Some fathers and sons look alike, or share like mannerisms. Phil Phillips and his son Cameron share an experience ? a tragic one.
Both men broke their back at age 20.
Cameron Phillips, 21, is in wheelchair, but lucky to be alive after a brutal motorcycle accident, just more than a year ago.
His father Phil Phillips is able to walk, even carry his son piggy-back up a mountain to fulfill his dream of hunting a 350-pound elk in the rugged terrain of New Mexico during a mobility-impaired hunt. The feat was accomplished on the sixth day of an eight day trip.
Phil Phillips laughs and says the duo was a “two-headed hunting monster.” Fifty mobility-impaired and 150 youth hunters participated.
Once an avid athlete, Cameron Phillips was determined to carry on the family tradition of hunting, a sport he engaged in with his father for as long as he can remember.
The Phillips” Victorian home resembles a rustic lodge, something out of an L.L. Bean or Cabelas catalog. There is an entire room dedicated to hunting, boasting three wild boar, with a total of 30 mounted animals. Phil Phillips calls this “the room of death.” Cameron Phillips” room is an homage to hunting, with oil paintings he created of various wildlife over the years and of course wall-mounted animal heads, which Cameron Phillips refers to as “dead animals on the wall.”
“He”s been hunting since he was a baby; he got seven bucks, with seven bullets in seven years.” Phil Phillips said about Cameron.
The family participated in hunting together. Tiffany Phillips, Cameron”s sister has numerous trophies as well, in the sport she refers to as “hiking with guns.”
As a child Cameron Phillips had a typical life with loving parents. He played football and wrestled while attending Clear Lake High School. He lived in the same home in Lakeport his whole life, until he went to college in Arizona.
Cameron Phillips is tough, almost as tough as his father, who packed out 150 pounds of elk head, dragging antlers through the dirt and foliage, while his son laughed.
Phil Phillips, a California hunter education instructor, is a man of small statute. Father and son went up and down that mountain approximately 12 times during the hunting trip.
“We took him up there, and beat him up hard,” Phil Phillips said. There were many helpers involved over the course of the trip.
When his son told him that he wanted to go elk hunting and he learned of the special trips that make it possible for people with mobility limitations to hunt?Phil Phillips said “You just say the word son, and we”re there.”
And so they were.
Father and son both speak matter-of-factly about everything. There is no pity, just the conquest of living full lives regardless of the circumstances.
Cameron Phillips describes the time that he came home to Lakeport, after three months in the hospital. He was away at college and hadn”t seen many of his old friends for awhile. Erik Meyer, Cameron Phillips” best friend since second-grade flew out to Arizona after the accident.
“All I could think was, ?why did this have to happen to such a good guy?” Meyer said.
To add to the seriousness of the situation, Cameron Phillips developed a Syrinx Cyst, a cyst that can expand and elongate over time, destroying the spinal cord. Since the spinal cord connects the brain to nerves in the extremities, this damage may result in pain, weakness, and stiffness in the back, shoulders, arms, or legs. This was something the doctors told him not to worry about because it was so rare, but it was found during an MRI.
Today Cameron Phillips and Meyer play video games as they roll around the Phillips” living room in wheelchairs.
“He likes this,” Cameron Phillips says of Meyer, “he”s got more toys to play with.” This is in reference to the wheelchair.
Cameron Phillips looks forward to driving again this year and returning to college.
He looks, acts, smiles, laughs, shares sarcastic remarks with his friends and family?just like an all-American college student.
But realistically, he”s a shining example of the possibilities in life, no matter the size of the mountain.
Mandy Feder can be reached at mfeder@record-bee.com
