After the train - Young man finds strength to overcome accident

Drew Juden became chief of Sikeston's Department of Public Safety chief in April. His goal has been to make the perception of Sikeston as a criminal center a memory.By Andy Kravetz ~ The Associated Press

PEKIN, Ill. -- Michael Buley and his brother Christopher were roughhousing in their family room on a rainy Sunday morning recently.

Christopher, 8, had built a tent with a sheet and two pieces from a sofa. Michael, 12, did what most brothers would do -- he knocked it over.

The resulting chaos brought in third brother Donald, 13, and Mom and her boyfriend, Bill Starbuck, to witness Michael poking his crutches at Christopher, who was trying to hide beneath the sheets.

A scene that could probably have been replayed umpteen times in households all over the Tri-County Area, but for the Buleys, such scenes are special because they nearly lost Michael a scant 10 months ago when he slipped under a moving train and lost both his legs.

Since then, they've endured the heartache of seeing Michael struggle in therapy and his smiles of accomplishment when he triumphed.

They've learned about narrow door frames, tricycles powered by hand pedals and how much their neighbors and friends care about them. And they've also had to deal with their own feelings about what happened that afternoon last December.

The first few days in the hospital were touch-and-go, Connie remembers. "They weren't sure if Michael was going to make it at first," she said.

Help from Shriners

Doctors had initially hoped they could reattach the legs. That hope faded quickly when surgeons saw their condition. Connie took off work for a few months, and Starbuck took a leave of absence from his job in construction to help with Michael's rehabilitation.

Several times this year, Michael and Starbuck have traveled to the Shriners Hospital for Children in St. Louis for physical therapy. Michael was often pushed to go beyond what he thought he could or wanted to do.

At first, the therapy sessions were to get him used to sitting up in bed or learning how to use prosthetic legs that Connie nicknamed "stubbies" which were little more than metal and plastic sticks that fit onto the ends of his amputated legs. Michael would either have to negotiate an obstacle course with his walker or with crutches. He quickly grew adept with the walker, learning how to turn it around to use as a make-shift chair. Crutches were harder.

Combining all the operations and therapy sessions, Michael spent roughly four of the past 10 months in the hospital.

But for now, Michael comes home from school, he takes off his legs, pants and all, leaving them lying in the middle of the floor like something out of a Halloween exhibit. Using his arms, he scoots around the house and playfully bumps into his brothers, Starbuck and anyone else in the vicinity.

He's grown adept at hoisting himself up onto chairs and has largely adjusted to life without legs, much to the relief of his family. Things have settled into a routine and the abnormal has become normal now. Both parents are employed again and the boys are able to take care of themselves when the need arises. Starbuck gets home early enough from his job to watch the kids after school with Connie arriving shortly thereafter.