September 18, 2004. Bret Fitzpatrick was driving to a farm sale when his truck tire blew out on a two-lane bridge. He lost control of his truck, went into the ditch, hit a power pole, rolled three times, and ended up in the water.
When Fitzpatrick came to, he was in the water and could no longer move his legs. That was the beginning of a long, tough journey for this young man who has found ways to adjust to his challenging life in rural Kansas.
Fitzpatrick grew up near Sterling where his family had a diversified crop and livestock operation. He majored in animal sciences and business at K-State. One summer, he got an internship with a meat processing company in Hutchinson and found he enjoyed meat science and food science work.
After graduation, he was hired as a food scientist in the research and development department. That company is now part of Tyson Foods.
Fitzpatrick met and married his wife who is from Buhler. He worked for Tyson and helped his dad on the farm.
Then the accident occurred. The truck cab was crushed directly behind where Fitzpatrick had been sitting and there were power lines down in the ditch. When he regained consciousness, he was outside the truck and spitting out water.
