Caleb Lindhorst keeps beating the odds. On Dec. 21, 2013, the then 20-year-old Lindsay, Nebraska native was riding home with friends when the driver lost control on loose gravel. The car slid into a ditch, rolled over and Caleb was ejected out of the car. The traumatic accident twisted Caleb’s brain stem and doctors at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha gave him a 10 percent chance of waking up. Three weeks later, Caleb transferred to Madonna still comatose.
When he woke up 39 days later, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) student couldn’t hold his head up and used a whiteboard to communicate. Caleb’s parents, Mike and Sherry, and a huge community of extended family and friends, offered prayers and support. The smallest achievements were celebrated. “It was very small steps,” said Sherry, recalling her oldest son relearning to breathe and eat independently.
An interdisciplinary team spent eight weeks helping Caleb rebuild the damaged pathways in his brain. On the Lokomat®, Caleb progressed from being limp with no body control to walking upright, confident and smiling.
After a stay at Quality Living, Inc., a post-acute
rehabilitation center in Omaha, Caleb returned to Madonna’s TherapyPlus Outpatient Rehabilitation Day Program. The agricultural engineering major worked hard to transition from a walker to a cane, moved into a house and returned to college—earning a 3.84 GPA. He is on track to graduate from UNL in December 2016.
Throughout his recovery, Caleb’s confidence has been the catalyst to reaching his goals. As he continues rehabilitation, Caleb’s candid remarks often provoke laughter from his therapy team. What is the secret to his positivity? Caleb says country singer Rodney Atkins sums it up best: “If you’re going through hell, keep on going, don’t slow down, if you’re scared don’t show it.”
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