Since May, we've been closely following the case of 11-year-old Kyron Green. He's the primary school student who was shot by a gunman who was aiming at one of his adult rivals.
It's the type of senseless violence that defies logic. He was simply running an errand at a store for his mother, and he had nothing to do with the street war between two adults, but he nearly lost his life due to a stray bullet, which almost paralyzed him.
Since then, he and his mother have been hard at work to try and restore his mobility. Their effort was greatly bolstered with the generosity of the World Pediatric Project and Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia. On September 2nd, he was flown to the US hospital, where he received specialized treatment up until October 19th when they returned home. And in those short weeks, his prognosis has improved drastically. Tonight, we take a closer look at how that trip to Shiners went. Daniel Ortiz has that story:
This clip is 1 among the many cellphone videos that Marsha Belisle captured to follow her son, Kyron's long road to recovery. He was in physiotherapy with the medical staff from Shriner's Hospital in Philadelphia. And as you heard, that genuine laugh of delight at seeing her son taking baby steps, after his near-fatal shooting, was a very special moment.
Marsha Belisle - Kyron's Mother
"After they had done his tests and so on, they had found out that his injury was an incomplete injury, and that he will walk again. That's the best news, and I'm happy."
The first step to getting Kyron back on his feet was to remove the bullet that was lodged in his neck. That happened in early September. Marsha knew that her son's chances of full recovery would be greatly increased after that.
Marsha Belisle
"They had done the surgery on him to remove the bullet. The bullet came out; luckily, they got it in time because it was already starting to get messy. So, they cleaned it up properly and gave him antibiotics. So, they told me that everything was okay."
"I was happy because, with that bullet out, I feel so much more satisfied knowing that yes, the road to recovery will continue smoothly from here. That was what was hindering him because he couldn't move his neck. I was so worried about that bullet [being] lodged in his neck."
After that, the next step was to get Kyron's limbs moving again. He had been bedridden for months, and that had taken its toll on his body.
That's where the physical therapy began, and seeing the hospital's patient care being administered to her son, Marsha had only the highest commendation for the staff at Shriners Hospital. She tells us that she was particularly impressed at the effort they made to keep him engaged and determined to make progress toward his recovery.
Marsha Belisle
"Wow, Shriner's Hospital is the best. I'm telling you I'm satisfied. I'm happy with the treatment that they had given to my son. I would encourage anyone who has a child who has a spinal cord injury from birth to 21 years, they could go to Shriner's Hospital. They will get the treatment that they need. When I first got there, and they were doing therapies for Kyron, they did it in such a way that the children will want to do it because they do it in games. For instance, one of Kyron's therapy was for speech so that he could use his voice because he wasn't talking. The games that they did, Kyron had to use his voice to speak with the games. So, I said wow, amazing, and he did it, and I'm so happy with everything that they do."
"He did it. He amazed them. He amazed me. Kyron is very strong, and very determined, just like his mother. We have the ride out this storm together."
So, how did Kyron start making those small steps you saw?
Marsha Belisle
"The first part of his therapy was for them to get his bones strong, get his muscles working again. They did that part. He tolerated them well. He was doing extremely well that they had put him to sit up in a sitter, or a stander, as they called it. He tolerated that well. He didn't even want to sit back down."
"They said the next step they knew was that they had to get him up higher, and that was what they did, and they put him in a holster, and that child stepped from there. They said let's go rightie, and let's go leftie, and Kyron pushed. They cheered him on, and he pushed and pushed, and he did it."
While these are very positive steps, Marsha is aware that her son's road to full recovery could take years.
Marsha Belisle
"Everything is through the grace of God. We can't really much say, but we know that the spinal cord injury is a long-term process. But with the help of God, to carry on through, maybe it will be tomorrow. Who knows? We just have to continue pushing, continue his therapies, continue being there for Kyron, help him along the way because he can't do it on his own."
If God says it's not time, then we continue to push more and carry on.
Pushing forward is just what we found Marsha and Kyron doing today at KHMH. They met with the physiotherapist there to make arrangements for future sessions so that Kyron could keep working on his mobility.
Marsha Belisle
"I spoke to Mr. Avila, and we will set up some time that he will do his therapies 5 days a week, at least for an hour, every day. And with that, he will carry on, and that will be from now until he goes back. Everything will continue, and maybe Kyron will walk into Shriners Hospital."
And even though Marsha projects all that positive energy, the reality is that every day is a struggle for her and her son.
Marsha Belisle
"The therapist here charges me $60 per therapy a day, and that is really costly. Right now, I am looking at - when I calculated it - over $7,000 and change from now until he is ready to go back. That money, I need a job. I don't have the money to do anything. I am not sitting there waiting. I have to do my part, and so, I am looking for jobs. But if anyone out there would like to assist in any way, you can contact me at 631-8895. You don't have to give me cash. You could donate it straight to Mr. Avila. You could donate whatever [is] in need. You could buy whatever, the medication, the food item, and give it to Kyron."
"He's on different programs like to drain his bladder, I have cathing for him every 4 hours, to make sure that his bladder is empty. That's with a self-cathing tube, which is not in Belize, unfortunately. So, the ones that I have, I have to sterilize them so that I can reuse them over and over. He also does a bell program, so that he can defecate every day."
"Some times he asks, me, he says, Mom - he wants to know who shot him. I said, son, I don't know. I wish I knew who that person is. But, I said, son, you know what, leave it in the hands of God. You're here. You're alive. Let us just continue. Let God work with that. All I need you to focus on is to get up and walk. Do the things that you need to do. Don't sit and wait for mommy anyway. Get up and push yourself."
Kyron will celebrate his 12th birthday this Sunday. His mother, Marsha has expressed gratitude to the general public for the outpouring of generosity when Kyron's story first made national news. She regrets, however, that she has to return to the public to ask for financial assistance to afford his medical care in Belize. She estimates that for his physical therapy sessions alone, she will have to find approximately $7,000. With that amount, she believes that she will be able to afford it. He is expected to return to Shriners Hospital sometime next year.
Anyone who wishes to offer any help can contact her at telephone number 631-8895. His Mother assures that if you don't want to offer cash, you can make the payment directly to the physiotherapist at the KHMH to help cover the cost of his sessions.
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