WEST PALM BEACH — Conner Kempe, The
Benjamin School's star quarterback, is fortunate to be alive and was
making a surprising recovery just a day after suffering a near-fatal
kiteboarding injury.

Kempe, 17, who received last rites Sunday, was removed from a
ventilator Monday. He was awake and able to move his arms and legs,
though he had not yet regained speech.

Conner's father, Joseph Kempe, said doctors told him that his son,
despite sustaining a bruised lung, a brain contusion, a cracked patella
and broken bones in his face, is expected to make a full recovery.

"The neurosurgeon said he's very lucky," Joseph Kempe said. "If he wasn't as good of an athlete, he probably wouldn't be alive."