Bike accident didn’t deter North Stafford graduate

BY TRACY BELL

North Stafford High School graduate Karl Rice will always remember his high school days.

He’ll remember a kaleidoscope of friends, swim team, prom and chorus.

And although one memory won’t be as fond, he’ll take with him the silver linings that followed.

It was March 11, 2021, right after school and the day before spring break.

Rice and two friends hopped on their

“They called me a miracle,” Rice said, referring to his doctors.

The truck was traveling about 35 mph in Embrey Mill near Ebenezer United Methodist Church. His friends were unharmed.

The bike ride – a quick trip from his North Stafford home near Eustace Road –resulted in devastating injuries, including fractures of the spine, a traumatic brain injury with bleeding spots on the brain, broken ribs, deafness in one ear and damaged vocal chords.

After 5½ days in the neurological Intensive Care Unit, Rice went home.

Somehow, he didn’t miss any school days because it was spring break and virtual school was still being held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He survived, but it wasn’t easy. At first, he struggled to speak, and couldn’t bathe himself or even walk. Rice said he was told that with just a quarter-inch difference in damage to his spine, the result could have been even more tragic.

He underwent occupational, physical and speech therapy. Rice said his father helped him learn to walk again.