Kevin Everett Visits Miami Project

The moment wasn't poignant simply because former NFL and University of Miami player Kevin Everett finally got to see the facility Friday and meet the men whose research perhaps saved his life. It also was special because Everett was able to walk into the lobby of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

Doctors feared Everett would never walk again after injuring his spinal cord while making a tackle for the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 9. But thanks to an experimental treatment suggested by the Miami Project, Everett has overcome grim odds.

"This is how close we are to finding a cure," said Marc Buoniconti, the former linebacker who was paralyzed in a 1985 college football game and since has served as the Miami Project's driving force.

"It's great to have Kevin standing here. Months ago, he was lying on a field paralyzed as I was. The next step is to get us all out of wheelchairs."

Everett said it was ironic that the Miami Project is just a mile from the Orange Bowl and 4 miles from where he attended college.

He has started his own foundation that will assist victims of spinal-column injuries.

"I think it's amazing all the research they've been doing," Everett said. "You can see that it works. I do feel like one (a miracle). They practically saved my life. This is where I wanted to be again, up and walking around."

One of the biggest supporters of the Project is Bills owner Ralph Wilson. He donated, having no idea his money might someday help save the life of one of his own players.

Bills orthopedic surgeon Andrew Cappuccino learned of an experimental technique to place patients into moderate hypothermia by infusing cold saline. He learned of it at a seminar given two years ago in Palm Beach by the project's scientific director, W. Dalton Dietrich.

"Andy Cappuccino really made a major step in translating what we're doing in experimental studies," Dietrich said. "When we go out and talk to people, people are listening. This project can change the way we treat people, and that's what we're trying to do every day."

Miami Project co-founder Barth Green said there's a chance all NFL teams will have hypothermia kits on their sidelines and medical personnel trained to use them.

"This doesn't work for everyone all the time," Green said. "We haven't hit a home run yet. But we are rounding first and we're getting to second base a lot quicker."

While Everett has come a long way, he has many challenges ahead. Because he lacks dexterity in his hands, he has problems doing basic things, such as tying his shoes or brushing his hair.

"I'm far away from being normal," he softly said. "I still have a long ways to go."

His NFL career obviously over, Everett has to find another way to make a living. He was asked how difficult it is to know he can no longer play the game he loved since childhood.

"The reality is I can't play anymore, so I've got to find something else I'm good at doing," said Everett, 26. "Everything happens for a reason.

"It was bad timing with the hit. But it just happens. I just accepted that. There's nothing I could have done about that."