Calvin student paralyzed in diving accident 'optimistic' about recovery
By Nardy Baeza Bickel | The Grand Rapids Pr...
January 08, 2010, 6:49AM
Matthew DeVlieger scuba diveOK.jpgCourtesy PhotoCalvin College biology major Matthew DeVlieger, 21, on a previous scuba diving trip at the Florida Keys. He was partially paralyzed last month in a scuba diving accident.For Matthew DeVlieger, a Christmas break dive in the Gulf of Mexico became a lesson in mortality.
As he and his twin brother Andrew watched schools of fish while swimming near the sunken U.S.S. Spiegel Grove about 135 feet deep, Matthew came to the grim realization he was short oxygen.
"I was thinking I needed to get to get to the surface; that I didn't want to run out of air," he said Thursday by telephone from a Miami hospital. "I just needed to get out."
The next few minutes were critical for the 21-year-old Calvin College junior. While he survived the Dec. 28 incident after suffering decompression sickness, he now faces rehabilitation and questions whether he'll walk again.
Matthew DEVLIEGER.jpgMatthew DeVlieger"I'm optimistic," DeVlieger said. "I know it's going to be a lot of hard work and rehabilitation. I'm ready for it."
He recovered enough to be moved out of Jackson Memorial Hospital's neuroscience intensive-care unit and hopes are he can soon be transferred to a rehabilitation hospital.
A Calvin men's tennis player like his brother, Matthew has regained mobility in his right arm and has seen improvements in his left hand. A feeding tube has been removed; on Wednesday, he had lunch from Taco Bell.
"It was pretty tasty, but I'm not sure if it settled that well," he joked.
His positive attitude and faith have helped, said his mother, Sandie DeVlieger.
"There's a joy in his face and a light in his eyes," she said. "He's so accepting of what the Lord will have him do. It's pretty amazing."
His father, Robert, who was on the dive with the twins, has returned to Grand Rapids to work. His sister Denise Teitsma also has been at his side.
For Matthew, scuba diving has been a pursuit for nearly six years. Besides diving off Florida's Keys at Jules Undersea Lodge near Key Largo, he also had dived off Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
For his latest dive, he wanted an up-close look of the U.S.S. Spiegel, a 510-foot-long U.S. Navy ship decommissioned after 33 years of service in 1989 and sunk as an artificial reef in May 2002.
After Robert surfaced with his smaller air tank, Matthew and Andrew were still in the Gulf's depths when reality set.
"I told my brother I had to go," Matthew said. "I tried to ascend slowly, at a small angle. But as I finned, the air in my vest expanded. That drew me up quicker than I expected."
His brother knew something was amiss.
"He was going pretty fast; not making the stops," Andrew said.
An ascent that should have taken 20 minutes only took about five.
On the surface, Matthew swam to the boat and started taking off his swim fins.
"I started noticing there was something wrong," he said. "I needed to gasp for air. There was a tingling on my chest, torso area. I got on the boat, and it took a while, but I lost sensation in my legs."
The U.S. Coast Guard was called, and an ambulance met them at the pier.
A biology major, Matthew knew what happened. He suffered the bends, which occurs when an ascent is too quick. Nitrogen bubbles form in the bloodstream and tissue, a sickness caused because the surrounding pressure is much lower.
In his case, nitrogen bubbles formed in his spine, partially paralyzing him.
"Everything from the chest down is pretty numb," Matthew said.
But he remains optimistic along with his family, who are grateful for prayers and letters of support received from across the country.
"God works in mysterious ways, and it's hard to see that now," Andrew said. "But we have total faith and confidence in God, and we're taking it one day at the time. ... We're praying for a miracle."
Coach John Ross Matt DeVlieger - Please lift up student Matthew DeVlieger in prayer as he recently
Calvin College Thanks Coach Ross. Many, many people will be praying for Matt now and in the coming days. And praying for you as his coach and for Matt's fellow men's tennis players at Calvin.
Julie Rainey-Hiatt Matthew's Address "Cards Only"
