Hank Holland Perseveres

Hank Holland is interesting because he perseveres through struggle and strife, no matter the odds.

            When Hank Holland was in his freshman year at the University of Oklahoma, his life changed forever.

           

            Holland grew up in Oklahoma City playing all different types of sports. His three favorites, and the ones he excelled at most were basketball soccer and golf.

            “I’ve loved playing sports ever since I can remember. They just came natural to me,” Holland said.

            Sports took an even bigger role in Holland’s life when he got to High school where he attended Oklahoma Christian School. He was on the varsity teams in both basketball and soccer as a freshman.

            When Holland graduated high school he decided that he wanted to attend the University of Oklahoma where he would major in business. He also decided that he wanted to join a fraternity, so he signed with Sigma Phi Epsilon.

            “I wanted to be involved with something when I got to college, and when I met a lot of the guys in Sig Ep, I knew it was a good fit,” Holland said.

            On OU’s campus, intramural sports are very popular among the fraternity houses. Each house tries to get as many wins as possible and accumulate points  throughout the whole school year. Holland was excited for another opportunity to compete in the sports he loves so much.

            On march 28^th, during intramural soccer season; Holland was playing forward for his Sig Ep team when the worst happened.

            “I was running towards the ball and collided with the goalie,” Holland said. “When I started falling backwards, I tried to use my hand to catch myself and that’s when it broke.”

            His arm was broken to where you could see the bone almost breaking through the skin. Holland was immediately taken to the hospital where he had surgery soon after.

           

            What was supposed to be a normal procedure turned into something worse. After the surgery his arm was wrapped incorrectly and it pinched a nerve. Immediately his hand swelled up to the size of a softball.

            “I could tell by the doctors face that he didn’t even know what had happened. After he examined it he told me I may never have feeling in my right hand again and that sports would be almost impossible,” Holland said.

            After the swelling went down, his fingers were curled over and he was unable to open them. His forearm was covered with a bright red scar and he had severe nerve damage.

            One percent of all hospital patients are victims of malpractice according to the Civil Justice Resource Group. The most common broken bone is the wrist for people under 75 years old. About one in every twenty fractures involves the humerus according to Midwest Orthopaedics. In 2006 there were over 160,000 injuries from playing soccer according to the National Center for Sports Safety.

Basketball isn’t the only thing that Holland would not be able to do easily. Simple tasks such as texting, typing, eating and playing video games were now difficult.

            “At first when I looked at my hand I didn’t see how it would be possible to pick up a golf club or shoot a basketball again,” Holland said. “After awhile I was tired of not being able to do what I wanted to do, so I decided to change that.”

Brittany Bates is Holland’s girlfriend and she had a hard time seeing her boyfriend not be able to do everyday tasks.

            “It was really difficult seeing him so upset at first,” Bates said. “I knew he wouldn’t sit around for long though, he’s too much of a motivated person.”

            Holland wasn’t the type of person who didn’t like hearing what he could and couldn’t do. He was determined to prove people wrong so he could live his life the way he had planned before his injury.

            Playing video games again was the first thing he mastered one handed. Then he was able find a way to type efficiently with one hand. But there was another thing that Holland wanted to try out again: basketball.

            Holland made a name for himself for being a great ball handler that could play great defense. Those things are a lot harder when you only have one good hand and the other hand is sensitive when touched.  He wasn’t going to let his hand hold him back from playing the game he knew so well.

“I loved the game of basketball way too much to never be able to play again. I had to find a way,” Holland said.

            Holland bought a pad that he could wear on his arm for protection and the rest is history. He started going up to the Houston Huffman center on OU’s campus and began teaching himself the fundamentals of basketball again.

            “I just started by dribbling and learning how to go different directions with just one good hand. I also had to change up the shooting form that I had used for so long,” Holland said. “I wasn’t able to use the right hand for support anymore. It completely changed my style of play.”

            Holland was able to keep working at it and started playing pick up games again. He continues to get better and better and is even playing intramural sports again.

            “I didn’t like just sitting and watching people do what I wanted to do,” Holland said. “I wasn’t going to let my injury hold me back from living my life.”