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With hard work and determination, Butts makes his return to the track
On Jan. 8, Clay City’s Russell Butts was in a serious automobile accident with his older brother, Corbin, that left him with a broken mandible, elbow, spine, pelvis and ribs, as well as a pair of severely sprained ankles.
Butts was sent to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis where he began his long road to recovery alongside his family.
The junior had his ups and downs during his time in the hospital but gradually took steps – literally and figuratively – in the right direction each day, although he admitted the worst part of his stay was seeing his muscles depart his body.
“It’s been very rough the last few months,” said Butts. “Sitting in a hospital [for that long] really takes away all of your muscles, but I’ve been in therapy three times a week working on that. My therapist, Danielle, has been really pushing me and getting me to where I’m alright.”
Butts made significant progress during his one-plus-month stay at IU Methodist and was cleared to head back home to Brazil. The doctor’s signed off on him returning to the Clay City boys basketball bench in the middle of February and allowed him to be with the Eels for the remainder of the season.
Although he wasn’t able to suit up with his teammates, he continued to go to therapy and was gaining his muscles back day-by-day, which brought him into the high school track and field season this spring.
Butts, a known trash talker on the team according to head coach Cole Schroer, let anybody that would listen to him know that he’d be back and running for the Eels before school got out at the end of May.
And after skimming the schedule, he circled the May 5 meet against North Daviess as the one he was determined to be back for.
“I told my therapist I wanted to run on May 5 about a month ago. She goes, ‘Well, I don’t know if we’ll be running by then.’ I said, ‘I can make myself run,’” Butts recalled.
So, with that in mind, Butts said he began pushing himself more than he ever had in his life. He credited the support of his family, friends, teammates, coaches and community members for helping him get into a position where running in Thursday’s meet against North Daviess was even a possibility.
“I felt great doing it. I’ve had a lot of support the entire time,” said Butts.
Schroer has had a watchful eye on Butts and knew he was prepared to run after the absolute determination he put into his rehab and build up to Thursday.
“It’s been a rollercoaster for him. He’s obviously been determined, but you know, he’s had days where he can work his rear end off and then there’s days where he’s exhausted and needs rest. It’s been that kind of a rollercoaster for him, but we talked a long time ago and he was like, ‘Can I run in this meet?’ I said, ‘If you can run, you can run in the meet,’” said Schroer. “He’s been working back to get to this. He’s been working with his physical therapist for weeks and weeks. The goal was for him to [run] tonight.”
There was serious doubt throughout the morning and afternoon that Butts would get the chance to run as rain fell in Clay City for the majority of the day. But Mother Nature stopped the rain in the early evening and kept the inclement weather away for the rest of the night, which allowed the dual meet between the Eels and North Daviess to take place and meant Butts would get to make his triumphant return to the track after all.
He was placed in Lane 8 for the 400 and made his way around the track in 1:31.4. That could have been the end of his day if he wanted it to be. However, he informed Schroer he felt fine and asked if he could also run in the 800.
Schroer obliged and let the Butts twins line up side-by-side for the 800 race. Butts finished it in a time of 3:56.4, and as soon as he crossed the finish line, he was met by a standing ovation that brought tears to his eyes. He hugged his brothers, Dylan and Corbin, as well as his coaches and teammates who all told him how proud they were of him.
Butts was proud of himself too, he said.
“It was a little rough, but it felt great,” said Butts of his races. “I was just very proud of myself for working so hard. I was just very emotional. Actually, being back on the track for the first time since the wreck happened, it’s just crazy.”
Like Butts, Schroer couldn’t hold back his emotions after seeing the junior that was bedridden in a hospital and unable to walk due to the amount of broken bones in his body return to the track and run the 400 and 800 less than four months after the car accident that shook the Clay County community to its core.
He knows Butts isn’t where he wants to be, but on Thursday, they reached the light at the end of the tunnel they’d be walking towards for so long.
“It was so good to see him get back out there again,” said Schroer. “It’s been an emotionally draining semester. Watching him be in pain and at times seeing him down and out, I don’t even know how to describe it because I know he’s not where he wants to be yet, but this was like, ‘We’re not there yet but we’re going to get there.’ You say that over and over again in January and in February you say that over and over and in March you say that over and over and in April you say that over and over and now, you can feel it. It’s like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to get through this. He’s going to be himself again.’ That just makes me so happy. I’m just so proud of him for working the way that he has.”