Gatesville pastor overcomes odds after injury, coma to run marathons

By Andrew Keese
Killeen Daily Herald

GATESVILLE - The Rev. Jonathan Swanson didn't like it when doctors told him he would likely never be able to run again or go back to college.

Even after a brain injury, coma, paralysis and skeptical doctors, Swanson, who is currently the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Gatesville, clung to his dreams.

Not only would Swanson walk again, he made it all the way to running marathons, including the Boston Marathon earlier this year.

Not only would Swanson go back to college and complete his bachelor's degree in economics, he also got a master's of divinity from Princeton and is finishing up on his doctorate at Baylor University in Waco.

"Even though I came back from incredible odds, I think it was the grace of God in me," said Swanson, referring to Corinthians in the Bible. "I really feel like God put that motivation in me."

Things weren't looking so rosy for Swanson back in 1988 when he suffered a nasty fall during a skiing trip to Maine. The then-College of William & Mary student was on spring break and was at the bottom of the slope when suddenly his skis got tangled, causing him to tumble.

His head absorbed much of the fall, and he was in a coma for the next two weeks.

When he came to, he was paralyzed on the right side of his body and suffering from short-term memory loss. Then came the prognosis and nine months of rehabilitation, including speech and physical therapy.

"They felt I would walk again, but I'd walk with a severe limp," said the 37-year-old. "They doubted I would be able to go back to college."

During Swanson's stay at Mount Vernon Hospital in Virginia, his neurologist wanted him to make goals for himself, but he wanted him to be practical and focus on the things he would likely be able to do.

Running and going to back to college were goals that would probably set Swanson up for failure, the neurologist told him.

But, Swanson persisted.

"I asked him, 'Who are you to tell me what my goals are?'"

The doctor responded: "Are you willing to do what it takes to achieve these goals?"

Swanson was.

"When something is taken from you, you want to do it that much more," he said. "Look at Lance Armstrong."

Armstrong, like Swanson, returned from incredible odds, recovering from life-threatening cancer to go back to professional cycling and win the Tour de France, the hardest and most competitive of races in cycling.

When Swanson graduated from William & Mary, he went to work as a research assistant in the Federal Reserve under Allan Greenspan.

Swanson - whose grandfather was Maj. Gen. Frank Alden Tobey, chief of chaplains for the Army - decided to focus his career on God, getting his master's in divinity in 1996.

"I had toyed with the idea of becoming a pastor since I was young," he said. "This experience (of the head injury) gave me a sense of compassion for people going through traumatic experiences."

He moved to Texas in 1999 to pursue his doctorate degree in theological ethics. His dissertation is on the relationship of religion and Medicare.

"I feel like we need to engage that issue," said Swanson, who is also an instructor in Baylor's honor college. "I bring in religion because it deals with end-of-the-life issues. ... I believe the church has a unique contribution to make."

Swanson, who ran track in high school in Virginia, began to run again about a year after the skiing accident. He didn't start running marathons, however, until he came to Texas.

Somehow, the feeling he got when arrived here motivated him to achieve even greater running feats.

"I was dealing with arthritis before I got here," he said. "When you get down here, it is like having a weight lifted off your shoulders."

Swanson ran his first marathon in 2001, but said he doesn't really count that because he had to walk at the end. He returned the next year and ran the whole way.

His times in the marathon are especially remarkable considering he wasn't even supposed to run again after his accident. He ran a personal best of 2 hours and 48 minutes at the Motorola Marathon in Austin last year.

This year, he ran the Boston Marathon in 2 hours and 51 minutes in 85-degree weather.

Swanson, who volunteers as a long-distance running coach at Gatesville Junior High School, said despite his accomplishments, he'll never get over that day on the skiing slope in Maine.

"People think I'm all recovered," he said. "You are never completely recovered from something like that."

The right side of his body feels numb, much like what happens when someone has a limb that feels asleep when he puts pressure on it the wrong way. He said he still has problems with his memory and has trouble writing.

The hopeless moment on the ski slopes actually gave Swanson all the direction he needed in life.

"It reaffirmed to me the truth we are all dependent on God," he said. "Do we really know how helpless we stand before God until something like that happens?"

Martie Simpson, an accountant with the city of Killeen, a Gatesville resident and one of Swanson's friends, said Swanson is a person everyone can look to when they are faced with challenges in their lives.

"I think everyone has something in their life they have to overcome," she said. "He is an inspiration to all of us, athletically and spiritually."

Most central to Swanson's ability to overcome was his faith in God, Simpson said.

"He truly loves the Lord," she said.

Contact Andrew Keese at akeese@kdhnews.com