Today's Blog entry comes from Jon Hart, Associate Athletic Director at Dakota Wesleyan University. Jon shares the story of his hunting accident on October 26, 2014. Hart continues on the road to recovery and we continue to send thoughts and prayers his way as more is learned in the days and weeks to come. Jon Hart is a former student-athlete in the GPAC before assuming his current role at DWU. His father, Curt, is the Athletic Director at DWU and his sister Amanda is a GA Coach for the Tigers women's basketball team and former GPAC intern. Thank you Jon for sharing your story and reflections with us on our Blog.
The date of Oct. 26th has always been a day very familiar to me, as it is my father’s birthday. Now that date holds an additional meaning that will stick with me.
I
had just finished up a successful day of walking the fields pheasant hunting
with a group of friends. We were a few birds short of our limit with the sun
beginning to set. We decided to take the rural roads home with the hope of
spotting a few more birds to cap off the day. Unfortunately we ended up seeing
one bird too many.As we were traveling down a gravel road (in basically the middle of nowhere) we spotted a rooster in the ditch on the right side of the road. I was seated in the backseat behind the driver of a four-door pickup. We stopped the truck in hopes we wouldn’t spook the bird before we could walk the ditch to flush him out. As I exited the truck and made my way towards the ditch, my friend driving was just getting out of the vehicle. As he stepped out of the vehicle he grabbed his gun with his right arm. As he tried to close the door with his left arm, his right arm wasn’t fully out of the vehicle and the door jerked his right arm back causing his finger to slip and pull the trigger. The gun discharged and I was standing roughly ten feet away as the shell struck the inside of my left ankle and partially exited the outside of my foot.
It took me a few seconds to realize what happened. I looked down at my hunting boot and obviously knew I had been shot. We drove to the closest highway and met an ambulance which took me to a hospital in Parkston, S.D. Shortly after that I was airlifted to Sioux Falls, S.D., roughly 70 miles away. To make a long story short, I underwent multiple surgeries from a plastic and orthopedic surgeons. The accident resulted in me spending eight days in the Sioux Falls hospital.
Those eight days in the hospital put so many things into perspective. After my first surgery I woke up to 172 text messages from family, friends, colleagues, and strangers. Like any ordeal you expect your family and friends to be there for you. I can’t even begin to explain how helpful and supportive those two specific groups were for me.
Outside of my close family and friends I received an overwhelming amount of support from colleagues of Dakota Wesleyan University and the entire Great Plains Athletic Conference. After receiving many visits, gifts, cards, phone calls, and messages, I thought to myself how fortunate I am to be working with so many great people. Where else would you receive visits from the league commissioner, athletic directors, coaches, and student athletes from within the conference?
Working within the GPAC has been a phenomenal experience for countless reasons and the support I received after my accident is a perfect example. I realized how special our conference was while I was a student athlete at DWU. Being a sports management major, I paid close attention to how the GPAC conducted itself and hoped I could continue to be a part of it once I graduated. Now as an administrator I get to work behind the scenes and see why we are so successful. It starts with the people. We have so many great people working within the GPAC who strive to improve their program, school, the conference and the NAIA.
When attending national NAIA meetings I am always proud to say Dakota Wesleyan is a member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference. The entirety of the GPAC staff, schools, academic and athletic programs set the bar for everything the NAIA stands for.
Currently, I am still not able to bear weight on my ankle/foot. I get around from point A to B with the help of family and friends and also with a knee scooter. I am hoping to be back on both feet within the next few weeks. It has been a rough couple months, but the support of my family, friends, DWU and the GPAC have made things much easier. So, I wanted to take this blog entry as an opportunity to say “thank you”. Ultimately, our member schools share a unique bond and I am very humbled to be a part of it.
-Jon Hart
Learn more about Jon Hart HERE
Follow him on Twitter @jonnyhart5
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