Another milestone

SUMMERVILLE -- Her fellow students stood on tables, clapped and cheered when Kayla Beczynski made a brief visit to Summerville High School two months ago. The sight brought Kayla to tears, a poignant reminder of the days before a crash put her old life on hold.

In the seven months since an all-terrain-vehicle wreck left her paralyzed, 15-year-old Kayla has fought to reclaim that life. She will mark another milestone toward that goal when she returns to school as a full-time student in January.

Kayla already is talking about the new backpack she wants and what she might wear for her return. She rolled her eyes when her mom suggested a pair of comfortable Crocs for shoes.

"I am NOT wearing Crocs," she said with mock disdain before breaking into a smile.

Kayla had her eyes on something a little hipper, like a new pair of Nikes.

Kayla only recently regained the use of her voice after doctors at Shriners Hospitals in Philadelphia outfitted her with a new breathing tube that allows air to pass over her vocal chords. Until that point, her voice had been limited to a barely audible whisper that sounded like a series of clicks.

A procedure to get her breathing on her own did not go as well, her mother, Carrie Rhymer, said. Doctors tried to get her diaphragm working through electrical stimulation, but the procedure was more painful than productive, she said.

Doctors will try another approach in the coming weeks -- implanting a pacing device along with a nerve from her rib cage.

Her life has been a series of uphill battles since the wreck in a wooded area near the Sawmill Branch Trail. She was on the back of an ATV driven by a neighbor, 32-year-old Katrina Elsworth, when the vehicle plunged off a 15-foot embankment and landed in a canal.

The impact broke Kayla's neck in two places, damaged her spine and left her unable to move from the neck down. She requires full-time nursing care, but Kayla has come further than some doctors predicted. She can eat solid food on her own, move her head to some degree and feels tingling in her feet at times.

Each mark of progress has brought obstacles, as well. She has been in and out of hospitals for breathing difficulties, infections and problems with low body temperature.

While Kayla has battled to stay alive, the neighbor who drove the ATV fought and lost a battle of her own.

Elsworth had been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after police determined she had marijuana and prescription drugs in her system at the time of the wreck. She was free on bail and awaiting trial when she committed suicide, authorities said.

Kayla's family wanted to see justice, but not this, Rhymer said. They felt bad for Elsworth's three children, one of whom is a close friend of Kayla's.

"It's just really sad how two families have been devastated and destroyed by this situation," Rhymer said.

Kayla's family has tried to stay focused on the work ahead. With few resources for quadriplegics in the Charleston area and no physical therapy options available locally for Kayla, the family is looking for help wherever they can find it. They are determined to get her life back, Rhymer said.

The family has been buoyed by support from the community, which has donated about $30,000 to help Kayla, Rhymer said. Much of that money went to pay for a handicapped-accessible van to help her get around. The van will ferry Kayla to and from school in the coming weeks. That, in turn, will allow her mother to go back to work.

A return to normalcy, a little at a time.