In the spring of 2023, five Carolina Men’s Track & Field athletes were in a car crash, and student-athletes Patrick Anderson and Will Coogan suffered catastrophic injuries. They went from athletes at the top of their game, to fighting to survive, to grueling rehab and long-term physical challenges. Patrick is the author of a blog series in which he discusses life lessons learned and his ongoing personal and athletic development. We’re sharing his blog entry below that recounts the crash and his road to recovery. Read all of them at substack.com/@patrickganderson.

Meaningful Suffering

I remember the overwhelming pain. Every breath was a battle, and I knew if I stopped forcing the air in, I might die. My body was broken, but my mind had been trained for this moment long before I ever found myself fighting for my life.

It was the same instinct that had carried me through grueling training sessions and brutal races — the ability to push past pain, to focus only on the next step, to endure what seemed unbearable for just a little longer. That mindset saved my life.

“If you can keep breathing right now, they will find a way to save your life.” That was my only thought before I slipped back into unconsciousness.

Later, I learned just how close I had come to dying. The paramedic who dropped me off at the hospital returned hours later, expecting the worst. He asked around the trauma bay, looking for any news of me. When he found my mom, he couldn’t believe what he heard … I was still alive. He had assumed I wouldn’t survive more than a few hours, and if I did, he expected catastrophic brain damage.

That put everything into perspective. It wasn’t just luck. It wasn’t just medical intervention. I had held on with everything I had, and somehow, I was still here.

For perspective, there are 46 bones in the human face, and at least half of mine were crushed or shattered. I had to learn the definition of the word “comminuted,” which Webster defines as “a fracture in which the bone is splintered or crushed into numerous pieces.” Almost all of the bones in my face had this word listed next to them. My spine was also broken in four different places, yet I wasn’t paralyzed. There were fractures through my skull, but I was still alive. My eye was punctured, but today, I can still see. I had no reason to still be here, except for the fact that I refused to let go.

The People Who Kept Me Going

Survival wasn’t just about me. It was also about the people around me — the ones who showed up in ways I will never be able to repay.

One of my only memories from that morning came back to me a week later. I was in my hospital bed, blind and barely conscious, when some of my older teammates came to visit. I couldn’t see them, so they had to tell me who they were. And then I heard a thick Australian accent — Jesse.

The moment I heard his voice, the memory slammed into me. It was Jesse’s Australian voice that had been with me in the moments after the crash. “You’re gonna to be alright, mate. Just a few scrapes. You’re gonna be okay.”

What was later described to me was a horrific scene. A dark, rainy morning. My body had been crumpled in the wreckage. Jesse, sitting in a ditch, my crushed head in his lap, soaked in my blood, doing anything he could to keep me alive until the ambulance arrived.

If that doesn’t speak to the power of the people around you, I don’t know what does.

So, ask yourself:

• Do you have people in your life who will do whatever it takes to help you in your darkest moments?
• Will you be that person for someone else?

My family was there around the clock, sleeping on small hospital chairs and doing anything needed to help. My mom and dad stayed away from home for six weeks, making sure I had everything I needed. They met with doctors, asked endless questions, and never left my side. They sacrificed their routines, their comfort, and their sense of normalcy just to make sure I was being taken care of in the best way possible. I am blessed to have this family. Likewise, my girlfriend, my close friends, and my teammates supported me in ways I will never be able to repay.

My coach, Milt, was another person who carried me through. He would come to my hospital room, sit next to my bed, and hold my hand when I couldn’t see or move. “Patrick, you’ve got this. We’re going to get back to running together.”

I don’t know if Milt truly believed that at the time. I don’t even know if I believed it. But the words mattered. You need people who will keep you going when you can’t do it yourself.

Finding Perspective in the Pain

The pain was beyond anything I had ever imagined. At first, my only goal was to make it through the next five seconds. Then, the next five minutes. Then, the next hour.

I learned to find joy in the smallest things. Being spoon-fed a bite of ice cream for dinner felt like a victory. Moving my legs was a breakthrough. Every tiny step forward became something to celebrate.

Perspective is everything. When you’re staring down months of agony and struggle, progress feels impossible. The only way through is to focus on the next right thing.

One of my favorite quotes is from Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning:
“Everything can be taken from you except one thing: the ability to choose your attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose your way.”

Frankl survived the concentration camps, where everything was stripped from him. He watched people around him lose hope and die. But he realized one undeniable truth: when people gave up mentally, their bodies followed.

I know that if I hadn’t spent years training my mind to find a way through suffering, I might not be here today. My friends could have been attending my funeral instead of visiting me in the hospital.

You Create Your Own Luck

Last year, I had breakfast with Dr. Mathew Miller, the surgeon who put my face back together. We talked about his own story; a head-on collision with a car while riding his bike in the Blue Ridge Mountains his junior year of college. His face was shattered. He should have died. But somehow, he survived.

He went on to medical school, trained under the same surgeons who had saved his life, completed a fellowship at Harvard, and then became the Director of the Facial Nerve Center at UNC less than a year before my accident, just in time to put my face back together.

At breakfast, he told me something I’ll never forget: “Patrick, never forget that you create your own luck.”

Yes, medical intervention mattered. Yes, circumstances played a role. But mindset is everything. The way you think shapes the outcome. And even in the worst situations, you can influence your future by how you choose to respond.

The Power of Choice

One last quote that has stuck with me: “I’m not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.” – Jung

We don’t control what happens to us. We don’t control other people. But we control ourselves. We control how we think, how we act, how we respond. And in that, we have everything we need.

When life takes everything from you, you still have one thing left: your ability to choose. And that choice, more than anything, determines your future.

What I Hope You Take Away

Perspective is everything. When things are hard, find joy in the small wins.
Gratitude is everything. No matter how much has been taken from you, focus on what remains.
Relationships matter. Surround yourself with people who will lift you up and be that person for others.
Mindset determines everything. You create your own luck. The way you think will shape your future.

No matter how hard it gets, you can always keep going. Even when it’s breathtakingly hard.

Patrick Anderson ran his first career sub four-minute mile (3:58.69) at the 2025 John Thomas Terrier Classic.