Patients Learn Fitness and Nutrition Strategies to Improve Lifelong ...

PhotoS by Louie Favorite
and brian tipton
PHOTOS BY ABBY GREENAWALT
Kevin Hillery, 23, would rather not talk about himself,
even if he understands why other people do.
Last year, he became the first person with
paraplegia to graduate from the U.S. Naval
Academy. He then entered Georgetown
University’s law school and landed on Forbes
magazine’s “30 Under 30: Law and Policy” list.
Ask Kevin what advice he gives to people
facing adversity, and you’ll get a long pause.
“Well, I don’t know if I have any coherent advice,”
he says. “I just think it’s important to take help
from the people who are close to you and who are
caring about you and willing to offer it. Just
be grateful for any opportunity you have and keep
your mind on what’s important for you.”
Instead of talking about himself, he will tell you
about the people who helped him along the way:
Naval Academy buddies who reacted swiftly when
a tree fell on him in a wilderness competition; family
and Navy officials who worked to get him back into
the academy; and Shepherd Center professionals
who helped him start his rehabilitation.
He came to Shepherd Center with one
goal: “I was just hoping to get back to school at
the academy.”
Kevin, who had been a high school distance
runner in his hometown of Medway, Mass.,
was part of an “adventure racing” team at the
Naval Academy. Teams navigate with a map
and compass through wilderness areas to hit
checkpoints while mountain biking, running, and
kayaking or canoeing.
On April 16, 2011, Kevin’s team was competing
in a storm in the Shenandoah Valley near Front
Royal, Va.
“I don’t actually remember the accident,” he
says. “We were mountain biking down a hill, me
and three friends, and a big tree blew over. It hit me
on the bike helmet, then rolled down my back and
landed on the tire, which stopped the bike. And
then I flew over the handlebars. After that, my three
buddies took care of me.”
Two classmates used their coats to shelter him.
A third spotted a house where he could get an
address to guide an emergency airlift crew to their
location in the forest.
A spinal cord injury in Kevin’s lower back
required surgery at the University of Virginia
Medical Center in Charlottesville. For rehabilitation,
he came to Shepherd Center in May 2011.
“I just loved the people at Shepherd,” Kevin
says. “The nurses and therapists were great. It
was a happy place; everybody liked their jobs.
That trickled down to the patients and that made
it a lot easier for everybody.”
Herndon Murray, M.D., Kevin’s physician at
Shepherd Center, remembers him as a great patient.
“He’s a very high achiever,” Dr. Murray says.
“He works hard and he’s a goal-oriented type
person, or otherwise he wouldn’t have been in
the Naval Academy. And I think that transferred
over into his rehabilitation.”
Tina Raziano, military coordinator for Shepherd
Center’s SHARE Military Initiative, says Kevin’s
humble attitude is common among military
service members. “Kevin is one of those who
has accomplished a lot and done tremendous
work but is very modest and doesn’t like a lot of
recognition,” she explains.
Raziano was among many who helped Kevin,
his family and the Naval Academy deal with his
first-of-its-kind request to rejoin his classmates.
“That was the most important part, just getting
back to all my good friends,” Kevin says. “I have
a close bond with my
company. I was with a
company of 40 kids
right from the start, and
I’m still friends with all of
them today.”
After additional
rehabilitation at the U.S.
Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in West Roxbury,
Mass., Kevin went home
to Medway, worked out at
the YMCA and caught up
on his interrupted Naval
Academy semester, thanks in part to his family’s
season tickets for Navy football.
Before each Saturday home game, he and his
parents drove to Annapolis on Thursday so Kevin
could take a make-up final exam on Friday. He had
piled up extra credits before the accident, so he
graduated with his company on May 29, 2012.
His injury precluded a Navy commission, so
he decided on law school. He began classes at
Georgetown in August 2012.
He lives alone in an apartment near the
campus. He hangs out with friends on weekends
and smiles politely when people praise his
accomplishments, even though he wishes they
would talk about something else. His wheelchair
is a fact of life, but it’s nowhere near the most
important thing about him.
“I just try to live my life normally and don’t focus
on disability at all,” Kevin says. “Occasionally, you
run into problems. Sometimes you can get around
them; other times you can’t. If you can’t get in one
restaurant, just go to a different one.”
Kevin hasn’t settled on career goals and doesn’t
worry about that. As he says in characteristically
few words: “I am very happy where I am.”
More online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
“He’s a very high achiever.
He works hard and he’s a
goal-oriented type person, or
otherwise he wouldn’t have
been in the Naval Academy.
And I think that transferred
over into his rehabilitation.”
Spinal Column ® / Summer 2013 • 23