ESPN sports commentator and former Notre Dame Football head coach, Lou Holtz, visited Haley Scott in South Bend’s Memorial Hospital soon after a tragic bus accident involving the Notre Dame women’s swim team which left two student/athletes dead and Haley paralyzed. Holtz said he went there to cheer her up. He left leaving as the one who was cheered up.
What Though the Odds is a remarkable story of a remarkable woman who journeyed from the edge of the abyss, overcoming tremendous physical and emotional odds when told she would never walk or swim again, to not only walk, but also to compete again for Notre Dame. Her crucible came at a time when everything—academics, swimming and social life—was going great guns. In the long run, Notre Dame lived up to her hopes and expectations and became the center of her life.
What Though the Odds begins on January 23, 1992. The Notre Dame team bus, returning from a swim meet at Northwestern, fishtailed during a blinding snow storm and slid down a steep embankment five miles from the university and South Bend.
Haley recalls, “There was no time to think, no time to react, no time to hold on… and no time to pray.”
Yet Haley somehow managed to get herself out of the bus. She then lay on the cold ground as the snow continuing to fall for an hour before first responders could get to her. She immediately told those caring for her that she could not feel her legs. She was paralyzed. When she didn’t know at the time was that her vertebrae had been shattered in the center of her back at T-8, T-9 and T-10.
The fact that she did walk off the bus gave a reason to believe her spinal cord was not completely severed. The paralysis, however, would become permanent if either the pressure of the crushed vertebrae or the swelling of the spinal cord tissue caused irreversible damage to her spinal cord. The first 48 hours would be telltale.
Unfortunately, the 48 hour window came and passed without any movement in her lower extremities. Haley was told she would never walk or swim again.
“Your life has changed forever,” Haley recalls. “You have to be prepared for what you are facing. The faster you accept it, the faster you will be able to work with what you are able to do. You can still have a full life, but it will never be the same.”
Her mother refused to accept the medical verdict and told Haley that “the nurse doesn’t know you. You will swim again.”
Haley’s book, What Though the Odds, goes on to tell the story of Haley’s miraculous recovery (the miracle of the wiggling toes), her five surgeries, coping with the loss of two of her teammates, the support of her remaining teammates and of the entire extended Notre Dame community, her journey of faith which brought her into communion with the Catholic Church, and the achievement of her post-accident goal to compete once more for Notre Dame nearly two years later (she won her event).
Haley believes that her life as a swimmer prepared her for this experience.
“It is not a coincidence,” Haley says, underscoring that the commitment and discipline that applies to swimming also applies to life.
“A swimmer has to be willing to adapt,” she explains. “A good attitude is essential, especially when struggling in workout or competition. Swimming requires you to intellectualize your goals and the steps needed to get there. It allows you to compete not just against others, but against yourself, as you try to reach your own potential. There are some things in life, as in sport, that you cannot control. All we can do is focus on the things under our control and use them as life happens around us.”
Haley, like others who have faced death, was left transformed by the experience. She found that there was no return to “normal.” Her anguish and suffering led to life-altering growth, including in the way she viewed herself and the world.
Today, Haley is stronger than ever, living a rich and purpose-filled life. You can see it in her when you meet her.
The book is based on five years of research—including recorded interviews with teammates, family members, coaches, medical personnel and law enforcement officials; as well as medical records, newspaper clippings, television news coverage, police reports, and the journal Haley kept during her journey.
Haley’s story is inspirational; a classic “Notre Dame story” of overcoming the odds. Haley proved that you can accomplish things, even when not everyone believes in you. “You have no chance to succeed if you do not believe in yourself.”
This book review is dedicated to Colleen Hipp and Meghan Beeler who lost their lives in this tragic accident.
“Life is a river that eventually takes us to God’s own sea, and I think all He expects from us is to honor Him in victory and defeat. We are not in control; He is. And when one of us is lost, we mourn and move forward, knowing that today is only what we make it to be, and tomorrow is never promised. I thank God for each and every day.” – Haley Scott DeMaria
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Thomas M. Loarie is a University of Notre Dame grad, a seasoned and pioneering CEO in the medical device field and a senior editorial advisor and columnist for Catholic Business Journal. For a more robust bio click here: http://catholicbusinessjournal.biz/content/thomas-m-loarie-0. He may be reached at TLoarie@CatholicBusinessJournal.biz