At the conclusion of the All-Area All-Star girls and boys basketball games on Monday night, the Columbus Christian gymnasium was filled with applause.
At the center of the court, Columbus Christian athletics director Kevin Roth presented Hauser senior Erin Newcomb with a donation of $1,000.
Newcomb was this year’s beneficiary at the All-Area All-Star Games that consisted of players from the nine schools in The Republic area. The money and proceeds raised go directly to her and help cover her medical expenses that stemmed from a car accident.
Newcomb had been a two-sport athlete at Hauser, competing in soccer and track.
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“It’s a real blessing, and I was extremely happy with the money we were able to collect for her and help out her family in that situation,” Roth said. “It’s sad in a way, but in another way, it’s fulfilling that we are able to come together as a group of schools with guys that play and battle each other throughout the season and then come here on this one night and have fun enjoying themselves and playing the game they love to play.”
Life on hold
At 11:55 a.m. Aug. 29, Newcomb never realized in that moment that her life was about to change. A group of students were leaving Hauser and heading to a C4 class in Columbus. As they were crossing State Road 9, a vehicle struck the passenger side of the car that Newcomb and three other students were in.
Newcomb ended up the most seriously injured and had to be taken by medical helicopter to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
A neurosurgeon at the hospital explained to Newcomb’s parents Tom and Melissa that she had suffered what is medically known as a Grade 3 Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI).
Erin Newcomb had suffered a traumatic brain injury from the collision.
“When they asked if Erin would recover, the surgeon said, “See me in a year, and I’ll have a better idea,” Melissa Newcomb said.
About 10 percent of patients with Erin’s condition never recover, and another 10 percent make a full recovery. The doctor said that Erin was in the middle 80 percent.
While she was at IU Methodist, Erin eventually was moved from the neuro-critical care unit to the progressive care ward. She then was transferred to St. Vincent Seton Specialty Hospital before being admitted to the inpatient unit of RHI-NeuroRehabilitation Center (NRC).
She spent 51 days in total at the three facilities.
School reaction
The following morning after the accident, more than 100 people including students, parents and Town of Hope leaders attended a prayer vigil and offered support for Erin.
Hauser senior Sean Miller, a friend of Erin’s for six years, led the gathering and was assisted by senior classmate Jada Asher and junior Mel Hasler.
Miller and Hasler both participated in Monday’s games. Six in total from Hauser played in the games.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a time where she wasn’t smiling,” Miller said. “She’s a really bright person and is honestly one of the smartest people I know. She’s a very intelligent individual and very nice and caring.”
Hasler is a teammate of Erin’s in track.
“It’s so much fun being around her because she always had a smile on her face,” Hasler said. “She always had a joke to make you smile. She was always encouraging and ready to go into the next drill. She’s such a great person, and I’m glad that she’s doing better.”
Support from within
Shortly after the family was given the diagnosis of Erin’s condition, Levi Sallee and his mother Michelle walked into the room where Erin was being held.
Levi Sallee went through a similar experience as Erin when he was in a car accident that left him with a traumatic brain injury on Sept. 2, 2016.
David and Lisa Speidel, the parents of former Columbus North basketball standout Josh Speidel, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in serious car accident on Feb. 1, 2015, also reached out to the Newcomb family for support and visited the hospital, as well.
During one of the visits to see Erin, the Sallee family presented Erin with a prayer shawl and many other items to help with Erin’s comfort and recovery process. The Sallee family originally received it from the Speidel family.
Cameron Fathauer, a former North student that suffered a traumatic brain injury after being struck by a car while skateboarding on Sept. 18, 2015, also has been an inspiration to the Newcomb family.
“It definitely make us want to pay it forward,” Melissa said. “My takeaway from this is that I’m just so thankful for this community support that it makes me wants to find more ways of giving back to the community.”
Monday, the basketball players from the nine area schools came together in their support to raise money for Newcomb, as well.
“It’s really a blessing to able to do this for her,” said Hauser junior Jackson Paradise, who played in the boys game. “Freak accidents happen, and going to Hauser, we just want to show our support and our love to her and know that we always have her back, no matter how well she knows us or if she barely knows us, that we at Hauser are just one big Hauser family, one big Jet family, and that we always have her back and we always support her.”
Hauser junior Bree Hadley played in the girls game.
“If you ever needed anything, she was always there,” Hadley said. “She was like a shoulder to lean on, and I’m glad that she is doing well and it’s nice to see her walking in the halls (at Hauser) again.”
Picking up the pieces
Erin celebrated her 18th birthday Friday, but that day also meant seven months since the accident occurred. Just a few months ago, it was unknown if Erin would be able to return to Hauser in the spring, go to college or even have a normal life again.
Things have improved significantly for Erin the past few months.
On Oct. 20, Erin returned home in a wheelchair. A week later, she graduated to a walker.
Erin returned home just in time for the fall sports banquet. She attended the banquet, and with the assistance of her walker, stood with her soccer teammates to salute retiring soccer coach Andy Hunnicutt.
At the banquet, Hauser athletics director Ron Hounshell addressed the crowd in attendance, stating directly to Erin, “Our hearts and our prayers have been with you since Aug. 29.”
Around Thanksgiving, Erin was completely off the walker.
“No one really excepted her to recover this quickly,” Melissa said. “She’s done every exercise that they asked her to do, and she’s doing great.”
Erin graduated from the last of her therapy units two weeks ago. She says that life for the most part has been back to normal. The only obstacle she has left is being able to drive again. She’s a licensed driver, but will complete a driving program that is provided by RHI. It’s a program that helps traumatic brain injury patients get back to driving again. She hopes to get that completed in the summer.
Erin was going to graduate with a certified nursing assistant (CNA) license, but wasn’t able to finish due to the car accident. She said she hopes she can do a CNA program at Miller’s Merry Manor in Hope.
Because Erin was well ahead of most of her classmates when the accident happened, she said she only needs to complete two classes to graduate with honors along with the rest of her class this spring. She is ranked at the top of her class academically.
Erin is at Hauser for the full day. Of her two classes, one, English, is online. She is at Hauser for the other class, Economics, and the rest of her time is spent in the office as an assistant.
Erin says her favorite subject is math, but when she returned to school after the wreck, she was so far behind in the subject, she will just sit in and participate from time to time.
“I’m sure she can still kick our butts in Calculus every day. I have no doubt about that,” Miller said with a laugh.
Erin is serving as the manager of the Jets track team this spring, so she’ll be attending a lot of the practices and meets. She said she has started some running on her own. Erin said that she wants to get back into doing the high jump, but knows it is doubtful the doctors will clear her to participate.
After high school, Erin plans to go to college to study nursing. She’ll attend IUPUC for the first two years before hopefully being accepted to complete her nursing degree at St. Mary of the Woods in Terre Haute.
Erin is thankful to everybody that has helped her along the way.
“It’s one of the big reasons why I want to be a nurse,” Erin said. “So much people have helped me along the way, and now it is my turn to give back.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Newcomb file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Name: Erin Newcomb
Age: 18
School: Hauser
Class: Senior
Sports: Soccer, track and field
Family: Parents Tom and Melissa, siblings David, Joseph and Bronwyn
College: IUPUC for prerequisites with hope of completing nursing degree at St. Mary of the Woods in Terre Haute
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