit his spinal cord so the surgery was to fuse his vertebraes together and retrieve the bone fragments that had burst.  His parents were leaving Douglas, Wyoming and heading to New Orleans in a few hours. 

Sunday morning came and so did the realization that the night before was not just a nightmare. It was real, and so was the burst of emotions that I quickly felt. I called my grandma and we booked my flight from Albuquerque to New Orleans landing in New Orleans at 10:00pm. I received calls from several church members telling me that they were praying, had several others offer to pay for my ticket to New Orleans to be with Kaleb. The out pouring of love I felt was incredible, but it did not fix the brokenness of my heart. I spoke to his mom and all she could say was "it is really bad Brittany". I packed my bag and boarded my plane and cried for four hours next to strangers. His wonderful roommate picked me up, took me to their house, and I laid his bed alone. 

Monday morning after no sleep his roommate and I made the trip to the hospital. His room was filled with coasties and his parents. In a room filled with blue uniforms laid the man that was Kaleb, but wasn't at the same time. He looked helpless, he was helpless. He had white hospital blankets pulled up to his neck, under which was a neck brace. His face when he saw me was priceless, he smiled! He laid there lifeless, but smiled! I was scared to touch him, I was scared to break him. He had always been my strong sailor that I leaned on for everything and yet there he was broken. After coxing from his dad I went over and hugged him, but kept my distance for a moment as I tried to understand what was happening. 

The days after were spent in the hospital suctioning his mouth because he would choke on his spit, feeding him, giving him his water, loving on him, encouraging him, trying to help him. I was there every day from the 7:00 am visitation to the 3:00pm visitation sometimes being kicked out based on the fact that we weren't actually suppose to stay. Kaleb's dad finally told the hospital staff that Kaleb needed someone with him at all times because he could not reach for things and would frequently choke, after that they allowed me to stay. I left for the 5:00pm visits and would find myself dinner, call my mom and cry to her, and let Kaleb and his parents have some time without the pesky girlfriend. My nights were spent crying to my grandma, not sleeping, and laying in bed alone.  

Wednesday, November 14th, there was a glimmer of hope. I had just returned for the 7:00 pm visit when Kaleb asked me to lean in close to him, I was confused but did it. He weakly raise his arms and wrapped them around me. HE HUGGED ME! HE MOVED HIS ARMS! It was the best thing I could ever ask for, it was hope. 



Every day they would try and sit him up, every day he would get extremely sick trying to sit up. The head of Neuro came in while we were trying to decide where Kaleb would do his recovery and strongly suggested Craig Hospital. Kaleb's dad being the planner that he is did his research on the hospital, called the Coast Guard to see how they would help, and took over as  legal representative. Our ducks were in a row but Kaleb's blood pressure would not regulate. 

After much prayer we finally had the green flag, and on November 19th we flew to Denver, Colorado to begin our journey at Craig Hopital.