CRESTVIEW — Last summer, signs around town asked passersby to “pray for Drew.”
This summer, the 13-year-old's family is seeing the power of those prayers, his mom, Wendy Barefield, said. “He’s a miracle, that’s for sure,” she said.
An errant boater struck Drew while he snorkeled June 28, 2014 in Choctawhatchee Bay. Recovery has been hard, but now he can run around and play.
Watch video of Drew Barefield during physical therapy>>
See photos from Drew's physical therapy session>>
Twice a week — now down from three times — he receives physical therapy to strengthen his limbs and muscles at Manual Therapy in Crestview.
“The thing about Drew is he just never gives up,” physical therapist Ruth Jenkins said. “He keeps pushing and pushing.”
It’s not always easy, nor fun.
“I hate these,” Drew said Tuesday as physical therapy assistant Dan Foradori positioned equipment for side planks. The teen kept his body rigidly off the floor, his elbow on a cushion and his legs raised on a flat-sided balance ball.
BEING A TEENAGER
Since Drew’s return home Sept. 23, he’s gained 20 pounds and grown an inch, his mom said. Through therapy he’s lost a limp.
“On days when his parents caught him limping, we’d give him extra stuff (exercises) he really hated doing to break him of it,” Foradori said.
Therapy now targets Drew’s endurance, and his efforts are paying off. After a day of bicycle and scooter riding last week with friends, he shared a welcome milestone with his mother. “He said, ‘Mom, it felt so good to just be outside and playing and not be tired,’” Wendy Barefield said.
ENCOURAGING OTHERS
Drew’s progress hasn’t just benefited his body and his family’s spirits. His therapists said he encourages other patients. “Especially when they come here right after surgery, they see him and they’re like, ‘Is that Drew? Well, I can do that, too!’” Jenkins said.
Drew set a goal to keep pushing himself through physical therapy. On his accident's anniversary, he wants to run a mile. “We were hoping that by the summer he’ll be back to normal, and it looks like he’s going to make it,” Wendy Barefield said. “He really wants to start running again.”
“He’s come a long way. He really has,” Foradori said. “It’s night and day from where he was. It’s nice to see it.”
Drew will be discharged from therapy “really soon. Then he’ll be ready to be a regular teenager,” Jenkins said. “He’s really worked hard,” she said. “It’s like he’s been given a super strength to persevere. Most other kids wouldn’t have done this well. God’s got him in his hands. It’s incredible.”
“It’s tough,” Drew said. “You’re tired when you leave (therapy) and you’re sweaty when you leave, but it’s worth it.”
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 1 year later: Crestview's Drew Barefield is almost recovered