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Mom Hopeful Of Everett's Recovery

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The Associated Press

Published: September 13, 2007

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Patricia Dugas reached out, touched Kevin Everett's arm and asked her son if he could feel her hand. Everett - lying in a hospital bed, barely awake and hooked to life-support systems - nodded yes.

'I can't even explain it to you; he's like a miracle,' Dugas said Wednesday, her voice breaking in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Doctors aren't calling it a miracle yet, but they expressed 'cautious optimism' now that the Buffalo Bills reserve tight end is showing significant signs of improvement.

Everett can wiggle his toes, bend his hip, move his ankles, elevate and kick his leg, extend his elbows and slightly flex his biceps, said Kevin Gibbons, supervisor of neurosurgery at Buffalo's Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital.

But Everett, who's breathing on his own after being taken off a respirator Wednesday, cannot move his hands after sustaining a life-threatening spinal cord injury.

'There are some answers now. And many more questions remain,' Gibbons said in an update to reporters. 'The patient's made significant improvement. But no one should think the function in his legs is close to normal. Not even close. ... If you ask me, 'Would he walk again?' I would tell you that I wouldn't bet against it. But he has a long way to go.'

Bills orthopedic surgeon Andrew Cappuccino improved his prognosis, too, saying he's 'cautiously slightly more optimistic.' That's a big improvement from Monday when Cappuccino said Everett's chances for a full neurological recovery were 'bleak, dismal.'
Dugas left her home in Port Arthur, Texas, on Monday not knowing whether her son would walk again. Everything changed Tuesday, when she watched her son move his limbs and feel her touch when he was partially awakened from a sedated state.

She spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday, knowing doctors had amended their initial grim prognosis.

'That's right. They're surprised themselves,' Dugas said. 'They don't know Kevin Everett. Oh, man, I always told him when he was a little boy, 'You show them better than you can tell them.' He's going to be fine. I really believe it.'

BRONCOS: Signed free agent outside linebacker Jamie Winborn, who was released by the Bucs on Sept. 1.

GIANTS: QB Eli Manning took some snaps, made a few handoffs and tossed lightly to test his bruised right shoulder, but did not practice.

JETS: Placed receiver Chansi Stuckey (foot) on injured reserve. QB Chad Pennington, despite an injured right ankle, expects to play Sunday.

PATRIOTS: Coach Bill Belichick walked out of his news conference when pressed repeatedly about the sideline spying scandal that landed him on Commissioner Roger Goodell's docket. Belichick issued a one-paragraph statement apologizing to his team and confirming he has spoken to Goodell about an 'interpretation' of league rules that ban videotaping of the opposing sideline.

RAIDERS: Quarterback JaMarcus Russell ended his 48-day holdout, signing for a record guaranteed $29 million in his six-year, $61 million deal. Also, QB Josh McCown, who started Sunday, did not participate in team drills because of an injured right index finger and a sprained right foot.

RAMS: President Jay Zygmunt was hospitalized for tests after complaining of shortness of breath. Coach Scott Linehan said he believed it was a precaution and that medical personnel believe the symptoms were caused by high blood pressure. Also, left tackle Orlando Pace, who will need surgery on his labrum and rotator cuff, was placed on injured reserve.

RAVENS: Left tackle Jonathan Ogden (hyperextended left big toe) will almost certainly miss Sunday's game, and the status of injured quarterback Steve McNair (groin) remains uncertain.

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