Four days after doctors at the Ohio State University Medical Center performed life-saving emergency surgery on teenaged racing sensation Kyle Jones to stem bleeding caused by cirrhosis of the liver, Jones isnt thinking about the fact he nearly died last week. He wants to get back in a race car and do everything he had planned for 2003, a year that promised to add a couple of highlights to his already impressive racing resume. Despite the fact that cirrhosis of the liver kills 25,000 people in the United States every year, it isnt Jones liver, per se, thats putting his career on hold. Its the swelling of the spleen, which is the gateway for blood into the liver, that is keeping him in the pits. “My spleen is so enlarged that (the doctors) said if I get hit, it would probably explode,” Jones said. Otherwise, I could drive. He could die, too, if his spleen ruptured. The doctors politely refused to remove the organ, which people can live without, just to get Kyle back on the track. But the mere fact he asked provides sharp insight to how Kyle is dealing with his ordeal. Everything was finally coming together for Jones racing career in 2003. Six years of driving everything from Quarter Midgets to E-mods to Late Models, and winning at every level, had landed him the opportunity hed been hoping for: A ride on the bigger circuits that lead to NASCAR. Jeff Miller and the J-VEE-M Racing Team in Columbus were giving him that opportunity. Miller and Kyle had five-race schedules planned for the American Speed Association (ASA) circuit and the CRA/Sunoco Super Series as well as a three-race schedule on the Main Event Racing Series circuit. The doctors havent given the Joneses a timetable for how soon Kyle will need to undergo the liver transplant. He is on the list to receive a new liver, but doesnt know where on the list he is. So for now, hes on hold as doctors keep an eye on the progression of the disease and determine what treatments he will need. The shunt will remain in his liver until the transplant is done. Kyles road back to the track could be a long one and will most definitely be a hard one physically, mentally and financially. Kyles aunt and cousin have set up the Kyle Jones Medical Fund with National City Bank, where people can donate money to help the family with medical costs that will total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Donations can be made at any of the Springfield-area National City Bank locations. (See full story at the The Springfield News Sun )(4-24-2003)
