http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2009/apr ... air-again/ Seaman's status up in the air again
UT pole vaulter broke two thoracic vertebrae
By Mike Strange (Contact)
Originally published 10:45 p.m., April 10, 2009
Updated 10:45 p.m., April 10, 2009
UT pole vaulter Michael Seaman warms-up for competition in the pole vault event during the Sea Ray Relays on Friday. Spooner broke his back and needed surgery after missing the pit on a jump last year.
Amy Smotherman Burgess
UT pole vaulter Michael Seaman warms-up for competition in the pole vault event during the Sea Ray Relays on Friday. Spooner broke his back and needed surgery after missing the pit on a jump last year.
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If you always suspected pole-vaulters were a little crazy, meet Michael Seaman.
Today at Tom Black Track he'll be launching himself into the air at the Sea Ray Relays as if he didn't have a care in the world.
But less than three months ago, the Tennessee freshman was carried from the pole-vault pit at the University of Kentucky strapped to a body board, loaded into an ambulance and ultimately told he had broken two thoracic vertebrae.
"He had a real bad injury,'' UT men's coach Bill Webb said Friday. "It was very scary.
"Frankly, I am surprised he's out here vaulting again.''
Seaman's injury occurred at an indoor meet on Jan. 17 when he misjudged his take-off and landed short of the padding.
He came down in a sitting position on the back of the steel box where the pole is planted.
"I was 17 feet in the air,'' Seaman said, "then when I hit I felt a big pop and couldn't move for a few seconds.
"For a second there I thought I was paralyzed.''
He also had badly sprained his left ankle, but didn't know it immediately because the pain in his back was overwhelming.
His parents, Chris and Daphne, had driven up from Bardstown, Ky., and witnessed the crash.
"I couldn't imagine what that was like for them,'' Seaman said.
"My mom isn't a big fan of the vault. She doesn't like scary stuff.''
The worst moment for Seaman was yet to come. That was at the emergency room when the doctor told him he had broken the T11 and T12 vertebrae.
Two months in a wheelchair and then a walking boot, the doctor said. Seaman's season flashed before his eyes.
"That's when it hit me,'' he said.
Having redshirted in 2008, Seaman didn't relish the thought of not competing for a second year.
But his career never flashed before his eyes. A little thing like a broken back wasn't going to stop him from doing what he loved.
"Not vaulting again never crossed my mind,'' he said. "It might have crossed my parents' minds.''
Seaman came back to campus in a wheelchair and ankle boot. Trainer Adrian Dunn put in extra hours on rehab. Fellow vaulter Joe Berry provided taxi service.
"Joe would get out of his class and literally run to where I was and roll me to my class and then run to his next class,'' said Seaman. "The hills on campus aren't the most handicap-accessible.''
It quickly became apparent the problem wasn't speeding up Seaman's recovery. It was slowing him down.
"We've been trying to keep him calm,'' Webb said. "We had a six-step plan on what he was going to have to do to get back. He wanted to be on step five on day one.''
About six weeks after the fall, Seaman was working out again. One afternoon he was supposed to run down the runway and drop the pole at the pit.
"I went ahead and jumped,'' he said. "I don't know if that was the smartest thing.''
When the Vols went to the Florida Relays last week, Seaman competed, clearing 16 feet, 3 inches, only two inches off his personal best.
"People were amazed when they saw him jumping in Florida,'' Webb said.
"It's all his choice. Some people lose their nerve. He had a bad, bad fall. But he's a tough guy and he's got a big heart.''
And a back with a couple of cracks in it.
