Saturday, January 09, 1999

Accident victim goes home after 'remarkable' recovery

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BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Devin Carr walks out of Children's Hospital with his parents. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        For the rest of us, Friday was a gloomy, foul, gray day. But for Devin Carr and his family, Friday was the sunniest day in more than two months.

        “To see Devin walk out of Children's Hospital was an overwhelming feeling,” said his mother, Deanna. “At first, we never thought we'd get to see that. But it happened in 10 weeks — because of his positive attitude and all the support he's gotten.”

        Devin, 12, of Hanover Township in Butler County, suffered a severe brain and spinal cord injury Oct. 29, when a pickup truck struck him as he waited for his school bus. The impact knocked him 30 feet — and put him in a coma for a month. Family and doctors worried that he might never move again, let alone walk.

        “As he walked through that door with that big smile on his face — it was just wonderful to see him smiling like that again,” Mrs. Carr said. “And, as he's been saying he wanted to do, "Blowing that pop stand!'”

Devin is wheeled out of a hospital elevator by his friend, Adam Volz. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        With shaky but determined steps — and that big smile — Devin, surrounded by cameras and balloon-bearing supporters, stepped into the freezing rain with the aid of a walker.

        He left behind a rehabilitation team that “fell in love with him and his family,” said social worker Nancy Kean. And he walked toward a future that promises more recovery — mingled with uncertainty about the accident's lingering effects.

        “It is a remarkable recovery, definitely,” said Dr. Linda Michaud, director of pediatric rehabilitation at Children's. “It's likely that he will have at least some mild changes that will persist ... It's still hard to tell what those will be.”

        Besides grappling with that uncertainty, Devin's family is reeling from the effects of a court decision that they feel is unjust.

        The driver of the truck that struck Devin, Leaton D. Isaacs, 33, of Hanover Township, was originally charged with a felony: aggravated vehicular assault. Police reports allege he was going about 44 mph in a 35-mph zone and passed another vehicle in a no-passing zone when his truck went off Minton Road and struck Devin.

        On Wednesday, Mr. Isaacs pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless operation.

        “That sounds like he never even hit anybody,” Mrs. Carr said. “You would think they could have at least taken away the thing that caused all this — his driver's license.”

        Within the past two years, Mr. Isaacs has two previous convictions — red light and railroad crossing violations — that total four points on his driver's record. The reckless operation conviction carries another four points. But that's not enough to lose his license. In Ohio, licenses carrying 12 points are forfeited.

        Mr. Isaacs was fined $250, and his 30-day jail sentence was suspended on condition that he complete two years of unsupervised probation.

        J.B. Connaughton, the Butler County judge who accepted the plea, said discussions with lawyers led him to believe that the Carrs and police agreed the charge should be reduced. The Carrs and police, however, say there must have been some misunderstanding.

        Repeated attempts to reach Mr. Isaacs for comment have been unsuccessful. His lawyer, Michael Gmoser, said he felt a felony charge was excessive considering that his client was not drinking or on drugs, and he immediately stopped and went to assist Devin.

        “I'm not as mad at him as I am at the judicial system,” Mrs. Carr said. “I feel like the judicial system has failed us and has put a black cloud over this day that was supposed to be so happy. I wish that man and that judge could come and see ev erything Devin is going through.”

        Devin walks with great difficulty. He requires help to eat, dress, bathe and go to the bathroom. He still wears an immobilization device on his head and has a tube in his trachea to aid in breathing if necessary. His mother, who stayed with Devin every day of his hospitalization, has to suction out the tube when it becomes clogged. He can't distinguish between hot and cold on his right side — and he cannot move his left arm much. Doctors think his left shoulder was injured when the backpack he was wearing was ripped away in the crash. That backpack, which was tossed more than 100 feet, may have saved his life, his parents say.

        At least he knows who he is, where he is and what day it is — things he didn't know when he first awoke from his coma just over a month ago.

        “I couldn't believe there was this kid who had just gotten out of a coma and he was making "blonde' jokes,” said Beth Calvert, an occupational therapist whom Devin nicknamed, “Blondie.”

        Another therapist, Nikki Schubenski (whom Devin calls “Bubbles”), said, “I think a little bit of what all of us did, along with his sense of humor and his family's support, all added up to getting the results so he could go home faster.”

        Devin progressed fast enough to allow his release about three weeks earlier than first estimated, Dr. Michaud said.

        Devin became known as a ham and a jokester while in the hospital, but he said he feels sad and mad when he thinks about the accident. He had this message for motorists: “Don't drive so carelessly. Somebody else could get hurt like I did.”

        Now that he's out of the hospital, Devin will visit speech, physical and occupational therapists several times a week and also will sometimes see Dr. Michaud for evaluations.

        He'll receive a week of tutoring at home, but then is expected to return to Talawanda Middle School, where he is a sixth-grader. The first big hurdle will come Jan. 25, when doctors will see whether his neck has healed enough to remove his metal “halo.”

        When Devin and his parents arrived home Friday, the house was empty. But it was soon bustling.

        Even before Devin got through the door, the phone started ringing non-stop. His classmates were calling, wanting to come over.

        Just inside the family room, teachers from Devin's former school, Maud Marshall Elementary, hung a large blue and red sign welcoming Devin home.

        “It felt like a dream as I was getting ready to come home, but now it's starting to feel like reality,” Mrs. Carr said. “It just feels so good. We get to keep him.”

        David Eck contributed to this report.

       

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