COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A 7-year-old from Lakewood is recovering after he crashed while riding his bicycle in Southern Colorado last month.
Noah Calvin’s family said they were on a trip to Fountain in June when he and his older brother Zahkie went on a bike ride one morning.
Zahkie said he and Noah were going down a hill. Shortly afterward, he realized his little brother had crashed his bike and was hurt.
"I just dropped my bike and then I ran over there," Zahkie said. "Then I carried him up the hill. Then I ran up and then got my parents."
Noah's mother, Shawntell Calvin, said she initially thought Noah had just had the wind knocked out of him.
"But he was blue," she said. "He was just trying his best to get air. He just couldn't get any air in."
Noah was rushed to Children’s Hospital in Colorado Springs, where his family learned his larynx — or voice box — was broken in three places.
Noah's family said it is still unclear what led to the injury, but they believe it could have been caused by the bike's handlebars.
"That's the only thing we could think of... We don't actually know exactly how it could have happened," Shawntell said.
Since the accident, Noah's loved ones said he has not been able to speak, so they have had to brainstorm other ways to communicate with him.
"He writes on a whiteboard sometimes, or we can see — when he mouths the words, we can sometimes understand it," Zahkie said.
Shawntell said her son has been learning sign language too.
"He has buttons that he can push if he wants to communicate," she said. "They can't give us a whole bunch of guarantees as far as whether he'll get his voice back or not. Everything is just a long process."
His family said despite what he's been through, Noah remains in high spirits.
"It all puts us at ease because he's not panicking. So, that allows us to stay stoic in the situation, even though we're super scared on the inside, just because the situation that he's in, but because he's being so brave about it," said his father Christopher Victorian.
He said his son is friendly, outgoing, active and "everybody's friend."
"He keeps my spirits high, you know, because his spirit is so high," Christopher said.
Noah is set for another surgery this week. After that, the family will have more information about what the future could hold.
Noah’s accident happened in the middle of his family’s move from Lakewood to Colorado Springs.
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