14-year-old Harlow Delzell defies the odds to return to volleyball months after a severe ATV accident.
DALLAS — For 14-year-old Harlow Delzell, the volleyball court isn’t just a place to play; it’s a sanctuary.
“It’s my happy place by far,” she says, her eyes lighting up as she warms up under the watchful eye of her coach, Jessica Dexter.
With every jump, hit, and dive, Harlow isn’t just playing the game, she’s defying odds most young athletes never have to face.
This spring, Harlow is preparing to compete in the prestigious Adidas Lone Star National Qualifier in Dallas, a tournament that represents the culmination of months of dedication.
“I’ve worked so hard to get here,” she says. But for Harlow, getting here meant much more than just grueling practices and weekend tournaments.
Six months earlier, during a long weekend trip to a friend’s farmhouse near Temple, Texas, life took a terrifying turn.
“I got a phone call around noon on October 13,” recalls Alison Delzell, Harlow’s mother. “It was Lisa, the family friend, watching the kids. She was frantic. She said, ‘Harlow’s had an accident.’”
Harlow had fallen from an ATV in a field.
Lisa Laffere, the friend who found her, says Harlow was unresponsive.
“Her eyes were closed, and she was just lying there. I started breathing into her, and her arms and legs would move a little, so I knew she wasn’t paralyzed.”
A medical helicopter was dispatched to airlift Harlow to McLane Children’s Hospital in Temple.
“I think our world stopped in that moment,” Alison says.
Flight paramedic Dylan Newsom remembers the urgency.
“She had a skull fracture and a brain bleed. We had to intubate her on the spot to keep her alive,” Newsom recalled.
At the time of the accident, the Delzell family was out of state, in Oklahoma. In desperation, they found a stranger, Colin Hadley, a private pilot, who volunteered to fly them to Temple.
“We had only met the guy for five seconds. I hoped he was a pilot,” Harlow’s father Matt, says. “He might have been the postman, we just got on the plane.”
When they arrived, doctors offered little comfort.
“She was intubated, completely unresponsive,” Matt recalls. “They warned us she might never wake up, says Alison.
Dr. Hayden Stagg, a pediatric trauma surgeon at McLane Children’s, explains the gravity of her injuries: “She had trauma to nearly every part of her brain. Most patients with those injuries, if they survive, can’t walk, talk, or feed themselves.”
But after 48 agonizing hours in a coma, Harlow stirred. Her mother was by her side.
“She stuck her hand through the hospital bed and whispered, ‘Love you,’” Alison remembers through tears.
Harlow doesn’t remember much of the accident.
“We were spraying a spider with water balloons, and then I saw the boys coming on the ATV. That’s all I remember.”
Weeks of intensive rehabilitation at Children’s Medical Center Dallas followed. Through it all, Harlow had one question: “When can I play again?”
She was determined to return not only to school, but to the sport she loves. On April 18, six months and five days after the accident, Harlow took the court again.
“She had made up her mind,” Coach Jessica Dexter says. “She was going to recover, and she was going to play.”
The tournament weekend was charged with emotion.
“This woman gave me back my daughter,” Alison says, hugging her dear friend Lisa, who certainly contributed to Harlow’s recovery. “And I am so grateful.”
For Harlow, this isn’t just about volleyball. It’s about resilience, family, and faith in the fight for life. She now plays with a renewed sense of purpose, fueled by the memory of the mountain she had to climb just to get back on the court.
“It almost feels surreal that we’re here,” she says quietly.
And yet, here she is, serving, spiking, and smiling. Alive. Strong. Home.