To the scout in Troop 642 of Houston

[OneHour]

I'm very proud of you all and congratulations Dr. Leever ... you have taught the boys well! You all validated the reason why I continue my involvement in scouting.

 

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6550184.html

 

I have always told our scouts that they learn first aid, cpr, and these life-long skills for a reason ... to help us adults!

 

1Hour

 

 

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Boy Scouts humble about heroics

By PEGGY O'HARE HOUSTON CHRONICLE

July 28, 2009, 12:28AM

 

Houston dentist and Boy Scouts troop leader Don Leever had never been so sick and miserable, not even while recovering from heart surgery. The higher that he and eight Boy Scouts climbed in the Colorado wilderness, the sicker Leever became.

 

Thinking it was altitude sickness, Leever, 58, an experienced hiker, stubbornly pushed himself to keep going. But by Thursday, Leever could no longer stand or walk, having been unable to keep food or water down in his stomach for four days straight.

 

After the Boy Scouts and their adult chaperones carried Leever partially down a mountain to safety using a stretcher fashioned from trekking poles and bear rope paramedics discovered Leever's blood sugar was sky high and airlifted him to a Durango, Colo., hospital, where a potential diabetic condition emerged as the culprit.

 

Now back in Houston, 15 pounds lighter from his ordeal, Leever praised the Boy Scouts from Troop 642 at their home base at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church for their quick response and perseverance under challenging conditions.

 

They led me like a little puppy dog and put me on the stretcher, Leever said Monday while gathered with the teens at the troop's scout hut on the church's grounds. They were carrying me, and it was pretty awesome to see everybody sharing the load and not a word of complaint.

 

Leever, who has served as the trooper's Scoutmaster since 1993 and underwent a full physical several months before the hike, said he has no doubt the Boy Scouts and other adults on his crew saved his life. If they had not done what they did, I wouldn't be here, he said. I told them that. (Doctors) told me I was probably two hours from being gone.

 

The eight Boy Scouts who helped carry Leever to safety were Tommy Wilkinson and Daniel Miller, both 16, and Austin AJ Riddle, 14, all Memorial High School students; Scott Orth, 16, of Sugar Land; Stratford High School student Michael Herzberg, 15; Strake Jesuit College Preparatory student Tyler Fleming, 14; Sam Steakley, 14, a student at Awty International School; and John Cameron Carter, 15, a student at the High School for Performing and Visual Arts. All are Life Scouts, ranking just one level below Eagle Scouts, the highest level of achievement.

 

They and Leever's son, Dustin Leever, 27, assisted orthopedic surgeon Scott Orth, the father of one of the scouts, and dentist Arthur Grove, who led the rescue effort.

 

The Boy Scouts were humble about their efforts Monday.

 

We feel great that he's safe now and he's healthy, Riddle said of their scoutmaster, who was released from the hospital Saturday . We just did what we had to do.

 

More than 60 scouts and adults affiliated with the troop set out July 19 for a High Adventure trip in Colorado's Weminuche Wilderness . Don Leever and his crew of eight Boy Scouts climbed up to 12,600 feet and had begun their descent when Leever's condition became critical Thursday.(This message has been edited by OneHour)