Friday Night Lights: Paralyzed Edmond North senior Kaden Guerra has Edlam on his mind
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Friends, teammates will keep paralyzed player up to date on big game

BY ROBERT PRZYBYLO Comments 3
Published: October 30, 2009

EDMOND — Tonight will be one of the biggest football games ever between Edmond Memorial and Edmond North.

Back from left, mother Traci Thompson, sister Kaley Guerra and father Joe Guerra, with Kaden, front. PHOTO PROVIDED

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Paralyzed Edmond North senior speaks out

Oct 30Edmond North senior Kaden Guerra, paralyzed from the chest down...

North senior Kaden Guerra should be excited about it. He should be putting on his No. 97 jersey and getting ready to play his final Edlam game. He should be wondering how he and the rest of the North defense will stop the Memorial offense.

He should be, but he isn’t.

Guerra won’t be at UCO’s Wantland Stadium tonight. Instead, Guerra will be continuing his battle with the biggest fight in his life 800 miles away.

Guerra was paralyzed from the chest down following an accident at a wakeboarding event on Lake Eufaula on Aug. 1.

Guerra will be finishing a week in Chicago today, going through various tests and evaluations to see how he’s progressing.

Though he won’t be at Edlam, it’s the first thing on his mind.

"I’ll definitely be texting all night,” Guerra said. "And I’m sure the guys will be texting me whenever something happens.”

The accident

Guerra had met Rose State sophomore Jordan Mixon on July 31. He had no idea Mixon would help save his life the next day.

Guerra, 6-2 and 285 pounds at the time, was hopping from boat to boat at the wakeboarding event when he slipped, striking his head and nearly drowning at the bottom of the lake.

Mixon, 5-9 and 140, didn’t think. He just reacted.

"I was at the right place at the right time,” Mixon said. "We were pretty close to shore, so I was able to drag him to safety.

"At first, I thought he was just dazed. But then he said he couldn’t feel his feet, so I knew something was seriously wrong.”

Guerra ruptured his C-5 vertebrae and fractured his C-6. He was flown to the OU Medical Center where he had surgery three days later.

Constant struggle

The real test came after the surgery: the recovery. It’s something Guerra has met with strength and a positive attitude.

"I know the only way to get better is to work for it,” Guerra said. "Nothing is going to be given to me. I have to earn it.”

Guerra spent nearly two months at the OU Medical Center, an intensive care unit or the Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Center before finally coming home Sept. 26.

It’s the little things that give Guerra hope. He can move his arms again and has wrist control in his left hand.

He’s also been labeled as an "incomplete.” An incomplete paralyzed person means there’s hope to walk again and regain all normal functions.

"If anyone is going to beat this, it’s Kaden,” his father, Joe Guerra, said. "Nobody is going to fight harder to overcome this than he will.”

The process isn’t easy. Joe owns his own business but hasn’t worked a day since the accident happened.

Kaden takes 35 pills a day, and that doesn’t include painkillers. He takes seven when he wakes up, seven more at noon, eight at 6 p.m. and 13 before he goes to bed. If he has pain, he takes two pills every four hours.

"It’s not that big of a deal mentally — it’s just another challenge,” Kaden said. "Physically, it’s tough. Some days you feel better than others – have to keep fighting and live life to the fullest.”

Serving as an inspiration

Joe said he’s not sure where Kaden would be if it wasn’t for the support of the Edmond community, most notably the North football squad.

"I remember the first day there were like 12-15 kids there with him,” Joe said. "One day, they had to kick some of them out because there were more than 100 kids there. It’s been incredible.”

It’s a two-way street. While Kaden is drawing strength from those around him, the kids have found new motivation in football and in life.

"He’s been huge to us,” senior defensive lineman Colton Byford said. "He was always like the happiest kid out there, and he still is. He’ll always be one of us.”

Said senior Dakota Lambeth, who has known Kaden since first grade: "We’re playing for him now. We couldn’t believe it at first, but if he’ll keep fighting, so will we.”

As North has had one of its best seasons ever, Guerra has been there every step of the way and has attended two of the games.

"Those were real good emotional experiences. This season has been crazy, in a good way. Those are my soldiers out there,” Guerra said.

Moving on

It’s not just a physical and mental issue, it becomes a financial concern, too. The Guerra family hasn’t had a lack of support.

A van with an accessible lift has been donated, so Guerra can go places. All three Edmond schools (North, Memorial and Santa Fe) have donated money to the Kaden Blake Guerra Trust, and there was a special benefit dinner earlier this month at the Church of the Harvest’s Edmond campus to help pay for the modifications to his home and help out with medical costs.

Friends used to stay with Kaden at his home but now that they know how to put Kaden in the van safely, they all go out together again.

"Our lives changed forever with the accident, but we’ve been blessed by everyone who has reached out and the phenomenal care we had at Jim Thorpe,” Joe said.

Most success with incomplete paralysis comes within the first six months after the accident. The Guerra family has seen first-hand someone who had the same injury as Kaden and walked again.

Guerra has lost 30 pounds since the accident. He plans on going back to school during the second semester and has done all his school work from home this semester. He plans to still graduate with his senior class.

"I haven’t given up on any of my dreams,” Guerra. "There is still a lot I can do. This won’t get the best of me.”