by SEAN KIMMONS

GABRIEL

More than five months after Justin Gabriel fell 25 feet into an Austin creek bed and lay unconscious until being discovered 14 hours later, the former Hays High School track star is out of his coma and on the long road to recovery.
Recently, the 27-year-old was transported to Deer Creek of Wimberley Rehabilitation Specialists to continue his treatment for a serious head injury.

“His cognition has improved tremendously,” said Justin’s father, Jim Gabriel, of Buda. “He knows what’s going on around him.”

Justin, a 2001 Hays graduate, competed in high school track and cross country and then ran collegiately at Adams State in Colorado. Although he is still unable to eat independently or speak he can now use non-verbal communication, such as blinking and nodding.

This seems to be a medical breakthrough, as his family was told after the fall that he would only have a 10 percent chance to regain cognition.

“We’re way beyond those odds now,” Jim Gabriel said. “Things will continue to move forward.”

In the next six to 12 months, Jim hopes his son’s condition will improve and enable him to talk, eat and stand up. Then, Justin will move back home where Jim and his wife, Jeri, can care for him.

The chance of a full recovery looks bleak for Justin, but his family thinks he can still be self-sufficient to some degree in the future.

“We’re certainly more optimistic than we were months ago,” Jim Gabriel said.

With medical bills mounting in the three-quarter of a million dollar range, friends of the Gabriels are planning events to defray some of the debt.

“His medical bills have far exceeded any resources that we have,” Jim Gabriel said.

The Quail Creek Country Club in San Marcos is slated to hold “Drives for Justin,” a golf tournament in Justin’s honor on May 8. The entry fee is $75 and sponsorship is $200 in the four-person scramble.

The runner’s apparel store Run-Tex Riverside in Austin, where Justin worked before his injury, is also looking at upcoming events to raise $25,000 to help retrofit the Gabriel’s home for Justin’s pending arrival.

“My family continues to be amazed at the kindness of our friends and Justin’s friends,” Jim Gabriel said. “The job is not over. Our goal is to give this kid a chance again.”

The Gabriels maintain a blog at www.caringbridge.org/visit/justingabriel to give updates on his status. Donations can also be made on the Web site.