A's Honor Jon Wilhite, Lone Survivor of Adenhart Crash

In the immediate aftermath of the tragic crash that claimed the life of Angels' pitcher Nick Adenhart and two of his friends, things looked bleak for Jon Wilhite. The former Cal State Fullerton baseball player was in critical condition and his head and spine had been separated, a horrific condition known medically as "internal decapitation." According to this article about the surgery required to save his life, more than 95 percent of people that suffer the injury die at the scene of the accident and most that do survive the immediate aftermath end up paralyzed.

Wilhite not only survived, but he's walking and was able to throw out the first pitch at the A's-Angels game in Oakland Saturday night. He's expected to make a near-full recovery, which both of his parents call "a miracle." The A's honored the lone survivor of the accident not just by having him throw out the first pitch, but by helping Wilhite's friend and former teammate at Fullerton, Kurt Suzuki, raise over $50,000 to help with his recovery.

After the event, Suzuki spoke about his former teammate:

"Jon was a scrappy guy. He didn't do any one thing on the field that stood out, but he was one of those guys who loved to play. He was a good hitter who always put the bat on the ball and gave you a good at-bat.

"He's always worked hard ever since I've known him. That's contributed to where he is now -- always battling. A couple of months ago, who would have thought this would be possible? He's definitely exceeded [all expectations]. This is a huge day for us. You can never really put in words what it means to all of us to have Jon here."

To truly understand the amazing nature of his survival and recovery, I've embedded below a video that accompanies the OC Register story I previously mentioned, where his surgeon, Dr. Nitin Bhatia, discusses the injury and the surgery required to save Wilhite's life.