PAGE A4 Tuesday, July 18, 2017
AT THE RODEO
Ty Hermelbracht of Nebraska is competing for Iowa in the team roping event at the National High School Finals Rodeo. Hes recovered from a pair of surgeries to remove much of a
tumor from his head.
Recovery through rodeo
Nebraska cowboy had to give up other sports, but uses rodeo to bounce back from brain surgery
By JASON KORT
NEWS RECORD WRITER
jkort@gillettenewsrecord.net
Rolling a four-wheeler wouldnt be a
highlight in most teens lives, and espe-
cially not for their parents.
But it may have saved the life of
Nebraska cowboy Ty Hermelbracht.
Hermelbracht, a repeat qualifier
in team roping at the National High
School Finals Rodeo, flipped the
family ATV on their farm in Rosalie,
Nebraska, when he was a seventh-grad-
er in 2011. The wreck didnt seem that
serious at first.
His mother, Jeane, went to the crash
site a half mile from their house to see
if her son was OK. She was respond-
ing to a phone call from a friend of
her sons who was with him when the
crash happened.
Ty helped get the four-wheeler back
on its wheels, but has no recollection of
doing that or anything else that week,
he said Sunday morning at his camp-
ground at the NHSFR.
When she saw her son bloody and
scraped up, Jeane said she knew she
needed to get him to a hospital. He was
acting weird and trying to fall asleep.
His father, Wes, was in the field har-
vesting corn and trying to finish the last
few acres. When he got the call from
his wife, he decided to park the com-
bine and check on his youngest child,
meeting Jeane and Ty at the Rosalie
Volunteer Fire Department.
I got a call and I just thought he had
S GILLETTE NEWS RECORD S GILLETTE, WYOMING
hit his head a little and would be fine,
Wes said. I decided to go in there, and
my brother finished picking that night.
The day after, Ty had a CAT scan
done just to make sure he was fine and
only had a concussion. Thats when the
reality of life and death hit him and the
family.
The precautionary CAT scan didnt
show anything more serious injuries
from the ATV crash, but it did reveal a
benign brain tumor that required sur-
gery.
I just went numb when all that hap-
pened, Wes said of hearing the news.
It really puts life into perspective when
something like that happens. His faith
in God got him through it.
It was a scary moment for the small-
town Nebraska family. Ty had surgery
Dec. 27, 2011, and then again exactly a
year later in 2012, to remove the tumor.
The first surgery got the job partially
done and ensured the surgery didnt
affect his fine motor skills.
Doctors originally had thought that
removing a portion of the tumor would
be enough, but it grew back over time
and required the second surgery.
Ty said when he learned the tumor
was still there is when he finally under-
stood how serious the condition could
be. The family stopped at Bomgaars
farm store in West Point on their way
home from that meeting with his doc-
tors.
The young cowboy fell apart. He said
he remembers finally losing his com-
posure and starting to cry right there in
the store.
Ty Hermelbracht sports a scar on
his head from surgery to remove a
tumor.
With the first surgery, I didnt really
understand it all and know what to
expect, he said. Before the second
surgery, I knew the dangers of it better
and possibly what could go wrong. I
wasnt sure how to grasp that.
Hermelbracht was a defensive end
on his junior high football team while
also competing in basketball and
baseball, but he was forced to give up
contact sports. Despite living in a foot-
ball-crazy state, rodeo was where his
heart was anyway.
For both surgeries, he was expected
to be in the hospital for at least two
weeks, but after three days he was
back home roping a dummy. After his
second surgery, Hermelbracht said he
was told that if the doctors had cut 1
centimeter closer to his brain, he would
have lost all of his memory and been
like the lady in the movie 50 First
Dates.
He was referring to the character
played by Drew Barrymore, who
couldnt remember anything beyond a
date years in the past. She had to learn
everything that had happened since
over again every day.
Hermelbracht said he understands
that a serious fall or blow to the head
could still have a major impact on his
life even possibly kill him.
But the now 18-year-old Nebraska
cowboy said he intends to follow his
heart, which is rodeo. Hes in Gillette,
making a return to the National High
School Finals Rodeo as a team roper.
Its life. Its a family tradition, he
said of rodeo. fI youre going to die,
you might as well die while doing
something you love.
Rodeo was his main sport before his
tumor was discovered, and while he
had to give up other sports, there was
never a thought to stop rodeoing. Being
on his horse, Lola, has always been the
first priority.
All I did was focus on rodeo more,
News Record Photos/Kelly Wenzel
he said of his time since discovering
the tumor. I guess thats made it easier
to excel, with only one thing on my
mind.
Hermelbracht said he has to get an
annual MRI and still has some (of the
tumor showing up) on there, but its
good.
Hes back at the NHSFR with team
roping partner Dalton Wieneke. The
duo paired up to win the Iowa state
title last season, but finished fourth this
year.
Both of us just werent clicking
this year. We were trying too hard,
Hermelbracht said. But were still con-
fident coming into nationals, because
weve come a long way.
There is still some danger of falling
off a horse or taking a blow to the head
from an ornery calf. But Wes said he
and his wife have learned that keeping
Ty in a protective bubble would have
been an even worse emotional death
for their son.
Doctors have told Ty that left
unchecked, he could have eventually
gone blind and even died from the
tumor. If not for that ATV rollover in
2011, the cowboy said he never would
have learned about the tumor in his
head in time to do something about it.
Watching Ty go through his struggles
while excelling in the familys favorite
sport is an inspiration, his father said.
God works in mysterious ways, he
said.
Tys story also is confirmation for
those who believe everything happens
for a reason.