A RUNNING MIRACLE; HFU CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER RETURNS TO HIS SPORT AFER ACCIDENT

October 17, 2005

Courtesy of Joe Mason

Northeast Times

Chris Drissel doesn't know why it happened. He doesn't know how it happened. In fact, the 20-year-old really doesn't remember a thing about it. He does know that it changed his life and nearly ended it, and it's remarkable that he can run on the Holy Family University cross-country team.

It was at 3 a.m. last Jan. 4 when the Father Judge High School graduate and Holme Circle resident was driving home from a friend's house. He was traveling eastbound in his 2000 Jeep Cherokee on the 2800 block of Welsh Road, and he was a little tired. That's where his memory ends and a remarkable story begins.

"I was going right past (Robert P.) Pollock (School)," he recalled. "I wasn't speeding. I was tired, but everything else was fine. "Then, they're not sure if I fell asleep or if it was because the road was slick, but I woke up about a week later in the hospital wondering why I was there."

Drissel's car crossed into the oncoming lanes, jumped a curb and skidded into a chain fence outside the school, about two blocks from his home. His car hit the fence, then struck a concrete-anchored junction post. The post plunged through Drissel's torso.

"I don't remember any of this; it's all been told to me," Drissel said. "The 'Jaws of Life' cut the post, and I was taken to the (Frankford-Torresdale) hospital. I was then put in a drug-induced coma for a week. They had to perform an operation to get the pole out. They said there was a twenty-five percent chance of me living. They said I lost a lot of blood and if I wasn't in such good condition because I was a runner and all, I'd be dead. I really give all the credit to the hospital and my surgeon, Emanuel Smith. A lot of people didn't think I'd make it."

Drissel did more than make it. Despite treatments for two skull fractures and four broken ribs, along with removal of the bottom lobe of his left lung, Drissel is running once again. He now sports some mean-looking scars on his chest, but he's doing everything a normal 20-year-old would be doing. And then some. He's running at least five miles a day with his Tiger teammates at Holy Family, and his time is only 30 seconds slower than what he recorded a year ago. He's worked hard to get himself back in top shape, and the tragic accident is now hardly a memory.

"I don't think about it because I don't remember it," he said. "Thank God, because it happened about a minute away from my house and I drive past (the scene of the accident) all the time. My doctors told me that their biggest fear would be my outlook. But I'm a positive person. I'm always happy, and I don't feel bad that it happened. I feel like the luckiest kid in the world. I'm alive, and I'm doing great."

Sometimes on rainy days he suffers a little pain in his side, but that's to be expected. But other than that, Drissel says, he's great. And he made sure he'd live a normal life right after he returned home, about one month after the accident.

"I started walking before I left the hospital, and I was doing pretty well at Moss Rehab Center," he said. "Then when I got home, I started walking on the treadmill. I started doing a mile and then progressively went farther. I was pretty winded, and my mom would always tell me not to go too fast or too long. I was missing some of my lung, so my wind wasn't great, but I honestly felt pretty good. There were no setbacks, no problems. I was just pretty tired."

Though there were no setbacks, his family still watched him like a hawk and made sure he didn't push himself too much.

"I'm not surprised by his recovery because he's such a fighter," said Chris' mom, Margaret. "His recovery is a huge success. He went from near death to doing everything he would regularly do. When he first had the accident, it was terrible. I have four children, and it was like nothing we have ever experienced. You never think you can deal with something like that, but we got through it. He's a real go-getter, and we're all so proud of him."

Drissel's recovery can be attributed to a great outlook on life, unbelievable resiliency and tons of hard work. But he's quick to spread praise to all of his supporters. His mother, his father Scott Sr., his brothers Scott Jr. and Brian, and his sister Megan were all there for him. So was his extended family.

"First, my family was great," he said. "It's hard to get down when you see so many people caring about you. They were really upset, but they helped me stay positive. And when I woke up, my mom told me that I had lines out the door of people who came to see me. That meant a lot. (Holy Family athletic director) Sandy Michael was great. My teammates were great. I had a lot of people who were there when I needed them, and that meant more than anything."

His supporters were happy to be there, but they were more in awe of Drissel's outlook and ability to recover.

"I think because Chris is a fun-loving and optimistic person by nature, he was able to bounce right back," Michael said. "His desire, his strength, not just physically, but mentally and spiritually, were amazing, and that's why he's back where he is."

Unlike Drissel, Michael remembers the accident very well. She was at Holy Family working out in the morning, and she saw the story on television. She didn't know who the victim was, but being a caring person, she was still upset.

"You never like to hear stories like that," Michael said. "And I remember hoping and praying that it wasn't one of ours. When I was done working out, I went home and got changed. I drove past Frankford Hospital, and I was still hoping and praying that it wasn't a Holy Family student. Then later that day I was in a meeting and my secretary handed me a note saying that it was Chris. I was so upset. We all were. Not only was it one of our students, but it was one of the students in (the athletic department). I hope this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but as bad as it was, I think everyone handled themselves wonderfully," she continued. "Chris was unbelievable. His family was very accommodating. They're a great family. And there was a huge outpouring of love from Holy Family, and I know Chris' family appreciated it. Everyone handled the terrible situation the best they could."

Drissel is now practicing every day for cross country. His times aren't quite where they were a year ago, but his goal is to finish the fall season by improving his times from a year ago. And while the accident didn't derail Drissel's running career, it did have an impact on his academic career. The nursing major skipped the spring semester last year, but he was back in school during the summer while catching up on credits. He's currently in his third year of college, but because he missed a semester, he's classified as a sophomore. When he graduates, he wants to be a nurse who assists anesthesiologists. And ever the optimist, Drissel actually looks at his accident as a positive.

"I guess I can tell my patients that I overcame an accident where I got a pole stuck in my chest," he said. "I can tell them if I can do it, they can do it. I never really thought about it, but I guess I could be a role model for patients."

Drissel is certainly one for his mother. "I admire him so much," she said. "We all do, because he just refused to let it get him down. A lot of people thought he was going to die, and now he's doing everything he was doing a year ago."

Michael considers the whole thing a remarkable story with an incredible ending. "Chris epitomizes Holy Family; he epitomizes everything that is good," Michael said. "I don't think many people could have survived what he went though. His story is such a great one. He just inspires you to do well. I couldn't be prouder of anyone."