Keith Smith is 25 years of age and currently seeking treatment for a spinal cord injury at Project Walk. Keith is a brother, a nephew, a grandson, a beloved son, and a father of three to Joshua (age 13), Jacob (age 11), and Ethan (age 8). He has always been an active father, a caring and helpful person. Keith has always gone out of his way to help those in need and never once has he shied away from hard work. His boys look up to him and rely on him for their financial and moral support. He worked two jobs to support his family and their needs. Keith was an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for the local ambulance company (AMR) and he worked at a retirement home caring for patients who have Alzheimer’s and dementia.

What changed? A motorcycle., Keith’s motorcycle crashed and he has no recollection of the accident nor was there any report of a hit and run, so what happened that morning will forever remain a mystery. What isn’t a mystery is how to cope with it now. Not only did Keith suffer many physical catastrophes (he fractured his entire face, broke his neck, collar bone, ribs, collapsed lung, the list goes on) his family suffered the brutal shock of facing life without him. How would those three little boys cope?

Doctors informed Keith’s family members to take two days, say their goodbyes, wrap it up and pull the plug- he was on a life support machine at the time. According to the doctors, if Keith ever came out of his coma he’d be a vegetable; these doctors were certain of his extensive brain damage. Thankfully the family didn’t listen to the doctors, three days later Keith came out of his coma. He was on a ventilator and had a feeding tube in his stomach, again the doctors assured the family he would need these for life. He didn’t. Not only are there zero signs of brain damage, Keith has full mental capacity, he breathes freely on his own, and can eat just like anyone else, well, almost, he does need a little help to eat, but that is because he has C-5 spinal cord injury and is paralyzed from the neck down. Keith cannot use his fingers or his legs, he says it’s like being stuck in concrete- he can feel his body in there wanting to move he just needs a lot of help to get it to that point. Keith is now in a vigorous battle to regain his active lifestyle, not just for himself but for those boys of his. He still wants to coach their baseball team.