A native of Waukon, Markus Hawes is the Upper Iowa University Tutor Center manager. in 2011, five days after graduating from high school Haws broke his C7 vertebrae diving into home plate during a baseball practice. He was paralyzed from the waste down, but that hasn’t stopped Hawes from going on to have a successful career.
Wheelchair can't hold UIU's Hawes back from uphill success
By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com
Markus Hawes is an incredible young man. That much is evident when you first meet the Upper Iowa University Tutor Center manager who is a paraplegic.
It’s definitely his upbeat and persevering attitude, despite an unfortunate accident that changed his life almost eight years ago, that makes him stand out.
In 2011, five days after graduating from Waukon High School, Hawes was at baseball practice when he got himself into a pickle between third base and home plate. Trying to avoid being tagged, he dove for home, collided with the team’s catcher, and broke his C7 vertebrae. Life was never the same after that moment.
“I was taken by ambulance to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon and then airlifted to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.,” Hawes recalled. “After the accident, I spent six weeks at Mayo, where I pushed hard in physical therapy so I could get home. I was released on July 1, and I spent the rest of the summer at my parent’s house.”