There and back again: A Burlington senior's journey

The hero's journey is the most common plot type in film and with good reason. What's not to love about a seemingly ordinary person battling through adversity to achieve a goal that's said to be unattainable. It's why movies like "Star Wars" or "The Wizard of Oz" are so loved, normal people rising to the challenge. For as great as these stories are, they're scripted. Luke was supposed to bring down The Empire and Dorthy was supposed to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West. 

The hero's journeys with the most punch are the ones happening every day, the ones that don't involve mystical powers or convenient storytelling. Just ordinary people rising to the occasion

The event

Each hero's journey starts the same, the hero is enjoying life things are on the up and up, until one day a life changing event occurs forever changing the hero and starting them upon their journey.

For Burlington Husky senior Zariah Tolman that day came on July 30, 2015. Zariah was riding her street motorcycle and looking to pass the vehicle in front of her. As she was passing, the driver of the vehicle was unaware of Zariah and took a left turn, slamming right into her. 

Zariah was flung from her motorcycle and by the time the dust had settled she was in a ditch, her body broken.

The wreck had broken each of Zariah's radius and ulna in two places, a shattered scaphoid in her right hand, a broken right femur in several places, severed her quads and torn off a part of her right toe. The one silver lining in the accident was she had missed the delineator post and hadn't been entangled in any barbwire fence.

Hitting rock bottom

Next in the hero's journey is rock bottom, the questioning if things will ever be the same and how to get back to normal.

Zariah's surgery on her right leg lasted five hours alone, after that she had a few more surgeries as doctors placed rods, pins and screws in her arms, leg and hip, performed skin grafts and removed another half of a toe.

On top of the physical pain there was the emotional fallout from the accident to deal with. The doctor who performed Zariah's first round of surgeries wasn't optimistic she'd ever walk again let alone pole vault or play basketball again. This was devastating news for an athlete who just won her first 1A pole vaulting championship and was looking forward to providing senior leadership for the Lady Huskies 2015-2016 basketball campaign.

The turnaround

After the hero has hit the emotional bottom, this is when the uniqueness of the hero kicks in, the refusal to accept fate as is and instead be the author of their own destiny.

After the wreck Zariah spent two weeks in the hospital, then six weeks later had another round of surgeries and finally eight weeks after her accident she was set to begin physical therapy. Her goal was to be ready for the start of basketball season and she was determined to show everyone that she was going to hit that goal.

She had already taken the doubts about her ever walking again and dropped kicked those out the window. A week after she was told walking was not promising, she was already up and taking her first steps.

Zariah credits her stubbornness as one of the many reasons for her recovery. "I'm stubborn and when someone tells me 'you won't be able to do that' I tell them really, well watch this," said Zariah defiantly. 

Zariah also credits her mother Penny and brother Garrick as her biggest cheerleaders. They would be her emotional support giving her the extra boost on days she had setbacks or was wiped out mentally and physically. "My mom was more subtle, she'd say things like 'you can do this' or 'let's work for it.' While my brother was more direct by saying 'get your crap together' or 'come on, pick it up'," Zariah said laughingly.

Along with her support, there were moments the provided big boost to like when she began to walk again or relearned to write. "The looks of pride and admiration, that I got from my mom, dad or others who love me, as I progressed in my recovery. It gave off that feeling like everything was perfect and those were the moments I'll remember forever," said Zariah.

One final setback

Just as the hero is on their way to accomplishing their goal, there is one final setback to test the resolve.

Five months after her accident Zariah was cleared to play basketball for her senior season. Practices had gone very well and the excitement a new season was building. Then during one practice she tripped over a teammate and hit her head, resulting in a concussion. With the concussion and all that she had been through previously it was decided for her wellbeing that she not participate in basketball.

"It was trying," said Zariah disappointingly "The girls would say 'we miss you out there' and I'd go to the games and help keep stats but it wasn't the same, it was really hard."

The breakthrough

The final setback directly leads to the breakthrough, this is when the hero has the epiphany and everything starts to click and the montage is cued. 

With basketball out of the equation Zariah turned her focus toward the sport she loves most, pole vaulting. Burlington's outdoor season was still months away, she joined Cody High School's indoor track team and started readying her title defense of her outdoor championship. At the state indoor championships Zariah finished fourth in the pole vault and then turned her sights to the outdoor season.

The success

The emotional roller coaster ride that was the journey and for all the bumps and roadblocks, it culminates to the perfect moment, the achievement of the desired goal.

If you were to look at Zariah's outdoor season within a vacuum it would be impressive enough, repeating as the Wyoming Classic pole vaulting champion, defending her 1A girls pole vaulting championship, along with all-conference and all-state accommodations. Then you remember 10 months ago she was in the hospital being told she may never walk again. It is mind-blowing how far she's come in a short amount of time.

An inspiration in every sense of the word and a testament to the strength of the human spirt, this bounce back earned her the Wyoming Coaches Association Profile in Courage award at the Wyoming State Track Meet last weekend.

Having graduated Monday from Burlington High School with a 4.0 GPA, a 34 ACT score, president of the FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) and SkillsUSA. Next in line for Zariah will be attending MSU-Bozeman, where she signed her letter of intent to pole vault for the university. Her next goal will to become a neurosurgeon with the hope to better understand and help those with mental needs. "I've dealt with depression before, and after the accident I've had mild PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Then taking my college prep courses this year like anatomy, medical terminology and psychology it peaked my interest in neuroscience," said Zariah explaining her interest in becoming a neurosurgeon.

"I'd like to change the world by getting involved in research development," Zariah said, adding, "I had a lot of bad days during my recovery where I didn't feel like continuing and wanted to give up, but I had great people around me like my mom and brother pushing and encouraging me. I want to help the people who are going through difficult times and feel like calling it quits. I want to empower them to overcome their struggles, just like Dr. (Brian) Drake did for me and changed my life, I want to do the same thing by being there for those and give them a second chance like I had."

One final note on the hero's journey, after their journey has come to a close and they've accomplished their goal. They set out on another expedition, one in which they look to use their learned experiences and help others along the way in their respective journeys, something Zariah is already prepping for.