“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1
We put our faith in many things. Putting one’s complete trust or confidence in someone or something sometimes means the difference between life and death. For Tim Callahan, putting his faith in God helped him get through the toughest time of his life.
On July 3, 2010, during a routine play in a flag football game, an opposing player fell on top of Tim, instantly paralyzing him from the neck down.
Tim’s prognosis was bleak. Doctors informed his family he had suffered a severe spinal cord injury; he had broken the C3 and C4 vertebrae in his neck. There are eight cervical nerves (C1-C8) that branch off of the spinal cord. These cervical nerves are responsible for relaying messages and ensuring the function of different body parts. Tim broke the vertebrae that help control the diaphragm, the muscle that helps keep a person breathing.
The doctors felt that Tim would, at best, be a functional quadriplegic. This basically meant he would be able to talk, but he wouldn’t be able to move any part of his body, except for his head.
“This was when my faith in God took over the entire situation,” Tim said. “Even after hearing the doctors say that I would probably never walk again, I never lost faith in God.”
Tim spent two weeks in Shands’ Intensive Care Unit basically on life support. The doctors had him hooked up to a ventilator, screwed a halo into his skull and placed a feeding tube in his nose. Tim needed two surgeries, along with a piece of bone from his hip, to repair the damage done to his neck. After his first surgery, he started to regain sensation in his toes. Before he knew it, he was gradually getting feeling further and further up his legs.
“I had a crazy amount of support from friends, but my wife, brothers, and parents were the ones who got me through a lot of the tough times,” Tim said. “Being paralyzed, you quickly have to rely on others for help.”
Tim spent the next four and a half weeks at Brooks Rehabilitation Center, re-learning how to do everyday activities. Regardless of the outlook, Tim’s wife, Jamie, never lost faith in God, either. She stood strong because she knew God had bigger plans for their lives.
Through his faith, dedication and an unlimited amount of support from his friends and family, Tim was able to persevere. After two years of therapy and rehabilitation, Tim did the unthinkable; he stepped back on the flag football field to play in a national tournament. He was not able to do the same things he did before, but his team rallied around him and found a way to win the tournament.
“After being paralyzed, winning another national tournament was a monumental step for me,” Tim said.
After winning the tournament, news had spread around about Tim playing. He started getting Facebook messages and e-mails from people telling him how he had inspired them to overcome their fears. After that, Tim wanted to start sharing his story with others, and he got an idea of hosting free sports camps for kids. Thus, the Tim Callahan Inspiration Foundation was born.
The sole purpose of the foundation is to inspire kids through the founder’s story of faith and determination, according to the Tim Callahan Inspiration Foundation’s Web site. The foundation looks to benefit young children through the development of a winning attitude in athletics. It hosts a variety of free sports camps for boys and girls ages 5 to 15, including softball, soccer, football, basketball, baseball, wrestling and volleyball.
“I’ve never done anything like this but it was something that I was really passionate about,” Tim said. “I wanted to share my story with kids and pull them from the streets. It is a great way for me to give back since I’ve been blessed in so many ways.”
Tim decided to quit his job of seven years at an insurance company to work full-time at his foundation. Until the foundation gets to a point where Tim can make an income off of it, his wife Jamie is keeping them a float. Currently, Tim is substitute teaching, and he also works part-time as the girls’ basketball and softball coach at Providence School.
Tim loves the strategy involved with coaching. His favorite part is always trying to find the best play or situation to help his team win. Tim prefers to coach girls’ sports because he feels that they more of a challenge. The middle school’s softball team has done quite well since Tim took the job three years ago. His girls won the championship his first year and for the past two years they have come in second place. Tim also took the girls’ high school junior varsity basketball team to a 17-1 record last season. Even though he lost eight players to varsity last year, he still expects his team to have a winning record.
Tim has also had the opportunity to participate at a number of speaking engagements since his accident. He has spoken to the Team Focus Foundation, a group for boys who do not have fathers in their lives, to a few private schools’ chapel services, and to several high school football teams. His favorite speaking engagement, however, was to the swimmers competing in the Special Olympics.
“The children were very involved and had a lot of questions,” Tim said. “They even wanted me to stay and watch their swim practice. It was a great experience.”
Today, Tim has several lingering problems due to the accident. He has nerve damage form the neck down and he is no longer ticklish. He lost a severe amount of sensation on the left side of his body. Tim is always in pain but says it is what it is; he literally just deals with it. Tim has decided to write a book about everything that he has been though because there is so much to his accident and recovery that people do not know.
“It is hard for me to look at myself as a hero,” Tim said. “I have never thought of myself like that because it is me, I was just doing it because it is what I had to do.”
Favorite Movie: Forrest Gump
Favorite Athlete: Derek Jeter
Ideal Place to Travel: New York
Super Power You Wish You Had: To Fly
Favorite Food: BBQ
Favorite Person to Meet: Tom Hanks
Sport You Wish You Played: Tackle Football
Favorite TV Show: Seinfield
Coaches Corner/North Florida/ October 2014
Tim Callahan
Providence High School
Jacksonville, FL
JESSICA BABCOCK
Local Coach Inspires Community After Tragic Accident
