Email

Print

It was a serious injury resulting from a senseless shooting, and he is as risk of permanent paralysis. But his family is hoping for the best. They've been trying to raise funds to get him the specialized medical help he needs, and today, his uncle, Mark Usher, granted us an interview to discuss his prognosis. Here's what he had to say about the small positive improvements that Kyron has been steadily making since being admitted in a critical condition 20 days ago:

Mark Usher - Uncle
"Medically, the doctors were very cautious and correct with their prognosis, and they felt that Kyron was - his injury was really bad. So, the prognosis wasn't looking that good. Spiritually, which is the part that we said as the family, let us bring God into this - well he was always there. Spiritually, the healing is going amazing. Kyron is now off the machine that was allowing him to breath. He's breathing on his own, I would say 95%, which is great, because that means that his mechanical functions for his lungs and heart, and all of that below his shoulder is functioning. When I was there Tuesday morning with his physical therapist - he was doing therapy - the therapist told me that when he applied stimulation to his left leg, he saw response. That is again a great sign because remember, the paralysis was from the shoulder down. So, now that we're seeing response from his leg, the therapist's expert opinion is that is a great sign. So, what we're seeing is the fact that the swelling and the contusion on his backbone in the area where the bullet hit, that is going down, and as a result, he's regaining some functions through that part. So, that is great. From his shoulder up, he was always conscious. He could look at us. He could respond by blinking because they have a tube in his mouth, and I think probably this week, at some point, they will remove that tube, and they will start feeding him through his mouth."

So, Kyron's family, on both of his parents' side, are racing now to try and get him specialized treatment abroad. It's a very expensive venture, but his uncle says that the doctors are recommending it due to the severity of his injury. He discussed that, and the emotional toll that the family has endured since this terrible incident happened:

Mark Usher - Uncle
"The medical opinion - Dr Eck and all the doctors, Dr, Sosa and everybody who is attending to Kyron is if we can find the next level service to bring - the severity of his injuries, backbone, spine, and his spinal, it's severe. So what you need, you will need probably a medium term care, which may not be readily available in Belize. So, yes, we have from onset, we have his aunt, who is Anisha Green. She lives in the states, and she has been trying to make links with organizations that would take up a case like Kyron."

"World Pediatric Project, they have an office in Belize. Miss Garel and others folks there, we are now pushing the process through them. They are the official body that deal with these types of situations."

"When you see a picture of this little kid, on a near-death bed, and he's struggling to breathe, and he can't bring up his own saliva, and all of these machines hooked up to him, it wrenches you, especially when you know that this kid is on this death bed, because he went to buy at Chinese shop, around normal shopping hours, and the man just walk in and spray bullets into a crowded shop. So, the emotional pressure is rough, I guess because we're so busy trying to sustain him and bring him back, you then push the emotional pain behind a bit."

The family has organized a Turkey dinner sale scheduled for tomorrow, and they are grateful that the general public has embraced them with major support on all fundraising initiatives so far. There are 580 pre-orders, which means that they've sold out, and they even had to get extra ingredients to meet the demand.

But, Kyron's medical bills are racking up daily, and plus, and his family will need funding to get his treatment abroad. They've established a Heritage Bank account to accept donations from the anyone in the public who would like to give them a helping hand in affording the cost. If you would like to make a contribution you can do so at the Heritage account #911-1738.