Sports

A GOOD WALK SPOILED

You’re playing golf, walking down the fairway. Suddenly, you slip and fall head-first into a water hazard. Your head bangs into a rock and you become paralyzed.

Seems like a dream gone bad, but that’s exactly what happened to Bob Labbance, who nearly lost his life after a nasty tumble on a New Hampshire golf course.

Author of 14 golf books, former editor of New York Golf magazine and 8-handicapper from Vermont, the 52-year-old Labbance never imagined such a calamity could happen to him, particularly on a golf course.

He was heading down the sixth fairway with a double-strap bag over his shoulders when his legs went flying on a narrow, rain-soaked foot bridge. After splashing into four feet of water, he never lost consciousness as he floated face down, helplessly.

“I knew exactly what had happened,” Labbance recalled via speaker phone from his hospital bed. “I knew I was seriously injured. I couldn’t feel my legs and arms. They were just jangling, vibrating, tingling.”

Fortunately, his playing partner, Kevin Mendik, raced to the rescue, pulling him out and phoning for help. Minutes later, Labbance was in an air ambulance on his way to a nearby hospital.

For the first few days, he endured “total pain.” There was some feeling in his every part of his body, but his arms and hands were useless.

Three days after the accident, doctors performed surgery to relieve pressure between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae. The 5½-hour operation was a success, and Labbance gradually began to move his legs and knees.

A few more days passed, and the doctors got him to sit up in bed for what he later called “the most painful minute of my life.”

Despite the pain, Labbance kept getting up. Soon, he could feel his wife, Kathie, as she squeezed his hand. He got his pinky to move one inch off the bed. And he was absolutely delighted when the nurses tilted him up to watch the final hour of a golf tournament on TV.

Last week Labbance was moved to the Fletcher Allen rehab facility in Colchester, Vt., to begin 6-12 months of physical therapy.

“His spirits are high; his courage certainly surpasses my own,” his wife said, noting that he remains upbeat and remarkably optimistic.

“There’s been an ironic upside about all this,” Labbance said. “It helped me connect with my family and friends.

“I learned a lot about who my friends are and what they mean to me. I was touched by all the people who came to the hospital; some even stayed all night in the room with me. It’s been a difficult but amazing experience.”

Amazing, indeed.