October 2024 Dylan Rivard

Dylan Rivard (as told by Holly Rivard)

It was a cool fall afternoon on October 16, 2015. Dylan was fourteen years old and just starting his freshman year at Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine. Myself, his dad, and his younger brother Kyle were visiting from New Hampshire enjoying parents’ weekend with Dylan. We had just finished observing all his classes for the day and were about to leave for our hotel for a quick swim before the evening activities started, when Dylan was struck by a motor vehicle while on his bike.

We saw the vehicle speeding down Church Street heading toward Dylan, but we could not stop it. As we ran to Dylan, the driver sped away from the scene of the accident. Dylan was unresponsive and visibly had multiple traumatic life-threatening injuries. He was immediately taken to Maine Medical Center by Life Flight. Sickened by fear for Dylan’s life, we drove over an hour to the hospital. As we arrived, the neurologist and orthopedic surgeon met with us and informed us Dylan had a severe traumatic brain injury and that there was a high possibility that he would lose his left leg due to the severity of his injuries. Hearing those words was devastating, and we immediately knew all of our lives would change forever.

Dylan was in a coma for several days and used a ventilator which kept him alive while he fought for his life. During this time, he underwent two separate surgeries in order to save his left leg. After two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit, he was transferred to the pediatric unit at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. There he underwent intensive speech, occupational and physical therapies.

Prior to his accident, Dylan was a very active and bright young man. He was in the middle of his mountain bike season and looking forward to ski racing in the winter. After his accident he couldn’t even hold his head up or sit at the edge of the bed. He needed to relearn how to talk, walk, and take care of himself again. During the first several weeks, Dylan was very confused, had no attention, and could not retain memory for more than one minute at a time. He slowly showed improvements, and was released in our care from rehab six weeks later just prior to Thanksgiving.

One week after his release from Spaulding, we met with the surgeon for his left leg injury and received the shattering news that if he did not undergo another eight-hour surgery, including revascularizing, they would have to amputate his leg. Therefore, two weeks after finally coming home, he was back at Maine Medical Center for his third surgery on his leg. Following a successful surgery, he had to spend two more weeks in the hospital while the staff at Maine Medical monitored his leg for signs of vascular failure, in which case he would have been immediately sent to the operating room for more surgery.

He did very well and was finally sent home with us caring for him. He was able to attend outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapies, as well as tutoring and therapies through our local public high school in New Hampshire. We worked with Dylan daily to regain his skills both physically and academically. Dylan was working very hard and determined to get his life back. Late into winter Dylan underwent his fourth surgery on his left leg, which was a bone graft, finally saving his leg from amputation.

It was now August of 2016, and our family had moved from New Hampshire to Maine in order for Dylan to continue to attend Gould Academy as a day student. He would need the support of his family to navigate the challenges of school and would not be able to board as he had once done prior to his accident. He received academic assistance from the school as well as from us. He was able to rejoin the mountain bike team in the fall of 2016.

In the winter he found it very difficult to be in a race ski boot with his left leg injury, and therefore was unable to be as competitive as he was prior to his accident. Despite that, he was out skiing and enjoying his winter. Throughout his recovery, Dylan struggled with self-confidence and social connections. As his parents, this has been heartbreaking to watch. Through counseling and support from close friends and family, he has made progress, but he continues to be challenged in these areas.

Dylan graduated from Gould Academy in 2020 during the start of the pandemic, so he was unable to have a formal graduation, but we celebrated his extraordinary accomplishment at home as a family. In the fall of 2020, he attended the College for Creative Studies in Michigan, majoring in Product Design. He was able to use the academic support center to assist him and, of course, he leaned on us for support. He graduated from college this past May with his bachelor’s degree in product design, and we were so very proud of him.  We will always be there to support him as he continues to recover from his accident and spread his wings on his next adventure. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for him.