VanEtten’s comeback reaches the finish line

BY SCOTT WALSH
Times-Shamrock Writer

To the majority of spectators who lined the chute that leads to the finish line of the Hershey Parkview Course, it was just a 68th-place finish.

But for senior Jenny VanEtten and her Elk Lake teammates, it was so much more.

As her team’s fifth runner across the line Saturday at the PIAA Cross Country Championships, VanEtten helped secure a second-place finish in the Class A girls race and another silver trophy for the Lady Warriors.

More importantly, though, it culminated a comeback from the serious injuries VanEtten suffered after being struck by a truck while riding her bike in the summer of 2013.

“Jenny was huge for us today,” Elk Lake coach Will Squier said after the race. “I can’t say enough about the improvement she made this year. With her sister Julie out, we needed somebody to step up and fill that fifth spot and Jenny did.”

That VanEtten was even running again is nothing short of remarkable.

During the first two years of her high school career, VanEtten was one of the area’s top runners and a two-time Times-Tribune All-Region selection.

As a freshman, she placed third at the District 2 meet and 15th at the PIAA meet to earn an individual medal and help Elk Lake place second in the state. Then as a sophomore, she was second at districts and fourth at states to help Elk Lake win the state title.

Entering her junior year, VanEtten and the Lady Warriors were primed for big things.

All of that changed, however, on the morning of July 31.

Riding her bike on her way to Elk Lake’s summer running club, VanEtten was hit by the truck.

Squier thought it was odd that Jenny and sister Julie hadn’t shown up that morning for the running club. He found out why when a parent showed up to tell him there had been an accident involving one of the VanEtten girls.

“My heart went right to my feet,” Squier said. “I went over there just in time to see the ambulance coming out with her loaded in it and her sister in a car behind them, all bawling. I had no idea how bad it was.”

It was bad.

A broken pelvis. Four fractured vertebrae. A broken jaw. Torn ligaments in one of her ankles. A concussion.

Forget running cross country. There was doubt that VanEtten would ever walk again.

She doesn’t remember much of what happened. VanEtten thought the whole thing was a dream.
Unfortunately, it was very real.

“People kept asking me things and I told them I had this dream that I was hit by a truck,” VanEtten said. “My sister was with me and she said, ‘You tried getting back up’ and I don’t remember any of that.”

VanEtten didn’t have surgery because the break in her pelvis was near her growth plate and the doctors didn’t want to interfere with that. So, they let time heal the break.

She was in the hospital for about a week. When she was released, she was wheelchair-bound for three months. She also wore a back brace for three months.

“When I was in the hospital, it probably was because of the drugs, but I thought I would be able to get back up and run states,” VanEtten said. “But as I was progressing, I realized it was going to take a little longer than my mind thought.”

Her road to recovery had just left the starting line.

This spring, she started out with brisk walks. When she began to run, it would be in small increments — two minutes here, five minutes there.

“I just started really, really easy and worked my way up,” VanEtten said.

When she got the green light from her doctors and was able to begin preparing for this season, Squier was extra careful to make sure VanEtten didn’t overdo it.

Basically, it was how much pain she could tolerate.

There was plenty of pain.

“To have the willingness to do that and keep pressing that envelope of pain forward is a huge tribute to her toughness,” Squier said.

It wasn’t just physical pain, either. There was the mental pain; the fear that she would reinjure herself even though everyone was telling her she would be fine.

During one workout, Squier noticed VanEtten’s running posture wasn’t quite right. She was being hesitant and timid.

“Mentally it was challenging,” VanEtten said. “In my head, I had been through all these things. I didn’t want to feel more and more pain and be injured.”

Going from being a top runner to one in the back of the pack didn’t help either.

Not once, though, did VanEtten think about giving up.

Sure, there were days where she would get discouraged. But just the ability to run again gave her the strength to keep going and changed her entire perspective.

“When I wake up every morning and put my feet on the ground, I couldn’t ask for anything more,” VanEtten said. “The fact I’m able to run is a true blessing.”

Her teammates played a big part in her rehabilitation, too. On those tough days, they would encourage her and remind her of how far she had come.

“I don’t think I would have been able to do it without them,” VanEtten said.

All the while, Squier kept preaching patience. It paid off.

When the regular season started, she was running 28 minutes. By the time the District 2 meet rolled around, she placed 16th in 22:13 in the Class A race.

Then came Saturday’s state race. VanEtten finished in 21:16.

“If this (state) race was two weeks from now, I’d think she’d run 30 seconds faster,” Squier said. “She’s coming. She’s getting her confidence back. She’s a tough girl.”

For VanEtten, her performance at the state meet and helping her team take second place was almost surreal.

She thought back to last year’s state meet. Days earlier, she had gotten out of her wheelchair and started using a walker. She recalls watching her teammates break from the starting line and having a feeling of emptiness.

“I just craved running. I wanted to do it so bad,” VanEtten said.

“This year, being able to warm up with them and do drills with them, then go off the line with them was an incredible feeling.”

Hours after the Class A girls race, at the awards ceremony, VanEtten made the final step in her comeback.
It came when she joined her teammates on the medal stand to accept the silver trophy.

Her recovery had reached the finish line.