South Boston Fire - EMS
Kevin's Story
Kevin Daniels was a 1996 graduate of Halifax County Senior High School. Kevin's dream was to become a professional fireman and an emergency medical technician.
Kevin joined the South Boston Fire Company in August 1997. He obtained his emergency medical technician license in 1998. However, Kevin's firefighting days were cut short on Friday, August 7, 1998, shortly before his twentieth birthday.
Kevin was visiting a friend that evening. Moments after leaving his friends house Kevin would have heard his pager signal to a call oddly enough on the road he lived on. But Kevin never made it to that call. His car crossed over the center line and ran off the shoulder of the highway before striking several trees and pinning him inside.
Kevin was not wearing a seatbelt at the time and even though the driver's airbag deployed, it was not enough to prevent him from being severely injured. First on the scene was Mr. Conner, a long time acquaintance of Kevin, as well as two fisherman who happened to be returning home from fishing at Staunton River State Park. All three men joined in efforts to remove Kevin from the twisted wreckage, which by then had caught fire.
Another resident in the area of the accident provided two hand-held fire extinguishers but the blaze refused to be extinguished. Conner rushed to the Scottsburg Volunteer Fire Department stationed near by, set off an alarm and returned to the scene with a larger fire extinguisher which allowed them to bring the fire under control.
Rescuers say Kevin was somehow able to assist them in freeing himself before collapsing into an unconscious state. He was transported to Halifax Regional Hospital. From there, due to Kevin's grave condition, he was airlifted to Duke University Medical Center.
In addition to a broken leg, bruised lung, and lacerations to his face that made him unrecognizable to some of his fellow firefighter rescuers, Kevin also suffered a severe head injury. As a result, a blood clot had formed on his brain and once at DUMC, he was rushed into the operating room where surgeons worked to relieve pressure that was building on his brain and threatening his life. Neurosurgeons managed to repair the ruptured blood vessel but several mini strokes ensued, causing him to loose control of such things as his motion and alertness.
The doctors prepared Kevin's parents for the worse.
The question was "Should Kevin remain on life support if no improvements in his
condition were recognized?" This question was posed to his parents on
August 11th with a time windows of August 15th. Kevin's parents strong
faith lead them to believe that it was not their decision to make. They
believed there was a power greater than them to make that decision.
By the end of the week, Kevin began to show some basic response to being touched and perhaps being questioned. When asked to move his arm and wiggle his toe, Kevin managed to respond but was unable to speak.
Kevin underwent more surgery that week to facilitate his breathing and feeding. Doctors told Kevin's parents that he may never get any better than he was at that moment. But again, Kevin's parent's kept their faith.
Now, almost seven years later, Kevin is home. He has undergone extensive surgeries and various treatments in attempt to gain his mobility back. His is now quadriplegic and has limited mobility in his body and limited speech. Even though he is wheel chair bound, Kevin makes the best of his situation. Now an associate member of South Boston Fire Company, Kevin still attends meetings, drills, and assist at our bingo fund raising.
Kevin is attempting to raise funds to assist him in a new stem cell treatment. Please use the following link that Kevin himself created for more information on how to assist him.
Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Foundation for Kevin
Pieces of this article derived from a Gazette-Virginian article printed, Friday, August 21, 1998. Picture and other information obtained from Kevin's parents.
