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BEATING RYAN HAEBE


RYAN HAEBE’S IMPROBABLE RETURN TO THE SPORT HE LOVES


THE ODDS


“The first ten days we had no idea if he was ever going to wake up,” Scott Haebe, Ryanʼs father, said. “The first thing the neurosurgeon said is that they didnʼt expect him to make it through the night. And they were going to remove part of his skull to allow the brain to swell.”


Growing up in Evergreen, Colo., Haebe learned the value of hard work. He learned the importance of dedication. Itʼs the long miles he logged in training and exhaustive workouts on the track that made the difference in his career as a national champion. In an ironic twist, it was the same dedication that would be required to not only save his running career, but save his life.


FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE


The first ten weeks after his fall, Haebe will never get back. He has no recollection of the fall and had no memory of the first weeks of his intense recovery. He wonʼt have the chance to recall stories told in first person. It all must come from the accounts of those close to him.


Following the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, Ryan Haebe suffered a near fatal fall at a late-night party in Boulder, Colo. Unclear if he would make it through the first night, Haebe spent the next few weeks in critical condition. Facing an impossible struggle, the two-time NCAA Division II cross country and 3,000m steeplechase national champion beat all odds and returned to Western State College and his cross country and track and field teammates for the 2013 season.


There are ten weeks of Ryan Haebeʼs life he is forced to experience through pictures, videos and stories from his family. They are months of his life where he has no memory. But itʼs a nightmare he and his family wonʼt soon forget.


Haebe competed at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field in the menʼs 3,000m steeplechase. As the Western College State sophomore finished 20th in the preliminary round of the steeplechase, Haebe had no idea he was days away from a single misstep that would forever change the course of his life. It was a literal fall that took away his abilities as a top NCAA Division II distance runner and cross country and steeplechase national champion. And it brought forth a battle for his life.


Following the Olympic Trials, Haebe returned to his home state of Colorado and attended a late-night party in Boulder. It was there in the early morning hours that he slipped from an apartment balcony and fell 13-feet from the third story to the second story and, unconscious with severe head injuries, landed in critical condition. Doctors instructed his family he may not make it through the night.


Thus began the Haebe family nightmare and an unthinkable recovery and return to a once promising career as a distance athlete. The next few weeks brought consistent questions about more than just his future as a runner.


20


Meanwhile, they are stories the Haebe family can recall all too well. If he were to wake up at all, the chances he would make a full recovery remained slim.


But after seven to ten days of sleepless nights and the one constant unknown, Haebe began showing signs of life as he began to move and wake up. It was the first positive sign they had since the early morning hours when he first fell. At that point, he faced a rigorous, instance and emotional struggle for all of those involved.


While the family breathed a small sigh of relief, the most difficult journey was yet to come.


“The toughest part was you never knew how he was going to be,” Scott Haebe said. “He had to learn how to walk again and he had to learn how to talk again.”


Damaged and in the most intense battle of his life, the competitor inside Haebe took over. His wounds began to heal and he began to gain strength. Eventually, he was able to get himself out of bed and was able to put one foot in front of the other. Just as he did so many times on his weekend long runs, Haebe continued to push forward.


“With the brain injury that he had, I would say one percent of people would be able to do the things he can do,” Scott Haebe said. “If this happens to someone like me, there is no way I would make it. His youth is huge. You have to think the shape he is in and the athlete he is made the difference. From his neck down he was superman. He has always been a warrior kid and I think all of those things came together.”


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