Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/buffalo-bills-football-player-receives-new-spinal-treatment Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript An experimental treatment was used on Buffalo Bills football player Kevin Everett to prevent paralysis from a spinal injury. A spinal cord injury specialist discusses the treatment and its possibilities. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. RAY SUAREZ: Buffalo Bills tight-end Kevin Everett was making what appeared to be a routine tackle on Sunday against the Denver Broncos, but his helmet hit another player's shoulder pad. In an instant… ANNOUNCER: Everett is down. RAY SUAREZ: … he lay motionless on the field. His teammates knelt down to pray, as Everett was loaded into an ambulance, having fractured and dislocated his spine between his third and fourth vertebrae.The initial prognosis was grim. Doctors said Everett was paralyzed from the shoulders down. Dr. Andrew Cappuccino operated on the athlete. DR. ANDREW CAPPUCCINO, Buffalo Bills Orthopedic Surgeon: I told Kevin that the chances for a full neurologic recovery were bleak, dismal. With my clinical examination, prior to surgical intervention, I felt that it was less than a 5 percent or 10 percent chance that he would ever regain full utilization. RAY SUAREZ: Even Everett's fellow players, accustomed to football injuries, struggled to make sense of the situation. RYAN NEUFELD, Buffalo Bills Tight End: It's pretty somber — you know, having a teammate get hurt like that's pretty tough, but the surgery went well, as far as what we could tell, and he's just recovering right now. RAY SUAREZ: Then yesterday, news of a surprising improvement. Doctors reported Everett had some movement in his arms and legs. Dr. Kevin Gibbons. DR. KEVIN GIBBONS, Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital: He demonstrated clear improvement in the motor function in his legs, brisk ability to push his knees together and apart, the ability to wiggle his toes, slight movement at the ankles, and most importantly, from our standpoint, the ability, with his knee elevated, to kick out his lower leg against gravity. RAY SUAREZ: Doctors were also encouraged that Everett's spinal cord was intact rather than severed, but they cautioned much is still unknown. DR. ANDREW CAPPUCCINO: We still are looking at many weeks to month scenario, and walking out of this hospital really is not a realistic goal, but walking may very well be.