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Teen stays positive despite paralysis from June car crash

Evan Campbell, 15, has been in the hospital since June accident

Evan Campbell, 15, of West Chester Twp. was paralyzed in a June car accident. He plans to attend Lakota West when he is released from the hospital. His family and friends recently raised about $20,000 to help pay for medical expenses. Staff photo by Samantha Grier

Samantha Grier Evan Campbell, 15, of West Chester Twp. was paralyzed in a June car accident. He plans to attend Lakota West when he is released from the hospital. His family and friends recently raised about $20,000 to help pay for medical expenses. Staff photo by Samantha Grier

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By Lindsey Hilty, Staff Writer 11:12 PM Sunday, August 29, 2010

WEST CHESTER TWP. — Evan Campbell talks about his wheelchair like it is a new car.

After test driving a few, the 15-year-old selected the model that he said has the best features, but also the potential for a charger for his iPod and cell phone.

“They say it doesn’t take too much life out of the battery,” he said from his hospital room at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where he has been since a June car accident left him paralyzed.

“These are the important things,” his mother Tonya Kinlow said, smiling at her resilient son.

Rather than dwelling on the spinal injury that has left his legs immobilized, Evan rejoices that he has regained movement in his arms. Instead of moping about being stuck in hospital rooms for months, he said he has had a wonderful summer visiting with friends and family.

“I don’t like to think about what I can’t do,” he said. “Since I’ve been in the hospital, I’ve seen 85 percent of my family and my friends who have come by. If this was a regular summer, all I think I would be doing is sitting on the couch waiting for 5 p.m. to go to work.”

And instead of fretting about how he will handle the exhaustion and medical challenges of heading back to school, Evan is excited about seeing his classmates.

“I think that might be a regular back-to-school feeling,” he said.

Although his life is very different now, the honor student said he hasn’t changed.

“Keeping the same attitude you had before — it lets people know you are the same guy so nobody comes in here with a feeling of pity,” he said. “It makes me feel like nothing ever happened. It makes me feel more normal and also not to dwell on the negative things.”

Evan video chats often with his sister Taylor, a college freshman. They have become closer since the accident, in which their car flipped on the highway as she attempted to move into an exit lane. Now, Evan said, she has a goal of becoming a physical therapist for patients, starting with him.

“Every time she says bye, she makes me move my arms and give her a high five,” he said.

Evan expects to be released Sept. 3 and hasn’t given up hope that he will regain use of his legs some day. When he does, he said he might just take up wrestling again — though probably not football.

And who knows what else he might discover.

“How much of your legs do you really use with skydiving?” he said, catching his mom’s eye. “You’re in the air.”

To help the family with medical costs, checks may be made to The All About Evan Fund Trust, P.O. Box 741, West Chester, OH 45071.

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