A circle of friends

Lolita Harper

For the past eight months, since his terrifying motorcycle accident,

Richard Kanzler has pushed his body to find innovative ways to perform

the once-routine tasks of daily life.

Showering, dressing, brewing coffee, making breakfast, brushing his

teeth, driving and countless other tiny habitual chores have posed new

challenges that Kanzler has worked hard to conquer.

While his physical vigor may be diminished, the Newport Beach man said

he continues to draw energy from a muscle that was actually strengthened

as a result of his accident -- his heart.

It was his love for his wife, Jill, and young daughter, Madeline, that

stayed with him in the moments after his accident, while he lay alone and

motionless in a desert ditch, waiting for medical aid.

It was the loving energy of hundreds of well-wishers that conquered

restrictive hospital visiting rules, through the sterile walls of the

intensive care unit and beyond the realm of consciousness to push Kanzler

past the brink of death.

And it is the intense respect, admiration and love of a group of

devoted lifelong friends that have bolstered the Kanzler family through

the past eight months and continue to provide stability during the

uncertain times that follow the life-changing event. Friends who have put

their time and energy where their wishes are, into helping with his

physical therapy and making Kanzler’s home a place he can negotiate with

his wheelchair.

“My friends always have something positive to say,” Kanzler said.

“Positive words, positive energy. Some people would need psychiatric help

but not me. I have my friends.”

Jill Kanzler agreed.

“We’ve been able to make something really positive out of a very

tragic experience,” she said. “It’s hard but their support really keeps

our spirits up. It makes us feel like we can endure this.”

The Kanzlers’ personal tragedy occurred Sept. 12, the day after the

nation fell victim to terrorist attacks. Kanzler and his friend, Jon

Merry, said they heard President Bush’s advice to live life to its

fullest and responded by taking an impromptu motorcycle ride near Palm

Springs.

Kanzler rode his bike up an embankment to where, under normal

circumstances, a trail would be. Because of the rain, the trail was gone

and a ditch had been carved in its place. Kanzler slammed on his brakes

but could not avoid the ravine. The motorcycle flipped in the air and

landed on top of him, smashing his vertebrae, shattering two thoracic

disks and collapsing his lung.

“I was wedged under, and I knew something was extremely wrong,”

Kanzler said. “I was intertwined with the bike, and I couldn’t breathe. I

couldn’t feel my arms or legs. I just sat there for a period

contemplating my life in a ditch.”

Kanzler was ultimately airlifted to Loma Linda Hospital and spent

three days on life support before starting the long road to recovery.

Once released from a three-month stay at the hospital, Kanzler found that

his previous way of living would have to be altered.

After becoming reliant on a wheelchair, Kanzler said he could no

longer navigate through his home. The wheels of his chair could not

travel over the grass, and he was barred from his own backyard and denied

access to the sides of his house. Doorways were too narrow to accommodate

a wheelchair, light switches were too high, the shower was too small --

and the list went on.

“I couldn’t wheel around my own domain,” he said.

In addition to a lack of mobility around the house, Kanzler needed

continued physical therapy, which involved deep stretching of his leg

muscles and joint movements.

Kanzler’s friends -- his bros, he says -- launched an all-out campaign

to help him with whatever he needed.

David Foel, who has known Kanzler since grade school and now owns a

construction company, donated the materials and manpower needed to make

the Kanzler home wheelchair-friendly.

Foel is overseeing the massive project that calls for a paved backyard

patio and removing a couple of walls so the garage can be moved forward

to accommodate a larger bedroom and bathroom.

“When you see your friend needing help and you’re in a position where

you are capable to provide insight and help, you step up and do what you

can when you can,” Foel said.

Childhood friends Andy Wolfe and Steve O’Daly take turns stretching

Kanzler’s legs and back. His muscles still work, Wolfe explained, they

just don’t take orders. Wolfe and O’Daly help their friend to exercise

his muscles and bend his joints so they won’t atrophy.

“It’s the most important thing I do,” Wolfe said.

Neighbor Tom Casey also stops by the house to perform small chores,

such as taking out the trash or simple handiwork, which have become

obstacles for Kanzler. Former neighbor Kent Barkouras donated a

state-of-the-art device, similar to a wheelchair, that allows Kanzler to

move around in a standing position.

“It’s not a handout, it’s just a hand because we can,” Foel said.

Kanzler said he is humbled by the warmth and love his friends have

expressed. At first it was hard to “eat humble pie,” Kanzler said. But

then he realized his friends were helping because they wanted and needed

to. They needed to take action to help the family deal with the tragedy

of watching such a close friend go from an extremely active lifestyle to

the confines of a wheelchair.

“If I didn’t let them, I would be denying them the gratification of

helping me,” Kanzler said. “It’s been really nice for them to feel like

they have been able to help.”

While the paralysis has required Kanzler to accept help, it has not

changed his independent spirit, his friends said.

“It’s encouraging that he is still the same stubborn person,” Merry

said..

Bullheaded, determined, headstrong were also thrown out by the group

as descriptions of Kanzler.

The tightknit friends tease each other and love each other like

brothers. Merry, Foel, Wolfe, Casey, Barkouras, O’Daly and lead active

lifestyles and have been deeply moved by Kanzler’s accident and the

physical limitations placed on their athletic friend. They said they

continue to learn from Kanzler and respect him more as they live through

the aftermath together.

“We’ve had more than a few cry sessions,” Wolfe said.

Their goal is to get Kanzler back into as many activities as possible.

Kanzler has a long road of recovery but has no doubts he will make it,

given the support group he has been blessed with.

“Some people falsely assume that Newport Beach is a plastic community,

but we’ve got the living proof that it is a place of amazing

companionship and lifelong friendship,” Jill Kanzler said.

-- Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .