27-05-2025
Crash survivor walks mile with Reading Hospital workers who helped him recover from coma, paralysis
Kyle Schies arrived at the Reading Hospital inches from death.
A motorcycle accident in Tulpehocken Township in August left him with a traumatic brain injury and fractures in three of his limbs.
On the Glasgow coma scale, which paramedics use to judge consciousness, Schies was rated the lowest possible score.
'Me and a rock were the same,' Schies of Myerstown said of his state after the accident. 'If you saw it (the crash), you'd think, 'He's probably dead.' That was almost the case in my situation. But not quite.'
Schies was rushed into acute care, underwent surgeries to fix his fractures and was hooked to a ventilator and feeding tube.
After surgery, he was transferred to a rehabilitation unit, where he struggled to regain awareness while being unable to move or care for himself.
Through months of intensive therapy, Schies eventually reclaimed his abilities to think, speak and move freely.
'While in rehab, Schies experienced paralysis on the right side of his body,' Reading Hospital officials said in a release. '(He) needed to learn how to complete everyday skills such as brushing his teeth with his nondominant hand.'
The medical staff who treated Schies attribute the 34-year-old's recovery to his determination and drive to return to an active lifestyle.
Schies credits his loved ones, God and the staff at Reading Hospital with guiding him through the most challenging time of his life.
He had a chance to thank those who helped him when he appeared at an event this month celebrating National Trauma Survivor Day.
'I'd like to thank everyone at the hospital,' Schies said at the Reading Public Museum program. 'The first responders who basically scraped me off the road, the hospital and rehab staff who've become my family and friends, thank you so much…I will remember you for the rest of my life.'
Schies today bears little resemblance to a coma-bound crash victim.
He walked unassisted to the podium to share his story, afterward shaking hands and sharing hugs with his recovery team.
'I'm not quite doing cartwheels yet, but we're getting there,' Schies said.
After surviving injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident, Kyle Schies thanks his girlfriend Kayla Zelonka and the care team from Reading Hospital during the National Trauma Survivor Event at the Reading Public Museum on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The event finished with a mile-long run and walk, which Schies completed without aid.
Schies has no recollection of the weeks immediately following his accident, meaning the event was effectively his first time meeting many of those who helped save him.
Dr. Sarah Mathew, a trauma surgeon with the Reading Hospital intensive care unit, was among those who cared for Schies.
'Even when he was off the ventilator, he still had a brain injury, so he wasn't interacting,' Mathew said. 'To see this is amazing. You don't usually get to see (patients like this) when you're in the ICU.'
Meredith Renninger, an occupational therapist who worked with Schies, remembers his willpower.
'One day I was working with him on the mat, and he was really frustrated and in a lot of pain,' Renninger said. 'The next day, it was like he woke up. It was crazy, he started remembering things.'
Renninger said recovery is hard to predict for patients with injuries as severe as Schies'.
'Usually someone that low on the Glasgow coma scale, the odds are against you,' Renninger said. 'I think it's just a testament to his baseline activity level, he was a very healthy individual…and his own strength and determination.'
Schies said the experience taught him to take nothing for granted.
'Sometimes when you can't do something and you have to ring the bell to have the nurse come because you can't do the things you used to…all I'll say is thank God for all these nurses,' Schies said.
Schies said his goal is to open a gym.
'I left (rehab at the Reading Hospital) in a wheelchair and now I'm walking,' Schies said. 'Three weeks ago, we did a 5K.'
He said he is still missing mobility on his right side but feels largely recovered.
'I still have so many more goals,' Schies said. 'Any traumatic situation, yes it sucks, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, so just keep going.'
Dr. Charles Barbera, Reading Hospital president and chief executive officer, said having a trauma center there has been a boon for Berks County.
The center opened in 2005, Barbera said.
'Before the trauma center, if something happened in Berks County, they (patients) would have to go to Lancaster or Lehigh Valley,' Barbera said. 'Dr. (Eugene) Riley is leading what is one of the busiest and probably the highest quality trauma center in Pennsylvania.'
He said the trauma center also led to establishing the hospital's rehabilitation center as well as its critical care department, comprehensive stroke program, Tower DIRECT ambulance and many other programs.
