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(Photo by Denise Baratta) A BRUSH with DEATH A snowmobile accident leaves family shaken but thankful By buffy pollock for the Mail Tribune EAGLE POINT — Having their 51„2-year-old son home for the holidays was nothing short of a Christmas miracle for the Kitchen family. Zeb Kitchen was riding on a snowmobile with his father on Dec. 9 at Diamond Lake when a freak accident nearly cost him his life. The Kitchens had been enjoying a weekend with extended family and a new snowmobile when they decided to go for a ride along the lake shore. Zeb rode with his father, Gene; his mother, Kelly, rode just ahead of them. The surface seemed perfectly smooth, and Gene was an experienced snowmobiler. But a log lurking just beneath the surface snagged Gene's machine, bringing it to an abrupt halt. Gene was thrust into the back of Zeb, then thrown off the rig. Advertisement "At first it just looked like it had knocked the wind out of (Zeb)," Kelly said. "When I took his helmet off is when I'd seen it was cracked. His lips started turning blue, so we got his airway opened back up in the process, one of Gene's cousins had ridden to the lodge to get help." Impact from passenger handlebars had slammed into Zeb's abdomen, lacerating a main artery between his heart and liver and tearing into his liver as well, causing massive internal bleeding. Doctors later told the Kitchens such an injury carried only a 5 percent survival rate, especially so far from a hospital. "Amazingly, we had cell service and it actually went in and out as we were talking to 9-1-1," Gene said. "It would hang up and I would call right back. I was arguing the fact that we needed a helicopter. I felt pretty strongly Zeb was injured internally." While they waited for help, Zeb's parents focused on keeping him awake. After the cousin reported the family had been administering CPR on Zeb, emergency officials dispatched a helicopter from Bend to the remote area. "Basically, we learned that if you need a helicopter, tell them someone's unconscious," Gene said. The helicopter arrived within half an hour, thanks to GPS coordinates provided by Zeb's family. The helicopter hovered just inches off the ground while Zeb and his mom were loaded by emergency personnel. A nurse and respiratory therapist on board determined Zeb required immediate surgery and alerted St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, the only hospital east of the Cascades designated as a Level 2 trauma center. Three anesthesiologists needed for Zeb's pending surgery were already on site, doing morning rounds. After a near five-hour surgery with a 13-member team, and two days in a critical care unit, Zeb stabilized and was airlifted to the critical care unit at Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital in Portland. "When we got there they told us, because of the extent of his injuries, 'You need to do whatever you guys need to do because you will be here for Christmas,' " Kelly recalled. When Zeb finally came around to where he could communicate with his parents, he kept insisting he "couldn't wait to get home and give hugs," Kelly said. Surprising his parents and caregivers, Zeb was released Dec. 22 — just 13 days after suffering life-threatening injuries. While he's far from fully recovered, Zeb will be able to return to school soon. For a while, he'll have to avoid impact such as tumbling or falling to prevent damage while he continues to heal internally. Zeb realizes he was in a serious accident, but he refuses to discuss the scar from his neck to his belly button. He's more willing to talk about his own snowmobile and a torso protector his cousins got him for Christmas. A boy of few words, Zeb merely said he was happy to be at home. "I don't know about my accident but I'm glad I'm home because I've been in the hospital for like two weeks!" he said. Gene said the family was touched by the number of strangers who offered compassion and help throughout the ordeal, from hospital nurses and a helicopter pilot to family members who prompted donation efforts to cover medical costs. His biggest hope is that Zeb's accident will prevent other children from suffering the same type of injury. "I've had a lot of guilt so I've talked to friends and ministers, but my cousin had the best analogy. He said, 'We've been walking since we were 1 or 2 and we could still trip and fall.' It doesn't matter how many times you do something or how good you are at it, anything can happen," Gene said. "The surgeon said you could work your whole life in a trauma center and never see this injury still, it won't happen with me again." Diamond Lake snowmobile instructor John Mattos said many families ride with their children in front of them, and that some snowmobiles are made for two people. "It truly was just a freak accident and the dad was completely upset. But you watch for what you can and try to read the snow"¦ when you see a bump, you steer away from it. There was no fault in this case." His best advice, in unfamiliar terrain, is to "go putt-putt across the whole area and leave a track behind you that you know is clear. Then take it back." Children age 8 and older can attend a course to learn proper handling of a snowmobile. After his experience, Gene Kitchen said he now knows children are safer riding alone. "I have told my friends, when they ask what they can do to help, I say, 'Never put your kid on the front of your snowmobile. It's very dangerous. "I felt so bad I hurt my son — literally almost killed him. Just don't do it. I think we really forget how fragile little people are." Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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