Veteran football coach Rick Rice on son's recovery heading into Father's Day: 'A miracle is what it was'
This likely will be the best Father's Day that Rick Rice has ever had.
No matter what else he receives, the second-year Rockvale football coach will have his best present sitting right next to him.
That's almost a miracle, considering the condition his middle son Austin was in following an Oct. 1 automobile accident.
"No doubt this will be the most special Father's Day I've ever had," said Rick, who was the coach for 21 years at Wayne County, where he saw all three of his sons play quarterback.
Almost nine months after the accident, Austin has made improbable strides in his recovery. Doing rehabilitation and therapy at Atlanta's Shepherd Center, he makes trips back to Tennessee to be with family on some weekends.
"I am just glad to be alive," said Austin, 26. "I get to be a father to (2-year-old daughter Rhemi Anne)."
It didn't look promising after the accident. There were times Rick feared he was going to lose his son.
'A miracle is what it was'
Austin suffered several critical injuries in the single-automobile accident, including severing his carotid artery and several nerves in his left arm.
He had swelling on his brain, which not only put is life in danger, but also prevented doctors from repairing the other damage.
While being lifeflighted to Vanderbilt, Austin suffered several strokes as medical personnel closed his carotid artery to prevent him from bleeding to death.
The next two weeks were frightening and uncertain.
"On two different occasions they came in and told us there was no way he would have any quality of life," Rick said. "He laid there (at Vanderbilt Medical Center) for three weeks on a ventilator. They didn't tell us to pull the plug, but they were saying he wouldn't have any quality of life and we had to make a decision.
"We weren't going to do that."
Things improved during the third week when Austin started moving his leg.
"He got to kicking like crazy," Rick said. "A miracle is what it was. At that point, I thought, 'We've got a chance here.'"
He was later moved to Nashville's Select Specialty Hospital, where he continued making progress with lower body movement.
He qualified for the Shepherd Center and checked in right after Thanksgiving.
"When he went down there, things really took off," Rick said. "The people there are amazing. "
Austin has had months of therapy and a March 12 surgery to replace a piece of his skull that had been removed to ease the swelling of his brain. He now has full use of his lower body and is able to raise his once-paralyzed left arm and move 2-3 fingers.
"It's been a difficult process," Austin said. "It's been memorable. It made me tougher."
Added Rick: "His mom (Christi) has been with him every step of the way. She hasn't worked since Sept. 30."
Family tradition
Rice, 56, has a career record of 203-133, with 176 of those wins coming at Wayne County, including the Class 1A state championship in 2011 when Austin was the quarterback.
Oldest son Tyler, who is the co-offensive coordinator at North Alabama, was the 2010 Class 1A Mr. Football. He got married on Saturday.
Youngest son Preston, a standout quarterback at Murray State, was the 2016 1A Mr. Football.
Austin was a self-employed pressure washer before the accident. Once he completes his rehab and physical therapy, which included vocal chord surgery this past week, he plans on finishing college, where he lacks 27 hours.
"I got to thinking about it the other day," Rick said. "I still have all three of my boys. I wasn't sure if I was going to have Austin. I'm thankful and grateful."
Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.