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Athlete Spotlight – Kyle "Higgy" Higginbotham: Ever Positive

February 29, 2024 | Story by Alyssa Ross | Navy Wounded Warrior

WASHINGTON – MA2 Kyle Higginbotham, or Higgy to his friends, is quick with the "Dad jokes" during morning muster at Adaptive Sports camps. A native of Leesburg, Fla., he is often in bright spirits around his fellow adaptive sports athletes. 

"I give off a persona that I'm okay, but my accident really did affect me. [This program] helped me take my guard down and come to terms with my injuries." 

On October 28, 2021, while stationed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Higgy was riding his motorcycle late at night when he crashed under an overpass. As fate would have it, at that exact moment a state trooper was taking a quick break. He stopped on the overpass and opened his windows. He heard the crash below him and rushed to attend the scene. He pulled the motorcycle off of Higgy, who likely would have died within minutes if the trooper was not in the right place at the right time. 

He was rushed to Tripler Army Medical Center and was in a coma. When he was stable, he returned to Florida to begin inpatient care at James A. Haley Veterans Hospital. He had to learn to walk and talk, feed and dress himself again.

"I was 225 pounds at the time of the accident, now I'm down to 160. I wanted to do my 20 years and get out. Maybe I'd fly a helicopter to and from rigs for an oil company. My TBI changed all of that."

Throughout his in-patient time at Haley, Higgy never lost his go-getter spirit. "I always loved working out, but I couldn't because of my injuries. My Navy liaison saw that I was trying to stay active and he connected me with Navy Wounded Warrior. I attended my first camp in November 2022 in Virginia and fell in love with this program. The coaches and athletes are like family to me now."  

One of the special things about the adaptive sports programs is that people who have been seriously wounded, ill, or injured can still stay active, but with some modifications. Higgy arrived at his first camp with years of archery experience, typically shooting right-handed with a compound bow. With his current physical limitations, he now shoots left-handed while seated. It's his favorite sport in the program. 

"I get lost in my head or overthink. With archery, it's a chance for me to slow down, meditate, and just breathe. As the Marines say, 'improvise, adapt, and overcome.'"

Higgy went on to the 2023 Warrior Games Challenge in San Diego, Calif., and competed in archery, cycling, field, indoor rowing, and shooting, earning several medals along the way. This strengthened his friendships with his teammates and coaches. "I can call any of them and know they'll make time for me. I can decompress around them.

"Before coming to camp, I was in a dark mental fog. I was depressed, but my teammates and coaches brought me out of that space. They saved me."

Higgy medically retired in August 2023 and his recovery care coordinator and transition coordinator at Navy Wounded Warrior helped to smooth out some hiccups with his pension to get him off on the right track as a veteran. 

He continues to go to his gym several times a week and uses what he learned at camps to improve his own routines. He's been so inspired by his time with Team Navy that he has been training to become a Certified Personal Trainer. He is hoping to help other veterans maintain their physical fitness, too. 

He attended the 2024 Navy Team Trials as a seasoned Warrior Games veteran and shared some of his experiences with the rookies. One of his favorite sayings is a Toby Keith lyric, "I may not be as good as I once was, but I'm as good as I ever was." 

Numquam Navigare Solus – Never to Sail Alone

Navy Wounded Warrior coordinates the non-medical care of seriously wounded, ill, and injured Sailors and Coast Guardsmen, and provides resources and support to their families and caregivers. Regional non-medical care providers tailor support to each enrolled service member’s recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration needs. The program allows service members and their families to focus on recovery without distraction. To date, nearly 10,000 seriously wounded, ill, and injured service members located throughout the country received assistance from Navy Wounded Warrior.

Sailors and Coast Guardsmen may self-refer to Navy Wounded Warrior, or be referred by a family member, their command leadership or their medical team. Contact the Navy Wounded Warrior call center at 855-NAVY WWP / 855-628-9997, or email navywoundedwarrior.fct@navy.mil.

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