Wichita wrestler talks about broken neck, stroke
February 16, 2011|By Megan Strader | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News
(WICHITA, Kan.) — Both are running on very little sleep, but Kaleb Ball and his dad Nick can still remember every detail of what happened Saturday afternoon.
"His head just completely tucked up under him and his chin went into his chest and both of their weight went down on it," recalls Nick Ball.
"I just heard the loudest snap I've ever heard, you could just tell something was wrong," said Kaleb.
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While wrestling at a tournament this past weekend Kaleb broke the fourth vertebrae in his neck - needing three surgeries to repair.
And while the Northwest High School freshman is still in a lot of pain, he knows he's lucky things weren't worse.
"All I'm dealing with is pain, that's better than being paralyzed."
Kaleb did end up suffering a stroke - likely from the damage to the blood supply to his brain. So even though he'll be released from the hospital on Thursday, he'll report straight to a rehab center to help restore of the functions of the left side of his body.
"They told me that how much I progressed in one day is how much they expect to see someone progress in two weeks. So, they said I'm doing really good."
Along with being a wrestler, Kaleb is a straight "A" student and a musician. So while he may never wrestle again, the goal is to return him to doing the other things he loves.
Nick Ball tells Eyewitness News, "If anyone can have a 100% recovery it's this kid right there, for sure."
Kaleb and is family say they're overwhelmed by the outpouring of support they've received. Kaleb hopes to be back in school within a few weeks.
