The Karmic Circle of Kevin Everett

At this point, we all know the tragic turned miraculous and encouraging story of Kevin Everett. Everett, a backup tight end for the Buffalo Bills was mostly a special teams player in his short NFL career. On kick coverage during the beginning of the second half of his team's game against the Broncos this Sunday, Kevin Everett went to make a routine tackle. However, with his head down and leading the impact he immediately injured himself and went limp onto the field. It's a worse case scenario for the league, the players and fans and one that immediately leads to the horrific questions, "Is he paralyzed?"; "Is he dead?"

However, in the few days since the injury, Everett's initial prognosis- permanent damage and the unlikelihood of ever walking or living a "normal" life again has improved, vastly. In recent years, there has been a tremendous influx of money poured into research on cervical spine injuries and paralysis as well as treatments, prevention techniques and possible cures. One of the groundbreaking techniques used on Everett involves lowering the core body temperature and temperature around the spine and the injury. This was done by running an ice-cold saline solution through Everett's system. Among other possible effects, a colder temperature reduces and inhibits swelling and further injury.

Bill's orthopedic surgeon Dr. Andrew Cappuccino has said "We may be witnessing a minor miracle." Dr. Barth Green agrees with the positive assessment but sees it more as a matter of human achievement than unknown, spectacular forces. "I don't know if I would call it a miracle. I would call it a spectacular example of what people can do...we've shown that if the right treatment is given to people who have a catastrophic injury that they could walk away from it."

Dr. Green should know first hand, after all he is the head of the Neurological Surgery Department and the President and Founder of the "Miami Project". The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, at the University of Miami, is the main program researching this type of injury. They bill themselves as the "world's largest comprehensive spinal cord injury (SCI) center." The above mentioned cold saline solution technique was innovated by the Miami Project and is among the measures taken that has immensely reduced the potentially awful long term results of Everett's injury.

That's where the karmic circle begins. Kevin Everett is a former University of Miami football player. The Miami Project at the University of Miami, is funded most famously by NFL Hall of Fame player Nick Buoniconti. Buoniconti's son, Marc, had suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury while playing in a football game. However, another one of the major financiers to the Miami Project is Ralph Wilson. Ralph Wilson is the owner of the Buffalo Bills, the team that Kevin Everett played on during his all-too-short stint in the NFL. So a player who was tragically injured now may be cured, due to the research taking place at his former university, funded by his employer.

This heartbreaking story has transformed into a wondrous example of hope and the near limitless abilities of the human body and mind. It shows how research and money spent on funding research can in fact change and save lives. Surely Ralph Wilson could not know that he would be so profoundly impacting the life of one of his own players. Surely Kevin Everett never thought that he would have even more to thank the University of Miami for than an education and a chance to play football. Research can and does save lives. Find a worthy cause and donate to it; change a life. You never know who you will be affecting, who one day will need that research to save his or her life.

For more information on The Miami Project visit www.themiamiproject.org.