Fighting Back

Matt Emole’s body is paralyzed, yet his spirit soars. Then crashes. Then soars once more.

The events of a recent day, three months after the Newbury Park High senior and three-sport athlete broke his neck in an auto accident, provided a glimpse into the wrenching range of emotions he and his family endure.

In the morning, one of his lungs collapsed, a residual effect of massive pulmonary embolisms that blocked the flow of blood from his heart and nearly caused Matt’s death a month after the accident.

A tube was placed through his nose, down his throat and into the lung to extract mucous and reinflate the lung.

“It’s like a garden hose getting shoved down there,” he said. “Extremely painful.”

Later in the day, doctors removed tubes from his trachea for the first time, enabling him to speak more clearly. The words bottled inside gushed forth, messages of thanks, despair, dreams and determination.

“I owe it to my family and friends to fight hard,” he said. “It’s so difficult to have a positive attitude, but I have to try. Today I feel so motivated to walk and fight through everything. Everybody is trying to help me.”

Except, it appears, the family’s insurance carrier. It wasn’t even noon when Matt’s stepfather, Kelly Richeson, a Ventura County firefighter, learned that Matt’s outpatient care will be restricted to 90 days beginning Jan. 1. Matt will need years of therapy and treatment.

Emotionally exhausted by mid-afternoon, Matt’s mother, Corinne Richeson, warily answered the telephone in his room at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard.

It was Dick Intlekofer, a Newbury Park counselor, informing her that Matt was awarded a full scholarship to USC through a program benefiting athletes who have sustained major life-changing injuries.

“For 90 days we only prayed that he would live,” Corinne said. “For tonight, I’m going to go to sleep, and so will Matt, with smiles on our faces. He can think of a future.”

Moments From Death

Matt’s future was brighter than most Aug. 4, when he decided to go to the beach with three friends. A top athlete who was popular among classmates, he carried a 3.8 grade-point average.

On the way home, he unbuckled his seat belt to pick up a CD from the floor. At that moment, the car--which Matt was not driving--hit water streaming across the road and flipped.

Matt, the only person in the accident severely injured, shattered two vertebrae in his neck. Kelly and Corinne were told by emergency-room doctors that Matt would never regain feeling in his arms or legs and might be dependent on a ventilator to breathe.

Two surgeries were performed within a week, fusing his neck with bone from his hip. Matt’s survival was threatened by repeated bouts with pneumonia, but the closest brush with death came Sept. 4 when a blood clot developed in his legs and traveled into a lung.

“It felt like I had a truck on my chest,” Matt said.

Kelly called the fire department chaplain. The clot moved toward Matt’s heart and he was moments from dying.

“There was no question in my mind, he was going to die,” said Dr. George Yu, a pulmonary specialist who, along with Dr. Herbert Judy, is primarily responsible for Matt’s treatment.

Seconds before reaching his heart, the clot split in half and each piece traveled into a lung, saving him.

Hospital staff couldn’t believe it. One of Matt’s therapists began calling him El Gato , the cat, because he seemingly had nine lives.

Matt, 18, continues to have respiratory problems. Two weeks ago he was rushed back to intensive care with a collapsed lung.

But feeling has gradually returned in his hands and he is able to move his arms. He can scratch an itch on his nose and feed himself.

And when he talks, Matt moves his hands expressively, which he jokes is important for a man of Italian heritage.

“I’m depressed less now, a lot less,” he said. “I have motivation and tons of support. I can’t get down too much.”

Friends Ready to Help

Matt’s friends won’t let him dwell on his misfortune. They stream in and out of his room daily, bringing hamburgers, videos and Gummi Bears.

One day it’s basketball player David Kent. The next it’s baseball player Joey Hamer. Then any number of football players.

Matt’s girlfriend of two years, Carrie McClelland, has stayed by his side. His sister, Blair, 16, took the semester off from school and slept in his hospital room every night for months.

The toughest night was Newbury Park’s homecoming. Matt couldn’t help but contemplate the forces that held him in a hospital instead of playing in a football game and going to the dance with McClelland, who was part of the homecoming court.

“I couldn’t think of any of his friends to call,” Corinne said.

In the door bounded Tyler Kressler, Kent’s brother, bearing pizza and a smile. The evening was saved.

“I feel like everyone is pulling for me,” Matt said. “I really appreciate all that love and effort. It’s hard for me to show it because I’m stuck here. If I could talk to everyone individually, I’d thank them.”

Help is coming in from all sides.

Through bake sales and 50-50 raffles, Newbury Park football boosters raised nearly $10,000 to help defray Matt’s medical costs. Kelly’s fellow firefighters collected $11,000, and a car wash organized by Kent made $3,600.

Opposing teams helped too. Thousand Oaks boosters chipped in the night the Lancers hosted Newbury Park. And Lance Holt, father of Westlake lineman Keith Holt, began a chain of events that led to the USC scholarship.

Upon hearing of Matt’s plight while watching Westlake play Newbury Park on Oct. 15, Holt, a broker, sent e-mails to his associates and raised $3,000. Broker, Tom Carter, decided to do more.

Carter, who has not met Matt or his family, contacted Ron Orr, the USC assistant athletic director in charge of the Swim With Mike Foundation, a scholarship program established in 1981 when All-American swimmer Mike Nyeholt was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident.

Orr called Intlekofer, the Newbury Park counselor, and within days Matt was awarded a full ride.

Steve Johnson, the Newbury Park basketball coach, tutors Matt in the evenings in the three classes he needs to graduate in June.

“I don’t know exactly what I want to become, but I want to be an example for people in my situation,” Matt said. “I want to be self-sufficient and I want an education. This scholarship is so incredible. It makes me realize I can do anything.”

Hard Work Paying Off

His goals can be reached only through countless hours of physical and occupational therapy. A session Tuesday involved Matt holding himself in a sitting position on his bed by using his arms. The effort is terrifying and excruciating. He must balance himself while unable to feel anything below his chest.

“Look at you, you’re awesome,” said Elizabeth Pretorius, Matt’s physical therapist.

Matt came out of intensive care in time to eat Thanksgiving turkey in his room with his family. Five days later his arms are stronger and more active than at any time since the accident.

“This boy wants to excel,” Dr. Yu said. “His will to live and will to fight stands him apart from other patients.

“The support of his friends and the camaraderie of his teammates is the main thing differentiating him from those who give up.”

Matt started in left field on the Newbury Park baseball team last season, played receiver on the football team and guard on the basketball team.

“There’s no doubt in my mind he thinks he can walk again,” said Hamer, a Panther senior catcher. “He’s determined in the same way an athlete fights for a starting position.”

Physical therapy includes learning to roll over and move from the bed to a wheelchair without help. Occupational therapy includes learning to brush his teeth.

“You take for granted you can roll over in bed when you are uncomfortable,” Matt said. “I have to sleep in one position all night. I want that to change.

“I’m doing more and more. I remember how our football team ran up this hill near the school for conditioning. I always came in first. Every time.

“Yesterday I threw a dart and beat solitaire on the computer. It’s the same feeling as running up that hill. Today I pushed my legs to the side of the bed with my arm and sat up. It’s the same thing.”

Family is Adjusting

Matt’s family celebrates his progress and dreads the prospect of another trip to intensive care. Yet his accident isn’t the only hardship they face.

Two months ago, the youngest of Matt’s three sisters, Madison Richeson, 5, was discovered to have a congenital heart defect after she woke in the middle of the night choking.

Then, two months ago, Sean Richeson, 3, developed a painful cyst on his face. It was discovered he has an extra sinus cavity that will require surgery.

Corinne left the hospital only twice in the first 90 days after Matt’s accident, taking showers in vacant rooms. Even now, she arrives early in the morning and does not leave until Blair takes her place in the evening.

The toll on family life is heavy. Madison was asked by a school psychologist to draw pictures of herself and friends on one side of a sheet of paper and herself with her family on the other side. One picture had her holding hands and playing with friends; the other was of only her and Sean coloring pictures.

“I’m spending more time at home, it’s a must,” Corinne said. “We’ve found a balance.”

Matt’s immediate goal is to take a day visit home for Christmas.

“I want to see my brother and sister open their gifts,” he said.

Kelly is turning the family garage into a wheelchair-accessible bedroom for Matt, who should return home for good in a few months and begin taking USC classes.

For now, Matt looks forward to the sunset each evening, visible through his window. The brilliant yellows, oranges and reds reflect off the adjoining building as well, filling his room with light.

“It’s beautiful,” he said. “It gives me hope the way my family, my girlfriend and my friends do. There is still a life out there for me, a good life.”