Only a few things about Brett Karrle have changed since Oct. 10, when he was struck by a car while cycling home from work.
He’s still a person with many friends, and still someone who has thrived despite significant challenges.
He’s still crazy about sports and fitness.
It’s all of these — the things that remain unchanged — that Karrle will need to find his way with what’s new.
Karrle, 47, lost his ability to walk after the car hit him. He now has to use a wheelchair and, while he can move his arms and some fingers, it’s unclear how much use he’ll regain of several fingers and both legs.
It’s overwhelming, especially since he used his bike to go just about everywhere.
Karrle, a lifelong Tucsonan, was born with a developmental disability that limited his work choices and made it unsafe for him to drive.
Those limitations have long been surpassed, his mother Carol Karrle says. His adult life has been marked by his dedication to work and his passion for sports.
That’s what Karrle and those close to him are counting on now.
“He’s got such a good attitude about what he’s still able to do,” she said. “We’re very fortunate that he was in such good physical condition because it’s really helped with the healing.”
Karrle suffered a crushed spinal cord, a broken right leg, a collapsed lung and more injuries than his parents realized until they saw his release papers after three weeks in a trauma unit. His helmet saved his life.
A Pima County sheriff’s deputy measures the scene where Brett Karrle was struck on the Catalina Highway just south of Fort Lowell Road on Oct. 10.
ober 10, 2016. The driver fled but was later captured by deputies.
STRUCK FROM BEHIND
IN BIKE LANE
Karrle worked for 10 years at an east-side Safeway, at 9125 E. Tanque Verde Road, riding his bike five miles round-trip from his parents’ home, where he lives.
Before that, he worked at a Fry’s store, which required not only riding his bike, but taking two buses each way.
And when he wasn’t working, he was cycling elsewhere or practicing various sports: basketball, track and field, bowling or golf.
Karrle’s athletic abilities earned him a gold medal in track and field — for throwing the mini-turbo javelin — in the 2014 Special Olympics at Princeton University. He’s competed in three Special Olympics so far.
He’s accomplished this while carrying along the loss of his big brother, Randy, who died at 19 in a car accident in 1983.
It was about 3 in the afternoon Oct. 10 when Brett Karrle, who was riding in the bike lane along North Catalina Highway near East Fort Lowell Road, was hit from behind by a driver who fled the scene.
Timothy Candler, 34, is facing charges of hit-and-run causing serious injury, driving under the influence and aggravated assault, sheriff’s records show. He is being held at Pima County jail; bond is set at $50,000.
Melisa Hadinger was driving along Catalina Highway the afternoon of the accident.
She was diverted, along with other drivers, because the road was closed and so she had no idea her friend had been hurt. She found out the next day, when she went shopping at Safeway.
Karrle had started helping Hadinger regularly at the store about eight years ago, when she was recovering from surgery and facing more surgeries.
His job there included bagging groceries and helping customers, and he recognized right away that Hadinger, a mother of three, needed extra help.
The small acts of kindness helped her get through some hard days, she said, and she quickly became one of Karrle’s fans.
“He’s just a happy guy and that’s what people love about him,” said Hadinger, who started one of two GoFundMe accounts to help Karrle and his parents, Carol and Mel Karrle, with medical expenses and the home remodeling they’ll need for wheelchair accessibility.
Hadinger said as she got to know Karrle, they quickly realized they are both football fans — she roots for Broncos, he’s for Dallas — and so they’ve long enjoyed “good old-fashioned football banter.” This year, she’s hoping his team takes it all the way to the Super Bowl.
HealthSouth therapists Logan Bretney and Janelle Borg use a slide board to move Brett Karrle from his power chair to an exercise table. It’s unclear how much use he’ll regain of his legs.
at Healthsouth on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 in Tucson, AZ. Karrle was paralyzed from the chest down after sustaining a spinal injury and broken neck in a hit and run by a drunk driver.
LEARNING A NEW WAY
OF BEING ACTIVE
Karrle has been receiving rehabilitative help at HealthSouth since Nov. 1 and hopes to leave this week. He wants to be at home with his parents for Christmas.
After the holidays pass, there are several people waiting to welcome him back into the world of athletics.
Rick and Sam Brown have asked him to help coach their basketball team as soon as he’s able.
“We’ve known Brett for at least 18 years,” said Sam Brown, who set up the second GoFundMe account. “He’s always had a great attitude and goes all out for all of his Special Olympics activities.”
The Browns head the MOCHA (Mentors of Challenged Adults) Special Olympics team. Sam Brown said Karrle will still be able to participate in different events, such as wheelchair races and bowling.
“One of the things we find very helpful for someone with a new injury is to be put with a mentor, someone who has been through this already,” said David Herr-Cardillo, director of the Adaptive Athletic Program at the University of Arizona.
Herr-Cardillo and one of his coaches, Bryan Barten, visited Karrle last week to tell him about their adaptive gym, designed for athletes living with a variety of disabilities.
Barten, who will mentor Karrle, was injured in a car accident about 20 years ago in Michigan and uses a wheelchair. He moved to Arizona to attend the UA and never left.
“He’s going to learn so much just from interacting with other people who are in similar situations,” Barten said.
The first priority, Barten said, will be learning a new way of being active, then making his body as strong as possible.
That’s already part of the plan for Karrle, whose teammate designed a T-shirt to raise money for his recovery: “Brett Karrle. A journey of 1000 miles begins with one step.”
Under that, one word stands alone: “Strong.”
