The Accident

Even now, Curtis Foster doesn’t quite know how he got there.

The only thing the ISU sophomore remembers clearly is waking up, finding himself lying in the median of Interstate 35, not knowing what had just happened to him and his teammate, Tyler Swanson.

“He was driving, and I fell asleep,” Foster said. “The next thing I knew, I woke up and I was laying in the median, in the grass.”

The first weekend in May had started with a trip home to Independence for Curtis. There the two had played in a golf outing and then moved on to Iowa City to visit friends.

They took off from Iowa City and had stopped at a rest area for a break before finishing their trip back to Ames.

And that’s the last thing Foster remembers.

“That’s the thing that’s weird,” Foster said. “The last thing I remember is stopping at the rest stop. I must have gone from sleeping to unconscious.”

An ambulance came and took the two to the hospital in Grinnell. There, the cuts on Foster’s arms and legs were treated. Swanson was almost immediately flown to University Hospitals in Iowa City, with Foster to follow approximately an hour later.

ISU men’s golf coach Jay Horton got the call early that Sunday morning, picking up the phone to hear what no one ever wants to hear.

“Cal, [Swanson’s father], called me that morning,” Horton said. “I got woken up at 6 a.m., and I know no phone call is good then. Cal was breaking up on the phone saying how Curtis and Tyler were in a car accident.”

Horton began a frantic search for information, stopping by the golfers’ apartment and calling anyone who may have had information about their condition.

The team was supposed to have had a cookout at Horton’s house that night to celebrate the successful season and to enjoy what the team had accomplished.

Swanson had won the Stevinson Ranch Invitational in California, while the team had taken home top honors at the ASU Indian Classic. Senior Jeremy Lyons had won the individual title at the same event, giving Iowa State two winners on the season.

“We were in shock,” Horton said. “Everyone was just in shock.”

Horton stayed in Iowa City, spending as much time as he could with his golfers.

“I tried to be there all the time for them,” Horton said. “When you have a small squad and you’re the only coach, you spend all the time with them. Every coach gets close to their players and I spend so much time with them.”

The Injury

Back in Iowa City, sooner than he had imagined, Foster was told he had a fracture in his L2 vertebrae. He described it as a smashed pop can, saying that even now, five months removed from the accident, he needs to avoid quick, sudden movements of his spine.

Doctors told him there was an 80 percent chance he wouldn’t have to have surgery.

“When you have surgery with this type of injury, you basically have to cement the vertebrae together,” Foster said. “That means no mobility and no playing golf — well, at least. I was pretty fortunate.”

Foster began his rehabilitation in Iowa City, starting small, walking around the hospital floor and doing very low-stress exercises — toe raises and squats with no weight.

“The first time I stood up was like I was squatting 300 pounds,” Foster said. “I did a lap around the hospital floor and I was just dead tired after that.”

Foster was also placed in a back brace, which he wore for 16 weeks.

Back to the course

Even with an injury that put his playing career in jeopardy, Foster was determined to get back onto the golf course.

Less then a month after the accident, Foster made it back onto the links, riding in a cart while watching a friend play. Six weeks after the accident he was able to chip and putt, and after nine weeks he was finally able to take half swings.

“It was amazing,” Foster said. “For a while after the accident I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play. The closer I came to getting 100 percent, the more I wanted to start playing.”

While he is at less then full strength, Foster is back where he belongs, wearing the cardinal and gold of a Cyclone golfer.

As one of the leaders of the team last season, Foster’s presence has added confidence to a young team.

“When the guys are going through workouts and they think they are too tough, they can just look at the guy next to them,” Horton said. “He’s been through a hell of a lot more then you’ve been through.”

Foster was put back into the Cyclone lineup for the second tournament of the year. Even though he shot rounds of 84 and 79, Horton knew his presence was good for the team.

“I saw him getting better in practice,” Horton said. “He wasn’t playing great, but I wanted him there because I thought he would make the other guys better.”

Foster was the last Cyclone finisher at the Adams Cup and was forced to qualify for the Purina Classic in St. Louis.

With the pressure on, Foster made the cut and teed it up for Iowa State this week.

Foster and his teammates will also be reunited with Swanson at the Purina Classic. Swanson will join the team in both St. Louis and at the Big 4 Championship in Cedar Rapids later this month.

Swanson’s presence is another step in both players’ healing process. The teammates and friends have been through a lot together, and will continue to fight until they are back at full strength, Foster said.

“You have no idea until you go through something like this how long of a haul it is,” Foster said. “You definitely take for granted the little things.”