MESA, Ariz. — Instead of being home for the holidays, a 21-year-old United States Marine from Mesa is in critical condition after he suffered a brain hemorrhage while serving overseas.
Kyle Graville was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Egypt when he became ill on Dec. 2, a day before he was scheduled to fly to the Valley and spend Christmas with his family.
He is currently hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.
“It’s a miracle he’s alive,” Marybeth Graville told 12News on Friday about her son. “People just don’t survive these types of brain bleeds.”
Kyle enlisted in the military right after high school. He initially planned to be a welder, but after the pandemic and being home-bound, he wanted to see the world and joined the Marines with his friends, his mother said.
“He’s always been into nature, the outdoors, so it was very fitting,” she added. “His grandpa and great-grandpa were in the military too… so, that’s what he wanted to do, and he was proud to do it. To serve his country.”
Two months after leaving for boot camp, Kyle conquered the crucible in November 2021. His next mission was the deployment in Egypt.
After 13 months overseas, Kyle was scheduled to come to Mesa on Dec. 3rd. It was going to be the first time he was going to see his family since he was deployed.
“We were getting all the Christmas presents, got his room all ready, we were so excited,” the mother said. “He was very excited too.”
That all changed when Kyle’s parents got the devastating call—he was rushed to an emergency room.
The 21-year-old suffered a severe spontaneous brain hemorrhage. He was rushed to a Cairo hospital in critical condition.
Kyle was later flown to Germany for a life-saving surgery, removing half of his skill to relieve pressure in his brain. His parents reunited with him there, thanks to the help of the Marines who helped expedite their passports, the family said.
“I just thought it wasn’t real,” the mother said. “It was shocking when we saw the shape he was in, unresponsive. I’m an X-ray tech at Phoenix Children’s, so when I saw the CT scan, I knew right away that it was really bad.”
When Kyle was stable enough, he was flown to Maryland where he continues to recover, but remains in a critical state, his parents said.
He must undergo surgery on Jan. 19 to replace the part of his skull that was removed, which Kyle’s mother said will be made of plastic. Any minute until then is critical.
“His whole left side is paralyzed,” Marybeth Graville said. “We’re feeling very fortunate that he can talk, he knows who we are, he’s starting to eat, he has a feeding tube.”
Friends of the Graville’s created a GoFundMe fundraiser account to help them alleviate the costs after taking unpaid leave to be with their son, the youngest of three.
“They’re literally giving us time with our son, to help pay our bills,” the mother said.
The family is thankful for the community’s support. They are hopeful Kyle will recover and get to spend many more Christmases with them.
“What the future holds, we don’t know, but it’s in God’s hands and we have a lot of faith in that,” she said. “Kyle is already showing us a couple of funny things, his personality is still there.”
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