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Monday, Nov. 30, 2009

Merced boy honored for amazing tale of survival

ATWATER -- This is the story of a little boy who should have died but didn't.

On April 8, 2005, 3-year-old Atticus Villanueva was run over by a truck as he wandered onto Gerard Avenue. His skull was fractured in several places, and he sustained massive brain trauma. As his little body lay in the road, blood poured out of his ears, nose and mouth.

"They did not expect him to survive," his father, John Villanueva, said recently.

Now, more than four years later and after a long bout of physical therapy and time spent in a wheelchair, a little boy who wasn't supposed to live has survived.

But Atticus Villanueva has done more than just survive. He is all but healed. And he's been recognized for his struggle back to normalcy. He was recently presented an award by the Association of California School Administrators in its Every Student Succeeding program.

The award is meant to highlight students who have overcome tough obstacles. "ACSA's Every Student Succeeding program honors students who exceed our expectations and the educators who support them along the way," noted the association's Web site. "They face life's challenges head on."

The program honors students who have left gangs, overcome physical obstacles as Atticus did or who have returned to school, among other achievements.

Atticus, now in the first grade at Shaffer Elementary School, was one of 19 students from across the state honored this year.

"Atticus had to re-learn everything," said his father.

After three months in the hospital, Atticus was in a wheelchair, then a walker and finally a body harness. "He now does everything a 7-year-old does," his father beamed.

He may be almost completely healed, but from the beginning it didn't look as it would happen.

On the day of the accident, Atticus was taken to Modesto Memorial and finally airlifted to Children's Hospital Central California in Madera. "He looked pretty horrible," recalled John Villanueva. "He was basically on the verge of death."

At the hospital, medical personnel drilled a hole in his head and put a bolt in to control swelling and minimize pressure. The outlook didn't look promising. At one point his family considered organ donation. "That's where we were at for three-and-a-half months," John Villanueva said.

After about two weeks came the first signs of hope. The swelling went down, and doctors were confident he would at least survive. But the quality of his life was still in question.

After about a month, the next sign of hope blossomed when Atticus woke up. "He opened his eyes but we couldn't tell if he could see us or hear anything," said John Villanueva.

"It was pretty much touch-and-go for a while," said Atticus's, mother Tracy Hunter.

After two months Atticus was finally moving a bit. "He didn't have fluid motor skills at all," said John Villanueva. Atticus had lost much of his muscle movement after being in a bed for almost three months.

Once rehabilitation began, they knew at least they were out of the dark. At first Atticus wasn't able to turn himself over. He was fed from a feeding tube. He couldn't communicate. He'd lost most of the hearing in one ear and was paralyzed on the left side of his face. When he left the hospital he rode in a wheelchair.

Two weeks after he got home, he finally stood up by himself, said John Villanueva. When Atticus did that, he said, "Look," recalled John Villanueva. It was then that they began to hope he would recover. "We had a second chance for him to live a good life," said John Villanueva.

Now, says John Villanueva, Atticus is pretty much like other kids. Except for nerve damage on the left side of his face and a leg brace, Atticus is just another 7-year-old boy.

Hunter, who volunteers at Atticus's school, says Atticus knows what happened to him but his parents don't go into detail. "We don't get into it real deeply, I don't think it's age appropriate. As time goes on, we will talk to him more about it," she said. "He worked extra hard to be where he is. He's determined."

Atticus Villanueva is a survivor.

Reporter Jonah Owen Lamb can be reached at (209) 385-2484 or jlamb@mercedsun-star.com.