Greg Murphy, a student athlete at Excelsior Springs High School, was badly hurt in an ATV accident on Presidents Day.
Monday afternoon brought tragedy to an Excelsior Springs family when Excelsior Springs High School student Greg Murphy was involved in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident. Excelsior Springs Fire Department transported Murphy to a nearby hospital; he was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
A statement provided by Greg’s family members read in part, “As many of you know, Greg was severely injured in an ATV accident on Monday. He fractured his vertebra in two places and as (sic) multiple contusions and swelling. Currently, he is experiencing paralysis from the waist down. Today, he underwent a 6 hour surgery at Children’s Mercy to repair his vertebra. The surgery was successful in that the surgeon said they accomplished everything they set out to do. Greg is now recovering in the ICU for the next several days.”
Greg’s family stated that hospital staff expressed that he should have a very limited number of visitors until he is moved out of ICU. The statement continued, “We as a family cannot express our gratitude for each and every one of you who have contacted us in some way. We have received so many messages with words of comfort and encouragement. The outpouring of love that we have received has truly been a humbling experience. We would not have made it this far without you all. Please continue to keep Greg in your prayers. The prayers are what keep us going. We offer all of our gratitude to our Lord, Jesus Christ. He has gotten us this far, and through him all things are possible. Thank you all for the bottom of our hearts.”
With mounting medical bills and an undetermined amount of rehabilitation time stretching out before them, the community of Excelsior Springs has rallied around Murphy, a much-loved athlete of ESHS, and has put together a T-shirt sales fundraiser.
T-shirts displaying the hashtag #MURPHYSTRONG and the number 61, Murphy’s Excelsior Springs High School Tiger football jersey number, are on sale at several Excelsior Springs locations including The Farmhouse, Hyatt’s Custom Cycles and Excelsior Springs High School. T-shirts come in all sizes youth through adult 5XL and begin at $11, increasing to $14 for the extra large sizes. All proceeds from the T-shirt sales will help the Murphy family with any expenses during Greg’s recovery.