NEWPORT NEWS -- A very excited and hopeful family expects to pick up Kyle O'Brien from the hospital where he's been since Thursday.
Doctors discharged the 17-year-old Warwick High School senior five days after a gigantic tree split his family's mobile home in two, pinning him underneath its weight.
His grandmother, Kathy Williams, says concerns about his kidneys seem to have faded after doctors flushed the organs. The primary issue that remains is nerve damage that occurred.
The tree had him pinned for almost two-and-a-half hours as emergency workers carefully freed him. O'Brien still cannot walk. He will begin physical therapy.
In addition to hurting him, the tree destroyed the home where he lived with his mother, brother, and sister.
His mom's employer is setting up the family in an apartment for a month. Relatives established a recovery fund with the name "O'Brien Family Contributions" at TowneBank, and Bahama Mama's Tanning at 14359 Warwick Boulevard in Denbigh, where one relative works, continues to accept donations of clothing and household items.
