Everett is still adjusting to life after spinal injury

If this were the best of all possible worlds, Kevin Everett would be preparing for his fourth NFL season with the Buffalo Bills this fall.

Instead, Everett is a symbol of how risky it is to play in the NFL.

Everett's career ended in the Bills' season opener last year when he suffered a severe spinal injury, but he now might have a more important mission. The 26-year-old is showing that progress is being made in the treatment of spinal injuries, and he's starting a foundation to help other victims.

Everett probably was saved from spending his life in a wheelchair because of the progress that's already being made in treating spinal injuries.

While Everett was still on the field, a Bills doctor administered an ice-cold intravenous saline solution that he described as an ice pack for the spine. That might be one of the reasons why Everett was able to walk onto the field in Buffalo for their season finale against the New York Giants.

But Everett - who has written a book, Standing Tall, about his experience - still deals with a lot of pain, especially in the mornings when he get spasms.

"I'm still faced with challenges," Everett told the Houston Chronicle. "I pray every day that things will get better. I've got to cope with them the best way I can in everyday life."

Everett said doctors told him he might have to deal with spasms the rest of his life.

"They don't know," he said. "I'm not 100 percent. I've just got to pray every day and try to keep doing the right things."

Everett often spends hours in bed waiting for his body to unlock.

"Around midday, the blood starts flowing, and everything seems to get a little better," he said.

Everett also can't really write when he's asked for his autograph.

"I just scribble a little bit," he said. "I've got the motion down pat."

And while Everett can walk, he walks slowly.

"I fatigue real easy," he said. "It's just my whole body. It happens with this type of injury."

Not that Everett is complaining about his fate. He knows things could have been much worse.

"I want people to know I'm blessed," he said. "You've got to maintain your faith in the good times and the bad."

But he admits he still misses football.

"I miss everything about it," he said. "This is the time of year when I'd be out there working hard, conditioning myself, mentally preparing myself for the long season. Now that I don't have any of that, it's different. It's kind of hard."

(jacksonville.com)