CINCINNATI — An Ohio man and his family are celebrating five years of life after his heart stopped and he began a long road back to health and activity.
What You Need To Know
- In 2018, Devon Spivey’s heart stopped for 90 minutes but was revived at UC Medical Center
- Spivey ended up losing both feet and lower legs because of concerns over blood clots
- Spivey has found joy in adaptive hockey with the Cincinnati Icebreakers
- Spivey and his family pray daily in thanks for his life and for the ability to play adaptive hockey
Devon Spivey’s heart stopped in 2018 and it took 90 minutes to revive him at University of Cincinnati’s Medical Center. When Spivey woke up from a coma two weeks later, doctors told him blood clots in his legs could kill him and Spivey had to decide whether or not to amputate.
“That was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make because I spent most of my whole life running,” Spivey said. “I was a track star, I did hurdles. Any activity you can think of for sport, I did it.”
Doctors ended up taking both of Devon’s feet. But it didn’t take long for him to find a positive spin on everything. He calls them an upgrade.
“I’ve got robot feet which is an upgrade from normal feet,” Spivey said. “I can bend them and kick back and a lot of kids look at it and they’re like, ‘Whoa! You got robot feet’ and I’m like ‘Yes, I do have robot feet’.”
Spivey takes them off to play his newfound passion, sled hockey. He’s part of an adaptive team in Cincinnati called the IceBreakers.
“So far, it’s been pretty fun,” Spivey said. “You get knocked down a lot and it’s something you laugh at and then you pick yourself up and keep on going.”
That’s pretty much always been his game plan for life:
“The one thing that everyone noticed, he always had a positive attitude no matter what,” Spivey’s wife Miranda said. “They took his legs, and he said, ‘It’s OK, I’m alive’.”
“For his first practice, Devon spent most of the time tipped over,” said Rob Wocks, a founding member and coach of the Icebreakers. “He just kept playing and getting better and he’s a positive young man.”
The Icebreakers helped Spivey and his teammates afford custom-built sleds and other equipment with the help of donors.
“This is a new world for me so having a starting point for making new friends is pretty cool,” Spivey said.
Miranda is grateful too.
“Devon lost his legs and that was scary as heck and then we have a new community of people that love on us and have taught us incredible things that we never would have known without this happening,” she said.
