Wings of a Bird

Kamiak's Pyles makes inspirational return - Seattle P-I
Pyles had always been a daredevil ... He has no memory of the ride [on his skateboard, down the city's biggest hill]. Mukilteo police estimated he was going about 50 mph when he lost control and flew face first into a parked SUV.
Pyles doesn't remember the couple who live on the corner -- a couple who have been hard sleepers all their life, but happened to wake and find Pyles pinned between the sidewalk and the vehicle, Ashby said. If they had not been stirred by the crash, doctors said, Pyles would have died.
...
Virtually every bone in Joe Pyles' face was broken. His liver was punctured, and his spleen was ruptured. His right leg was fractured and would eventually be amputated at the hip. Nerves to his eyes had been severed, leaving him blind.
...
A few days later, Mitch Brooks -- one of many friends who never let Pyles be alone during his hospital stays -- told his teammate that he loved him.
Unable to talk, Pyles raised his pinky and index finger, and moved his thumb, signing "I love you."
"Joe," Brooks said, "give me a thumbs up if you're going to be all right."
Piles moved his left hand and put up his thumb. ...