Clayton Arthur

Story posted 02/16/05

Clayton Arthur knows life can change in an instant. At 13 years old, the active teen and his friend hopped on their dirt bikes for a quick ride after football practice. Although a five-year veteran of dirt bikes and trails, on this day he was still adjusting to the bike he'd received just three weeks earlier.

The last thing he remembers about that ride is a blue pickup truck that stopped to let the boys cross the street into a nearby field. Clayton has no recollection of riding into an unmarked wire that nearly severed his head.

His parents were the first to arrive on the scene. Not realizing the extent of Clayton's injuries, his father tried to lift him - and was confronted with the fact that his son likely would not survive. Even as paramedics worked to stabilize Clayton, officials summoned a coroner and called the family's minister.

An ambulance took Clayton to the trauma center at a local hospital, where he was prepped for surgery and then transferred to Riley Hospital for Children.

Almost unbelievably, Clayton survived eight hours of surgery at Riley, but was in a coma. Riley physicians were uncertain the teen would ever walk, talk, eat or breathe on his own again.

Three days later, the boy regained consciousness. Ten days later - less than two weeks after his harrowing accident - Clayton was shooting baskets and eating soft food.

Although released from Riley after just two weeks, Clayton's road to recovery was long. Unable to speak due to vocal-cord injuries, he communicated with a notepad for nine months and was tutored at home for the rest of the school year.

The active youngster eagerly returned to school the next year, but not to his former pursuits. Playing contact sports was deemed too dangerous, so his dream of one day playing in the NFL vanished. Not one to sit idle, though, Clayton began playing golf. Four years later, he earned the Mitch Winger Award from the Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association, which honors athletes who have overcome overwhelming challenges in the pursuit of golf.

Today, 21-year-old Clayton is taking a break from studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis to pursue golf professionally, having qualified for the United States Golf Association tour.

He remains grateful for the care he received from his physicians at Riley, Dr. Tres Scherer and Dr. Jeffrey Macke.

"It's a great hospital," Clayton said. "They make you feel comfortable and at ease. And they have a lot of fun with the kids, too."