The Incredible Light of Being

Mike Sciacca

So much has happened in Trevor Schulte’s young life in the past year,

one could write a book about his trials and tribulations.

But this isn’t a story about that.

It’s a story of the celebration of the human spirit.

It has to be, because the miracles and milestones somehow, continue to

grace a once-grave situation.

It was little over a year ago -- on a late June morning -- when Trevor

was hit by a car as he rode his bike home from the beach. He had just

reached the gates of Seacliff Estates on Sea Point, where he lives with

his parents, Don and Judy, and sister Kelsey and infant brother Donnie.

Trevor never made it through the gate on his own. Instead, so

incredibly harsh was the impact that it catapulted the 13-year-old an

estimated 230 feet to the other side of those same gates and, literally,

knocked his socks off.

Those, along with his shoes and bicycle helmet, lay some 100 feet

away, in opposite directions from his rag doll-like body.

Trevor spent the next 69 days in hospitals, from five days past the

start of summer vacation to a few days before the 2001-2002 school year

was to began.

How he survived this trauma is anyone’s guess. He suffered three

fractures of the head and 10 overall. His left leg was horribly broken

and, at one time, doctors told the Schultes that it might have to be

amputated. It wasn’t. During the first operation performed on him, his

spleen was removed. His blood was replaced two times over in a 24-hour

period. He lost his hearing in his left ear. In all, he went through nine

operations -- six alone on his left leg, which was missing two inches

from its tibia, and broke 11 bones.

If that wasn’t overwhelming enough, Trevor was in a coma for 25 days.

Then, he woke up.

A year’s difference

Last Tuesday, exactly one year ago to the day that he woke from that

coma, Trevor, the same Trevor whose future seemed anything but rosy,

played in his first All-Star baseball game with the Huntington Valley

Little League Junior League team.

He even got a base hit and played well, as usual, at third base.

In the three District 62 Tournament games Huntington Valley played,

Trevor finished with three hits and a walk, and even got a start at third

base.

“What Trevor has accomplished is nothing short of amazing,” said Joe

Lanning, Trevor’s regular season manager. “He had an awesome regular

season. He made some phenomenal plays at third base, has a strong arm and

is a very good hitter. He made the All-Star team on his own merit. His

recovery has been nothing short of miraculous. To be honest, at the

beginning of his recovery, I doubted that he’d play again.”

Lanning should know. He was thinking quite seriously of stepping down

from managing after six years, but had a change of heart when Trevor

called him around the Thanksgiving holiday and asked if they could go out

and “play some ball.”

Although his coordination was there, his throwing arm was a little

wild that day at the Huntington Beach High baseball fields. Still,

Lanning saw a fire in Trevor that changed his mind about abandoning

coaching.

He remained as a manager for the sake of Trevor and his own son, Joey,

who was Trevor’s teammate on the Mariners.

“I remember that day well,” Joe Lanning said. “I was dumbstruck and

amazed at how well Trevor was throwing the ball and playing catch. He was

still very much recovering from that horrible accident. But, he just kept

getting better and stronger. As time went by and come tryout time in the

spring, he was ready to go. I was blown away by what he had

accomplished.”

Hidden things remain

Trevor, who is sensitive to light and has to wear sunglasses --

stylish, of course -- in bright light, has made the most of a second

chance. Not only has he given every ounce of his strength to becoming

whole again, his determination has touched just about everyone he has

come in contact with.

A sign of that determination, said his mother Judy Schulte, was first

apparent when he left the hospital and proceeded to call his soccer coach

to see if he could play in the fall.

He couldn’t, but it was apparent that Trevor meant to, one day.

“The one thing that has come out of this is that he’s been allowed to

find out what his strengths are at such a young age,” his mother said.

“He’s very determined, very strong willed, and I believe that is what has

brought him to where he is now.”

Still, there are “hidden things,” as Judy Schulte says, that linger

during the recovery process. His organization is off at times, and he’s

moody.

You might chalk that last one up to his being a typical teenager.

Actually, though, Trevor is anything but typical. He was baptized at

his church and does community service and volunteer work each week.

“I do that to help others,” he explained. “I’ve had so much support

from my family and friends and even strangers, and I want to give

something back.”

Thanks to his uncle, Ray Schulte, he was able to serve as an “honorary

bat boy” at a Cal Ripken Jr. baseball camp held last January in Florida.

“That was pretty cool,” he said.

Trevor went from a weight of 140 down to 96 pounds during his trials

is now at 145. He continues to dream big about his future.

“I hope someday to go to medical school,” he said. “Because I was in

the hospital for so long I was able to see a lot of things that went on

there and I just liked the way doctors and nurses were helping people.

Life is great and should be lived to the fullest.”

In a touching scene last October, Trevor, who will enter Huntington

Beach High in the fall, lent a helping hand to one key figure in the

saga: the young man who was driving the car that hit him.

Trevor, along with his parents, was in the courtroom for the

arraignment of the 16-year-old, who was entering a guilty plea for the

aspect of hit-and-run as well as leaving an accident scene. The young man

sobbed as he expressed his sorrow for the accident and personally

directed his attention to Trevor.

When all was said and done, Trevor walked over to the young man and

extended his hand. That handshake, turned into an emotional embrace.

That courtroom scene brought peace to Trevor. In many ways, it was a

key on his road to recovery. He’s still walking that road.