Hamblin Plays Out Dream : Village Christian Athlete Overcomes Broken Neck

Moments after sinking a baseline jump shot Tuesday night against Marshall Fundamental, Village Christian High’s Pat Hamblin realized the dream he had been replaying in his mind since August.

It was just a simple 12-foot shot that hit nothing but net, but it meant much more to Hamblin than the first two points of his varsity career.

Only five months ago, doctors told Hamblin--a two-sport athlete--he could forget about playing basketball and baseball during his senior year. Last summer in San Diego, Hamblin ran into the ocean surf only to be carried out--strapped to a stretcher--by four lifeguards minutes later. Hamblin had suffered a broken neck. He was placed in a full-torso brace and was scheduled to undergo surgery by the first of the year. Doctors predicted his post-operative rehabilitation would last a full year.

But Hamblin, a 6-foot, 190-pound guard, proved the prognosis wrong when he stepped on the court five months after the accident and promptly sank a jump shot. He just as promptly celebrated by passing out high-fives at midcourt.

“I hit the shot and I was at half court when I realized what I had done,” Hamblin said. “Envisioning that and then having it happen was really neat.”

The Village Christian crowd erupted with cheers when Hamblin sank the shot. Not because the shot had anything to do with game--the Crusaders led by 30 points with less than two minutes remaining.

“They went nuts because most of the people here know the story behind Pat,” said Mike Plaisance, the school’s athletic director and football coach who attended the game. “He is such a dynamic kid. Through it all he’s been really positive.”

Hamblin’s road to recovery began five months ago, shortly after the accident on Aug. 3. Hamblin and three of his friends drove to San Diego for a few days of sun, surf and a baseball game between the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants at Jack Murphy Stadium. After arriving in San Diego, the group headed to Silver Strand Beach in Coronado.

During a mud fight near the shoreline, Hamblin bolted for the water to escape his mud-flinging friends. As he ran into the surf, a knee-high wave tripped him and sent him headfirst into the wet sand.

Hamblin immediately knew something was wrong. When he called for help, his friends ignored him, thinking he was acting. “None of my friends came because they thought I was fooling around,” Hamblin said.

However, someone nearby heard Hamblin’s distress call and tracked down a lifeguard, who instructed Hamblin to stay put in the water.

Three more lifeguards arrived and placed Hamblin in a neck brace from his chin to his upper abdomen and then strapped him to a board.

“When I was on the backboard, I didn’t realize the severity of it,” said Hamblin, who continued to joke with the lifeguards throughout the ordeal. “While I was on the backboard, I was telling the guys, ‘You people sure don’t look like the people on ‘Baywatch.’ ”

X-rays and other tests revealed that Hamblin had broken his sixth vertebra. But Hamblin still didn’t get the picture until the doctor said, “You broke your neck.”

Only then did Hamblin understand how close he came to permanent paralysis.

“A couple of times I’d really get down,” he said. “(I thought) why is this happening to me? I had to realize God is in control. Why ever this happened, there’s a reason.”

Hamblin remained in an upper-torso brace 24 hours a day for 2 1/2 months, but the cast was removed nearly six weeks earlier than expected. He healed so well, doctors canceled plans for reconstructive surgery. Hamblin attributes the quick recovery to prayer and his religious faith.

“I think what helped me out a lot was when other people started hearing about it and people started praying about it,” he said.

After he spent several games sitting on the bench in street clothes and being mistaken by referees for a Village Christian basketball coach, Hamblin worries about getting more playing time.

“Now there’s no more extenuating circumstances,” Hamblin joked.

And for that, he is thankful.