Weeks later Kevin would learn the devastating news as he lay in a hospital bed on life support. He was paralyzed from the chest down and would now rely on a wheelchair to get him around.

In disbelief Kevin tried to move his legs. He gave everything he had to just wiggle his toes, but his lower body lay still. As if this news was not bad enough, Brendon had not survived the crash.

Horrified, Kevin’s first thoughts were of giving up and ending his life. However, suicide was hardly possible at this early point in his recovery Kevin being paralyzed and confined to a bed . He was left to lay there with his thoughts, his guilt, and the overwhelming sadness and fear that had enveloped this once active and care free young man.

Kevin’s family and friends as well as Brendon’s family, rallied to support Kevin during the darkest days of his life. His attitude began to change, and soon Kevin’s thoughts were focused more on figuring out how to live than they were on wanting to die. “Brendon and I grew up together. Our families spent so much time at the rink and on road trips. My sister Allison dated Bren in high school. Our parents always got along well, and Bren’s parents were always good to me.

When I learned of their support following the crash I was at first surprised. Facing them was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life even with their support. They truly gave me another chance, and I knew I had to do something positive with it. They also taught me an invaluable lesson in forgiveness” It would take months of rehabilitation to heal a grocery list of injuries combined with seemingly every infection a hospital could offer. Still faced with such insurmountable challenges, Kevin chose to swim rather than sink… and swim he would.