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Steven Mitchell, 27, (right) is hooked up for electrotherapy by his brother, Michael Mitchell, after a workout Steven Mitchell works out at home to gain strength and feeling. He broke his neck during a diving accident in the Dominican Republic, causing paralysis. His twin brother, Michael, helps him with exercises. |
By CATHY DYSON
Steven Mitchell's first trip out of the country was supposed to be two weeks in paradise, but his vacation turned into a nightmare.
The 27-year-old was on a party boat in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of the Dominican Republic. When the captain told everyone it was time to get in the water, people did back flips and jumped in feet first.
"I decided to dive in," Steven said. "As soon as I did, I remember seeing sand and the ocean floor. I heard a pop, and I'm thinking, 'Holy s---, I done done it now.'"
Steven broke his neck when he dived headfirst into what turned out to be shallow water. Two vertebrae disintegrated, and their bone fragments damaged his spinal cord.
After three surgeries and four months in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, Steven came home to Spotsylvania County in a wheel chair. He's paralyzed from the middle of his chest down.
The young man speaks so candidly about his experiences people around him can't help but laugh at his bluntness and honesty.
He's no fan of what he calls the "third-world" conditions of Caribbean hospitals.
He cursed nurses because they couldn't speak English and wouldn't let his brother see him. He did the same to Atlanta specialists when his occupational therapy involved making brownies.
That's his nature, said his twin brother, Michael. "He's always been buck wild."
Steven's eyes lit up, and he grinned: "Breaking jaws and breaking laws, that was me."
'I'M DOWN AND OUT'
It's been tough for Steven to accept the changes since the May injury. He's determined to rebuild his body the best he can--he's able to hold a glass, brush his teeth and roll around on the floor--but frustrations abound.
His insurance won't pay for more therapy because he's used all his benefits for the year. His family built equipment for him, to help him get used to standing again and get his blood circulating, but it's outside in the workshop. He never liked the cold before, but since the accident he can't tolerate it.
Then there's the question that plagues him most, the one he never gets answered: Will he walk again?
"I'm down and out, there's no other way to put it," Steven said. "I'm just as miserable as miserable gets. I feel like giving up sometimes--I do--but I haven't yet."
THERE FOR ONE ANOTHER
Steven, Michael and their older brother, Kelly II, live with their parents, Kelly and Yvonne Mitchell, near Spotsylvania Courthouse.
When the twins started school, their parents petitioned to keep them in the same classes.
"They can't function without having each other around," their mother said.
After graduation from Courtland High School, they went to work together.
They did fast food and landscaping. Then Michael eventually followed Steven to the utilities department at Spotsylvania County.
"They're tight. They're real tight," said Ronnie Baker, a foreman in the utilities department, which has held benefits for Steven. "If one was doing something, the other was going to be with him."
The whole family is that way, said Karen Carter, a friend of the Mitchells.
"They've always been there for one another, and this is no different," she said.
Carter helped organize a fundraiser to assist the family with therapy and equipment. There's a lunch scheduled on Sunday, sponsored by the Fredericksburg-Rappahannock chapter of the Izaak Walton League, to which Steven's dad belongs. (See accompanying story.)
As Carter told others about Steven, she met several people who knew someone injured in a similar accident in the Caribbean.
She believes Steven's experience highlights what can happen when travelers are hurt, far from home.
"People need to know they're very fortunate to live in the United States," she said. "It's not the same everywhere else."
A GRUESOME SIGHT
Steven, Michael and Michael's girlfriend, Cynthia Thompson, were at a resort in Punta Cana, on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic.
On the third day of what was supposed to be their two-week vacation, the group went scuba diving. The party boat then moved a good distance from the shore and was surrounded by other boats, Steven said.
After Steven dived in headfirst, Cynthia noticed him bobbing in the water. She screamed to Michael, who thought Steven had been attacked by a shark.
The sight of his brother was almost as gruesome.
Steven's skin was turning blue, and the back of his neck was black. Steven wasn't unconscious, but he couldn't say much, either.
It took about eight men to get Steven into a pontoon boat. He was propped up until a fellow vacationer, an emergency medical technician, said he should lie flat.
A speedboat took him to shore, then Steven rode in an ambulance over bumpy back roads to a nearby clinic.
Doctors weren't sure if Steven was going to make it at all. His head was swelling from the damage to his spine and the buildup of fluid. He was at risk for a blood clot.
Steven had the choice of going to Santo Domingo, the capital, for surgery or waiting for an air ambulance to take him home. It might take a week or two for such a plane, he was told.
Steven wanted to have the surgery in the United States.
Michael believed Steven couldn't wait that long. He chose surgery there, fearing the worst might happen before help arrived.
"I didn't want my brother to come home in a body bag," he said.
HASSLES TO GET HOME
Getting back to America was another obstacle.
Michael's girlfriend, Cynthia, works in insurance verification at Mary Washington Hospital. She and Michael spent days on the phone with Steven's medical insurance provider, which initially said the only way Steven could get a commercial flight home was if he died.
Then the medical insurance said they'd fly him to Miami, but no farther. When officials realized Steven had bought travel insurance, they suggested he use that to get home.
Steven and Michael both believe Steven might have died in Central America if they hadn't paid extra for the travel insurance.
"That $75 went a long way," Steven said.
At Fairfax Inova Hospital, the surgeon told Steven's parents he's sure the Dominican doctor did the best he could, but Steven's spine wasn't realigned properly. He needed another surgery with more rods and metal brackets.
From Fairfax, Steven went to Atlanta for rehabilitation and finally came home to Spotsylvania in September.
He wished he had gotten more therapy that dealt with essential skills, like transferring from the wheelchair to the bed. He believes his Virginia insurance didn't work well with the Georgia insurance plan.
"Yeah, they suck," he said.
WHAT'S NEXT?
More than dwelling on what's happened to Steven, the Mitchells would like some answers about the future.
What should they do next? If they pursue stem-cell treatment, how would they pay for it? Is it possible that Steven could walk again?
Two things seem certain: The brothers will be together, each step of the way, and Steven's wild nature will persevere.
"If I do make it back," Steven said, smiling, "I'm gonna be hell on wheels."
Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425
Email: cdyson@freelancestar.com
A benefit luncheon for Steven Mitchell, who was paralyzed after a diving accident in the Dominican Republic, is planned from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the VFW Post 3103 in Fredericksburg, near the Falmouth Bridge. The event is sponsored by the the Fredericksburg-Rappahannock chapter of the Izaak Walton League. Donations are $10 per person for barbecue and side dishes. There also will be music and raffles of donated items, such as artwork. Donations also can be sent IWLA Mitchell Fund, Box 734, Fredericksburg, Va., 22404. For more information, contact Karen Carter at 540/840-6309. |
