Stuckey attacks rehab, participates in half-marathon

Jan. 23—MOULTRIE — For those who were concerned about how Gibson Stuckey has reacted since the July 23 accident in which he suffered a significant spinal cord injury, get this.

In early November, just three weeks after being released from The Shepherd Center in Atlanta, the Colquitt County 14-year-old competed in the Colquitt County Art Center's half-marathon, completing the entire 13.1-mile course in his wheelchair.

"And he wouldn't let any of us touch his wheelchair," said his father, Waylon Stuckey, who with several of his friends and former Colquitt County baseball teammates, ran the course with Gibson.

Later in the month, his dad put him on his back and took him up to a box deer stand and the youngster got himself a nine-point buck.

An avid outdoorsman like his father, he can get around in the woods in a donated track wheelchair.

He has attended an Atlanta Braves game and been the Colquitt County football team's honorary captain in the Packers' big victory over Lowndes.

He has attacked his rehab like the outstanding athlete and Junior Nationals-qualifying Moss Farms diver he is and is making progress faster than expected.

And while as concerned as any parent would be when he sat by his son's bedside in the Tallahassee Memorial ICU hours after the accident, Waylon had a glimpse of how Gibson would approach the injury that has cost him the use of his legs.

"I told him, 'If I could change places with you, I would,'" Waylon told his son. "And he said, 'I wouldn't let you.'

"What an incredible thing for a 14-year-old to say."

Even after five hours of surgery and knowing he faced an uncertain future, Gibson had this to say when the doctor asked him if he had any questions: "I'll get my answers along the way."

And that's how Gibson and his family have approached the last six months.

"The whole process has been, don't look at tomorrow, take care of today," Waylon said. "He's a smart kid. He's got that mindset."

"Day-to-day," Gibson said when asked how he approaches life now.

And for Waylon and Wendy Stuckey?

"Science can only take you so far," Waylon said. "We knew the doctors would do their jobs and we'd do ours. Then sheer will and determination take over. It's just the Stuckey way.

"Everything happens for a reason. We don't have all the answers and we're not supposed to."

Gibson was resting at home on that Saturday evening in late July, preparing to leave in three days for the USA Diving's Junior National Championship in Midland, Texas.

He was in just his second year in the Moss Farms Diving program and had qualified for Nationals both years.

He would compete against other top 14- and 15-year-olds from around the country in the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform events.

He then got on the family's all-terrain vehicle and drove down a nearby dirt road.

The ATV was going about 15 mph when he had to make a quick, unexpected right turn and the vehicle flipped and came down on his lower back.

When Waylon got to the scene, Gibson was calm and told him he was not hurting, but could not feel his legs.

"He said, 'I think I broke my back,'" Waylon said. "My heart stopped."

A Medivac helicopter took Gibson and his father to Tallahassee Memorial, where the boy was examined by neurosurgeon Dr. Matthew Davis, who immediately took him to surgery.

The spinal cord was not severed, but was significantly damaged. Davis removed bone fragments and had to fuse his spine with pins.

Waylon had nothing but praise for Davis.

"He was a God-send," he said.

Gibson spent 11 days in ICU at Tallahassee Memorial before he was transferred to the Shepherd Center, one of the nation's foremost neurorehabilitation facilities, located in Atlanta.

"They were phenomenal," Waylon said. "The people there dedicate their lives to Shepherd and to the patients."

Gibson went through inpatient rehab and treatment at Shepherd until Sept. 14, when he was transferred to an outpatient apartment on the campus where he and his parents prepared for him to return home.

"It really changed our perspective going to Shepherd," Wendy said. "We were devastated. We thought we had it awful.

"But when we got there and saw some of the other patients, we realized how fortunate we were."

The Stuckeys took a super-determined approach to their time at the Shepherd Center.

"We just said, 'We've got this,'" Waylon said. "We learned what we had to learn and blew through the program. We didn't come home for three weeks. We wanted to be sure we had all the information we needed."

Or, as Wendy said, "We didn't sit around and let ourselves fall into grief."

While he was in outpatient care, Gibson and his father trained on the parking deck to prepare for the half-marathon.

And since returning to Colquitt County on Oct. 13, Gibson goes to rehab twice a week at the Vereen Center and two more days at Cairo Physical Therapy.

While getting care at the Vereen Center, he sometimes has shared the big room with his grandfather Randy Stuckey, who suffered a stroke in December 2021 that affected his left side and speech.

He, too, has displayed that doggedness that led to him to make significant strides in his recovery and has served as an example for his grandson.

"I think it's been good for Gibs to know his papa has been going through what he's going through," Waylon said.

Throughout their ordeal, the Stuckeys have continued to receive support from friends and family in Colquitt County, from the diving community and from some unexpected sources.

Herschel Walker sent Gibson a video of encouragement, as did former Lee County, Florida State University and San Francisco Giant baseball player Buster Posey.

"It's all been very humbling," Waylon said. "Sometimes you'd feel alone, away from home and then you'd look on Facebook and see all the love. We knew we were not forgotten."

"Gains for Gibs" signs appeared throughout Colquitt County and funds have been raised to help with the cost of medical care.

On Saturday, Jan. 28, the popular Kinchafoonee Cowboys will present a Gains for Gibs concert at Spence Field. The event, which also will include an auction, will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the headliners will take the stage at 9 p.m.

Tickets are $25 and are available at SMI in Norman Park, Backstage/Comfort Zone Day Spa in Albany, Colony Bank in Moultrie and from Brad Tomlinson at Robert Hudson Ford in Moultrie.

In his quiet, methodical way, Gibson has leaned into his rehab with the determination he has displayed as an accomplished young diver.

"He is very athletic and very mature," Waylon said. "He's playing the long game."

And the youngster is not without some dark humor.

He once asked his father to put a blanket on his legs because they were cold.

Another time he said "ouch!" when given an injection in his leg.

"He just laughed," Waylon said. "That helps him get through it."

Also helping has been the addition of Goose, a 9-month old service dog, to a Stuckey household that also includes Gibson's energetic 2-year-old brother Brooks.

Waylon was an outstanding baseball player at Colquitt County, starting at shortstop on the 1997 state championship Packers team, whose catcher was his older brother Will.

Waylon also has competed in Ironman events.

Waylon and Will's parents also were fine athletes. Randy was an outstanding baseball and basketball player at Norman Park High and Jill Middlebrooks Stuckey was inducted into the Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame for accomplishments on the basketball and tennis courts for the Trojanettes.

Wendy played soccer at Colquitt County.

"I think I'm competitive," Waylon said. "She's more so."

Waylon said the Stuckey motto is "Tough times don't last. Tough people do."

Both have adapted to their new lifestyle and its uncertainty.

"There is no guarantee," Wendy said. "Nobody has any answers for spinal cord injuries. Every injury is different and all the recoveries are different.

"So, time will tell. We have just got to keep working."