Gabe Kibblewhite is cracking jokes. HeB次元官网网址檚 missing a chunk of his hair. HeB次元官网网址檚 had some fun with visiting nursing students. He expects to be playing baseball again as early as next week (HE expects that. WonB次元官网网址檛 happen as heB次元官网网址檚 on the injured list for at least six months).
And, like a lot of 14-year-olds, heB次元官网网址檚 starving.
WhatB次元官网网址檚 remarkable about the Vernon teen is Kibblewhite is doing all this less than a week after being severely injured when hit by a vehicle in a city crosswalk.
And heB次元官网网址檚 doing it, now, from the comfort of his Harwood area home.
Gabe Kibblewhite is a miracle. His friends know it. His doctors know it. His nurses know it. And his family knows it.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e still in shock having him home,B次元官网网址� said KibblewhiteB次元官网网址檚 mom, Kailea. B次元官网网址淓very single person weB次元官网网址檝e talked to has said they canB次元官网网址檛 believe where we are today (Aug. 2). B次元官网网址淭here were three or four doctors who worked on him, and were off on the weekend, they came in and wanted to see him.
B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 a miracle. They needed to see what this kid is doing. He shouldnB次元官网网址檛 be home already.B次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 late Friday afternoon, July 28, somewhere between 5 and 5:30 p.m. Gabe is coming home on his scooter from his gym on 24th Street, in VernonB次元官网网址檚 north end, and heB次元官网网址檚 stopped at the crosswalk at 48th Avenue. ItB次元官网网址檚 a route he takes religiously to and from his workouts.
Gabe looks both ways to cross the four-lane stretch of road. As he waits, one car stops to wave him across. Gabe looks again as he starts to cross the roadway. He doesnB次元官网网址檛 see a vehicle, possibly a pickup truck. ItB次元官网网址檚 the vehicle that strikes him. ThatB次元官网网址檚 the last thing Gabe remembers about that afternoon.
Kailea had just returned from Penticton, where her oldest son was in a hockey camp for a week. She went to her office to do some paperwork to get ready for the following Monday. Her husband was en route to Vancouver with the KibblewhiteB次元官网网址檚 third child for baseball provincials. KaileaB次元官网网址檚 cell rang at about 6:15 p.m. Friends were calling about Gabe, and reaching out about the incident on social media.
Kailea called her husband, who had arrived in Vancouver, and told him he had to come back. Gabe was hit by a vehicle and itB次元官网网址檚 not known how bad heB次元官网网址檚 hurt.
Gabe had been rushed to Kelowna General Hospital, bypassing Vernon Jubilee. That move may have saved his life.
B次元官网网址淥nce I got to Kelowna, everything is a bit of a blur,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 was told heB次元官网网址檇 been hit by a motor vehicle and that was about it. The social worker that met me tried to get me to see him before surgery, but there was no time. I talked to a couple of doctors on the phone who asked about releases and some questions, and I said do whatever you had to do.B次元官网网址�
Gabe had suffered multiple skull fractures, some bleeding in the brain, and suspected broken bones and internal injuries. He was in surgery nearly five hours. A metal plate was inserted (hence the loss of his hair on a quarter side of his head) to recreate that side of his skull which had suffered many fragments and cracks.
As for broken limbs, there was a broken leg, but there was no internal damage. His heart and lungs B次元官网网址� considering the impact Gabe endured B次元官网网址� were fine.
B次元官网网址淭hat was a shock,B次元官网网址� said Kailea. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 one of the reasons we are where we are (today). Had there been internal damage, things may have been a lot different.B次元官网网址�
KaileaB次元官网网址檚 sister is a labour/delivery nurse in VJHB次元官网网址檚 maternity ward, so she prepped Kailea about what she might expect when seeing Gabe for the first time post-surgery in the intensive care unit.
B次元官网网址淚 was expecting the worst but he was just a little puffy. And he was missing quite a few teeth (liquid diet, thus, starving teen). And he was missing his hair. He said they needed to figure out how to make his hair look good. ThatB次元官网网址檚 all he should be worrying about. ItB次元官网网址檚 all he should be caring about.B次元官网网址�
The next six months will be crucial to GabeB次元官网网址檚 recovery. There will be lots of appointments and specialists visits. Kailea says her son is repeating himself a lot.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a lot we donB次元官网网址檛 know and might not know for a bit,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going to do everything we can to help him through this. Now comes the reality. What will his future look like. He thinks heB次元官网网址檚 going to play baseball next weekend.
B次元官网网址淗e feels OK but doesnB次元官网网址檛 realize itB次元官网网址檚 the mental side thatB次元官网网址檚 being affected. Everything else, leg, hair, teeth, those can be fixed. The brain portion needs a rest.B次元官网网址�
And he can do that rest at his home.
Gabe arrived Thursday, Aug. 1, to a heroB次元官网网址檚 welcome, as many friends and family members greeted him outside the family home with banners, hugs and fist bumps. His Vernon Canadians baseball teammates were there in uniform.
Gabe wasnB次元官网网址檛 wearing a helmet the day of his accident. His family wants to make the wearing of helmets the next cool thing.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going to make this initiative, make it something to be the right thing to do,B次元官网网址� said Kailea. B次元官网网址淕abe is charismatic and social, and has made an impact on everybody heB次元官网网址檚 met. If this is his calling, helmet promotion, weB次元官网网址檙e going to do it. I never B次元官网网址� ever B次元官网网址� want another parent to experience what that phone call was like. This could have happened to anybody.B次元官网网址�
It happened to Gabe Kibblewhite, 14, an eternally optimistic young soul. Asked if her son was having nightmares, Kailea said everyone is asking that and the answer is no.
B次元官网网址淗e says, B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 alive,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭here are no nightmares. HeB次元官网网址檚 so positive and that will be huge for his recovery.B次元官网网址�
The Kibblewhites would like to express their thanks to all of the first responders, the witnesses on the scene who stayed with Gabe and kept him calm, surrounded by love, all the personnel at Kelowna General Hospital, their family and their friends.
B次元官网网址淭he amount of support we feel is amazing,B次元官网网址� said Kailea. B次元官网网址淰ernon is a pretty awesome little area. WeB次元官网网址檙e very blessed.B次元官网网址�
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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