A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2018
LOCAL
Fourth of July full of fun
HERMISTON HERALD
STAFF PHOTO BY JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
Zeddrik Cota, center, stands with three of the UCFD paramedics who responded after an
accident that left him in a coma. Left to right: Danny Hinton, Kyle Rutherford and Jesse
Brown.
Boy begins rehab journey
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
Three weeks after an
accident that left him in
a coma, Zeddrik Cota is
walking and talking.
To his family, those
things are nothing short of
miraculous.
Zeddrik, 12, sat qui-
etly Friday, with a smile
on his face, as his par-
ents recalled the last few
weeks. He placed his hand
on his mother’s, and lis-
tened as she talked about
his recovery.
While riding his bike on
June 14, Zeddrik asked his
father if he could go check
out the skate park at Cam-
pus Life, across the street
from Hermiston High
School.
As his father got out of
the car, Zeddrik and his
brother went into the park,
not realizing there was
a sharp drop-off close to
where they were standing.
“There’s a lip that goes
into a bowl that just drops
off,” said Oscar Cota, Zed-
drik’s father. “He goes up
and over it, and faceplants
into the concrete.”
Zeddrik had swelling on
both sides of his brain, and
was in a medically induced
coma for four and a half
days.
Within a day of com-
ing out of the coma, Oscar
said, his son’s eyes were
opening, and the day after,
he was responding to ques-
tions, and able to recognize
his parents and siblings.
Zeddrik has several
months of rehabilitation
ahead of him: He will go
through occupational and
speech therapy, and will
have some dental work.
“He’s had difficulty with
a lot of stuff,” Oscar said.
“His short-term memory is
pretty affected.”
Paramedics
who
responded to the scene esti-
mate Zeddrik fell about 10
or 12 feet from the dropoff.
Oscar said his son was
wearing a baseball helmet
at the time of the crash,
which covered his ears and
the side of his head.
Zeddrik’s
mother,
Alainna Abbott, said he
may be able to go to school
for a few hours a day, but
they will have to keep him
protected from any ill-
nesses or other injuries.
“I told him he’s stuck
in mom’s bubble,” Abbott
said, smiling at her son.
“He’s really bored, just
because he’s so active.”
During his recovery,
Zeddrik won’t be able to do
many of the things he loves
— hunting, playing sports
and exploring the outdoors.
But his family says he fully
intends to get back to his
energetic self.
“Our whole family put
in for bull tags. Guess
who’s the only one who got
one?” Oscar said, pointing
at his son. “Hopefully he’ll
be well enough to go up
there, but we’re not going
to push it — it’ll come
again. At the end, hope-
fully it’s going to be a full
recovery.”
Oscar said he and his
family had been over-
whelmed by the support of
the town, even people he
didn’t know.
“How I’m going to thank
each and every one of them,
I have no idea,” he said.
A week after his return
to Hermiston, Zeddrik met
with some of the paramed-
ics, so that he and his fam-
ily could thank them.
“We remember these
ones,” said Jesse Brown,
the firefighter and EMT
who called for a helicopter
right after the accident.
“Far too often, the out-
come is not the same way.
So these are the calls we
live for, where we made a
difference.”
As the sun went down
and the sound of neighbor-
hood fireworks began to fill
the air, Hermiston’s Fourth
of July celebration was still
going strong.
A pool party and 20 ven-
dors kept visitors busy, as
well as some new attrac-
tions scattered around
Butte Park.
Steve
Vickers
of
Nampa, Idaho, had brought
28 “bubble balls” — four
to five-foot inflated balls
with a hole in the middle
— into which a child could
be strapped. Kids bumped
into each other and rolled
around, occasionally going
rogue and tumbling head-
first into the sidelines.
“It’s been crazy,” Vick-
ers said between check-
ing in the long line of cus-
tomers. “I’ve been doing
this about three and a half
years. I started with 12 bub-
bles, and now I have 90.”
Vickers said his com-
pany, Vickers Entertain-
ment, does between six and
eight events per week.
Brandon Artz, recre-
ation supervisor for the
city of Hermiston, said
the turnout was good, and
they were expecting more
people to come as the fire-
works started at the park.
He said there were more
than 100 staff members
working the event, starting
at 8 a.m. and going till about
11 p.m. on Wednesday.
Many families got to the
park early, setting up blan-
kets and chairs in prime
spots.
The Zumaya family
relaxed under some trees in
the center of the park.
Flor and Juan and their
daughter Gisela said they
have lived in Hermiston for
six years, and have come to
the celebration before.
“To us, it’s not a big
deal,” Flor said. “It’s good.
It’s nice to be with family.”
Stanfield
Stanfield
residents
didn’t mind getting up
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Lifeguard Max Rahm, 16, of Hermiston watches the
fireworks show in Butte Park on Wednesday from the
Hermiston Family Aquatic Center. For more photos, see A13.
early on a holiday for one
of the city’s traditions: the
annual Fourth of July cele-
bration at Bard Park.
Many came decked out
in patriotic colors and cele-
brated the nation’s birthday
by being with their family
and friends, and participat-
ing in events many locals
have come to look forward
to each year.
By 8 a.m., the 3-on-3
basketball tournament was
in full swing, drawing a
crowd that grew for the
parade later that morning,
and other activities like a
footrace and a pie contest.
“I’ve been doing this 30
years, and it’s been going
on longer than that,” city
public works director Scott
Morris said of the event.
Stanfield’s main street
was lined with families
eagerly awaiting the floats
in the parade, and children
scattering to collect the
candy. This year, parade
entrants included a home-
made Batmobile, horses
and riders from the “Glory
Riders of Oregon,” and a
Stanfield Library float.
Gurpal Singh, owner of
Stanfield’s Center Market,
stood at the sidelines hand-
ing out free water and corn
dogs to parade participants.
“It’s always the best,” he
said of the parade. “Every
year we do this.”
Daniel and Lacey Sharp
have organized the 3-on-3
tournament for the last
10 years. Daniel said they
topped out at 35 teams.
For parade results, see
the Stanfield Fourth of July
story at www.hermiston-
herald.com.
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Plans starting at
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