JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Flag football is not supposed to be violent. It's a competitive game, with maybe a few bumps and bruises, but in the end everyone shakes hands and walks off the field. At least that's the way it's supposed to be. But Tim Callahan's passion for the game and his skill - nearly cost him the unthinkable.
" I heard my neck pop and just as quickly as that happened I went completely paralyzed, said Tim. "It was crazy how that happened - once it happened, boom done couldn't move anything."
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Tim and his teammates were playing competitive flag football on July 3, 2010. In many ways it was just another tournament and Tim was simply trying to make just another routine play.
"I can see it happening he got two hands on the ball I had one hand on the ball and me trying to pull it out when I did we both fell on the ground and I fell on my butt sitting straight up and I'm guessing, brought him down into me and he ended up landing on my head and pushing my head into my chest and broke my neck instantly," Tim explained.
Tim's friend Ralph Graham was playing on a field close by and heard Tim
scream.
"He's like, 'I can't move.' And I said relax we'll figure this out and he said, 'No, I heard two cracks and I can't move my legs,'" Ralph said.
"I could see it in their eyes just how scared they were for me," added Tim.
And even as emergency calls were being made, Ralph knew he had to do something else. He gathered everyone around Tim for a prayer.
"I think prayer heals everything. I think God wants the best for all of us and at the time that was my reaction and said hey if this is serious let's get God on board," said Ralph.
Tim could feel the prayers.
"I got a good warm feeling over me almost like while I was praying that its not going to end like this I'm going to get through it and just need to believe and honestly that's what I did then and that's what I've done since," said Tim.
He was rushed to TraumaOne at UF Health Jacksonville. His wife Jamie, brother and parents were close behind. What they heard when they arrived - that he was paralyzed - took their breath away.
"Functional paraplegic, what? And my heart just went what? I said I don't believe that I don't accept that," said Tim
's dad, Steve Callahan. " Jamie and I looked at each other and was like wow you're taken aback but it's one of those things I never felt like it was going to happen that way we're praying about it."
"But all the steps that Shands took was really awesome," said Diane Callahan, Tim's mom.
"You just watch them go at it and stay out of their way because that's their business and they're good at it," added Steve.
It took a team at UF Health to bring Tim back from the brink.
"You don't want to take all their hope but you do need to be realistic about the fact that these injuries are really serious and life altering and what they're going to go though in the next weeks and months are experiences they would have never expected to have and that they really are going to affect the entire the entire family not only the patient," explained Dr. Elizabeth Vitarbo, one of the two trauma surgeons who operated on Tim right away.
Two vertebrae in Tim's neck had been pushed out of place. Dr. Vitarbo removed the disc between them, realigned them and then fused them together with a cadaver bone.
The second surgeon, orthopaedic specialist Dr. John Kirkpatrick, later reinforced the back of Tim's neck with a second bone grafted from his hip.
"When he came out and I saw him move his foot I balled like a baby," said Tim's dad, Steve. "When I left the hospital I was crying the entire way."
Tim wasn't the only one healing. The entire family began to feel comfort when Dr. Kirkpatrick offered something they'll never forget.
"Before the surgery he came to see us and he prayed with us and that really meant so much to us we thought, 'Oh my goodness that we have a surgeon that will sit down and talk with us and pray with us before surgery,'" explained Diane.
The prayers, the expertise, the compassion of the dozens of caregivers involved in Tim's case - all of it worked. Slowly but surely Tim began to recover, to regain the feeling in his arms and legs. He credits his caregivers and his wife.
"He was very scared, of course I was scared, too," said Tim's wife, Jamie. "I just remember thinking, okay, we can deal with this, we're strong and we have our faith."
" I couldn't have asked for somebody in my life better to deal with this whole situation than her," said Tim.
"It's certainly a blessing when you see
people recover Tim or any of the patients we see it's a huge blessing to see them get back to what they need to do, love to do," added Dr. Kirkpatrick.
Everyone who has taken this journey with Tim will tell you his recovery has been remarkable. It took time to heal: First at UF Health, then at Brooks Rehab. But Tim was finally able to start walking again in just three weeks. Everyone was astounded.
Other blessings for Tim and his family include a new baby, following the accident. He's also coaching girl's basketball. And, another positive outcome from Tim's second chance, he's Started the "Tim Callahan Foundation" that provides free sports camps to underprivileged kids.
After Tim recovered, after the long, difficult fight to walk again, he
decided to play again. as you might imagine, it caught a few people off guard. But he did it. And perhaps another sign of divine intervention, playing against some of the best flag football teams in the country, Tim's team actually won the tournament.
Tim and his family also say they will never forget the people at UF Health and everyone else involved in his case, for giving him his life back. His entire story will be told in full Saturday, February 7 to an audience of supporters of UF Health and TraumaOne. It's called a Night for Heroes. For more information go to www.ANightForHeroes.com.