A Michigan golfer has been in the Intensive Care Unit of a Milwaukee hospital since last Friday, paralyzed after slipping on the deck of a friend's boat on Lake Michigan. Brent Baribeau, who is on the reserve squad, is scheduled to have surgery soon, but most likely will not walk -- or play golf -- again, his mother, Karen, said.
"He's my son but he's also my best friend, and this is the most God-awful thing that's ever happened to me," she said.
After approximately three weeks of rehabilitation, Baribeau will be released from Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Milwaukee, Wis., and will come to Ann Arbor for further therapy at the University Medical Center.
Her son's prognosis is grim, but "I'm sure that won't make a difference" in his personality, Karen Baribeau said.
Baribeau's scheduled surgery -- to realign his vertebrae -- has been delayed by a slight case of pneumonia, she said.
Baribeau was on a boat with friends from his high school in Grand Haven and one friend's parents when the accident occurred. The group was on its way to a Jimmy Buffett concert in East Troy, Wis.
Michigan golf coach Jim Carras said he is planning to visit Baribeau as soon as Baribeau is in a good enough condition for visitors.
Carras said Baribeau was "one of my more enthusiastic" players.
"He wanted in the worst way to attend Michigan and play golf at Michigan. He's a hard worker and an excellent student," Carras said. "This is one of those very nice people who these things shouldn't happen to."
Karen Baribeau said her own mother became seriously ill when she was a child, and at the time she thought that was the worst thing that would ever happen to her. But coping with her son's accident has been even worse, she said.
"All I can do is take one step at a time," Karen Baribeau said.
Senior Associate Athletic Director Peg Bradley-Doppes has sent flowers to Baribeau on behalf of the athletic department.
06-23-98
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