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Published on 03/02/1998 All articles from this issue

Homestead grad, SJ police officer honored for recent comeback

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Alumni profile

Todd Cleaver never saw the car that struck him at 70 mph and catapulted him more than 30 feet into the air, knocking his boots from his feet and freezing his wristwatch at 9:07 a.m. last June.

Though doctors said it would take Cleaver a year before he would be able to walk again, he returned to work as a motorcycle police officer for the San Jose Police Department in less than five months.

The 1988 Homestead High School graduate received the Blue and Gold Wounded in Service Award Feb. 27 in honor of his courage and ability to overcome extreme injuries.

"Being a nurse, it's so hard to believe that he made such a recovery," said Cleaver's mother, Marion.

Cleaver, 28, said he was monitoring traffic when a speeding car tried to make a right-hand turn and lost control. He said six of the eight ligaments in both of his knees were torn, one leg was broken, his back was sprained and his wrist injured.

"Doctors said it looked like someone put two hand grenades in my knees and pulled the pins," said Cleaver, who has worked as a police officer for seven years.

After spending a month in a hospital bed in his living room connected to a machine that moved his legs 24 hours a day, Cleaver was finally able sit in a wheelchair and get around.

"I had to learn how to walk all over again from scratch," Cleaver said. Determined to return to work, Cleaver began walking laps using a walker in the backyard of his Santa Clara home. A former water polo and hockey player, Cleaver said he was used to coaches working him until "I thought I was going to die." He also began working out six hours a day, six days a week.

"That's Todd," said his wife, Stacey. "If the doctors said he wouldn't walk for a year, he would do things his way and recover. He's very motivated."

Cleaver said the hardest part of recovering was "not being able to do the things that I used to be able to do. I couldn't sleep on my side when I wanted to. I wasn't able to use the bathroom because my wheelchair wouldn't fit. I couldn't eat at the table, drive or play with my son."

Cleaver hasn't regained full flexion in his legs and must wear braces when he plays sports, but he said he's just happy to have been able to return to work.