Wednesday, January 18, 2006
He is now undergoing various types of therapy at the Cleveland Clinic.
By TIM YOVICH
Vindicator Trumbull Staff
CORTLAND -- An 8-year-old Cortland boy has emerged from a coma, having been injured last fall when his head was run over by a wagon wheel.
"Technically, he's out of the coma," Amy Stockton said Tuesday of her son, Kaleb Owens, a patient at Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic.
"He's in and out of consciousness," Stockton said. "He's minimally conscious."
Kaleb, a Cortland Elementary pupil, fell into a coma Oct. 15. He was riding in a wagon on a school outing with fellow pupils when he rolled off; a wheel ran over his head. The result was severe brain damage and a bruised brain stem.
His doctors started about the first week of December to give Kaleb an experimental medication to help him wake up. Stockton said doctors had told the family that it was "highly unlikely" that he'd ever awaken. But Kaleb is trying to prove them wrong, she said, noting that doctors can't say the improvement is from the medication.
Kaleb started to partially open his eyes around Christmas. He can now move his hand and is trying to pick up his head, his mother explained.
"Anything is better than the word 'coma,'" Stockton said. "There has been an amazing difference in the past month."
He spends about six hours a day breathing without mechanical help.
Kaleb is also undergoing physical, speech and occupational therapy five days a week.
Fund-raisers
Although insurance is paying about 80 percent of the medical bills, the family needs financial help, Stockton said. Stockton is selling 10,000 wrist bands that were donated to help defray the medical costs. The minimum donation is $2 each.
A trust account has been established at Cortland Bank for those who want to donate. Those who want to participate can send a check made out to her or Cortland Bank with the number of bands desired, and a self-addressed, stamped envelop to 407 Orchard Lane, Cortland, Ohio 44410.
A fund-raiser will also be held for Kaleb and two other children with long-term medical needs at 6 p.m. Jan. 28 at Packard Music Hall. Each ticket is $5. The show is being sponsored by 14 area dance studios.
The fund-raiser will also help with the expenses of 12-year-old Annie Lee of Howland, who was left a quadriplegic after a hit-skip accident in Niles, and 9-year-old Joseph Caruso of Mineral Ridge, who has cancer.
Those who want to keep track of Kaleb's condition can log onto www.caringbridge.org. Go to "visit" and type in his name -- one word, all lower case.