By Gerri Miller
Elmore/Autauga News Staff Writer
A Holtville High School junior who was critically injured recently when a zipline broke and sent him plunging to the ground is defying all the odds and doctors are calling his recovery so far, a miracle.
Ceth Barkley, 16, was riding his backyard zipline when the handle of the zipline broke and sent him falling 10-12 feet to the ground. He landed on the top of his back, causing his sternum to break. He also suffered a contusion to the back of his head and had multiple spine fractures. His T-8 vertebrae was completely shattered.
His mother, Ashley Barkley, said he somehow walked 50 feet and up nine steps to his back porch to call her, but he doesn’t remember doing it. A neighbor who is also a nurse heard his screams and came to his aide. “I think God guided him there and put the phone in his hands,” Ashley said.
By the time paramedics arrived, Ceth was paralyzed from the belly button down. He had surgery on Friday the 13th for a T6-T-10 fusions and the insertion of a rod to relieve the pressure on his spinal cord. “Thirty minutes after surgery he was doing physical therapy,” Ashley said.
She said on Friday he started having some feeling in his legs. “Every day since then, he has just progressed,” Ashley said. “On Saturday, he was able to move his toes and on Sunday, he was shifting his legs in and out.”
Today, nurses, doctors, and staff at Baptist South’s Surgery Intensive Care Unit (SICU) clapped and cried as Ceth stood up for the first time with the aide of a walker. He was also able to be moved from the SICU to a regular room.
“If you walk into Baptist South right now and ask about Ceth Barkley, they will say, ‘Oh, the 16-year-old miracle kid,’ Ashley said. “He is in a lot of pain, but he is determined to push through it.”
The next stop for Ceth will be the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 10 best rehabilitation hospitals in the nation. Shepherd is the only rehabilitation facility in the nation with an intensive care unit and acute medical components on-site, allowing the rehabilitation process to begin sooner than other rehabilitation hospitals.
Ashley said only one family member is allowed to stay with Ceth and that his grandmother will be staying with him. Ashley also has two other children at home, 10-month-old Mac and 13-year-old Cy.
Ceth is a pitcher and first baseman for Holtville’s varsity team and Ashley said he is determined to play again. “We believe God, strength and determination are what’s pulling him through,” she said. “Baseball is this boy’s life. Of course, his number one goal is to just be able to walk again, and lead a normal teenage life. But after he conquers that part, he will have plans to be back on that field 100 percent doing what he loves!”
Ashley said it is Ceth’s dream to play baseball for Auburn University and major in engineering. “He is a great student and the sweetest, most caring child anyone could have been blessed with,” she said.
Ceth has worked for Paintball on 111 since he was 15. The company has planned a fundraiser for his medical expenses to be held on Saturday, August 21st, from 6 to 9 p.m. at 8449 Holtville Road in Wetumpka. There will be food trucks, live music, a bouncy house, and double slide and of course, paintball. Entry is $2 and $15 for paintball.
A candlelight vigil was also held for Ceth Sunday night behind Baptist South in an area where Ceth could see it from his room. Community members have set up a GoFundMe account and a link can be found on the #Cethstrong Facebook page. T-shirts, lanyards, and other items supporting Ceth can also be purchased through the Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/CethStrong-100832502319238
Ashley said she and her husband Matthew want to thank the community of Slapout, the Holtville High baseball team, friends and family for the meals, donations, prayers and support they have given to the family. “It means the world to us,” she said.
Here is a video of Ceth standing up for the first time: https://fb.watch/7tbQX3MizS/
