By By Janet Little Cooper
A local high school student is thankful to be alive following a freak motorcycle accident that almost claimed his life and lead to the amputation of his right arm.
Atmore Christian School student, Christopher Adam Borders, 16 of Byrneville, Fla., was returning home from a test drive of his motorcycle Sunday, April 23, when an object locked the wheels of the bike propelling him over the handlebars.
"I had changed some cables on the bike," Borders said. "I was driving it to see if it worked and was headed back home in our driveway when I flew over the handlebars. I don't remember much other than seeing my arm cut open and running to the house for help. I finally collapsed on the front porch. I kept blacking in and out before I got help."
His uncle transported him to Jay Hospital where he was then carried to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Fla., by life flight.
"I did not know how serious it was until I got to Jay," Borders said. "I thought that it was just a bad cut and that they would do something to it and I would be okay. I knew that it was serious when they told me that I was going to be life flighted and started talking about how much blood I had lost."
Borders suffered a collapsed lung, severe road rash on his back and lost all of the blood in his body except for two pints accord ing to his mother Erica Findley.
"Adam was a partial amputee when he got to Jay Hospital," Findley said. "They had to give him 14 pints of blood because his body was rejecting it."
Upon his arrival at Baptist Hospital, Borders underwent a series of surgeries in an effort to save the severed arm.
"He went through three surgeries in a 12 hour period," Findley said. "He had a pulse in his arm at first, but then they lost the pulse in it. They took a vein out of his leg to use in the arm, but that didn't work either. His heart and blood pressure began to skyrocket and the doctors realized that it was now affecting the rest of his body. The last surgery was to amputate his arm."
Following the surgery, Borders developed an infection in the amputated arm causing doctors to equip him with a wound vacuum to pull the blood down to where it needs to be and take the infection out of his body.
Borders has already started a regiment of physical therapy that is intended to help him use his left hand for tasks such as writing or tying his shoes.
"He will be in outpatient therapy," Findley said. "Hopefully he will get a prosthetic in three to four months. We have already applied with the Shriner's Hospital in Tampa for a prosthetic. Our insurance will only pay $1,000 toward that with a $250 deductible. He is going to have to learn how to do everything over again."
Injuries that were once life threatening for Borders are now life changing for the teenage boy. He has said that it has been difficult losing his arm, but he also knows how close he was to death.
Seeing his friends from school and the community were not an easy task for Borders at first, but his mother said that he is gradually talking to them more.
Borders fellow classmates have been very concerned about his well being since the accident according to Borders teacher and school principal at Atmore Christian Tim Battles.
He also said that some students have been to see him, others have sent him notes and cards, and all want to know how he is doing and to see him.
"He got really depressed after the surgery," Findley said. "As long as people are around he is OK. He has better spirits now than before. In the beginning he wanted to die, but I told him that he fought to live. I never let him get his drivers license because I knew what I did at his age and kids just don't think now. We have 40 acres of land and I thought the motorcycle would be an alternative way for him to have fun. Not anymore. His bike is already sold. Adam always helped me out so much at home. Everyday when I came home he would have everything picked up for me. He has already told me that he won't be able to do all that for me anymore."
While Borders is expected to make a full recovery, he realizes that it will be a long recovery and that the emotional injuries may take longer to heal.
"Adam is a very likable young man," Battles said. "He has a lot of potential and it is my prayer that he will use that potential to its fullest. It has been my prayer throughout this time since Adam's accident that he would experience physical healing, but more importantly he would get more serious about his relationship with the Lord."