The vise-like handshake spoke volumes regarding the lanky 20-year-old’s near-death journey.
From a 25 percent chance-to-live as he and his crumpled,1999, Ford Mustang rested in a ditch that fateful, late-September morning, to the 50 percent chance (on a good day) to survive that first week in the intensive care unit, to standing on the verge of getting his doctor’s OK to return to work, Brennen Neblung’s path has been nothing short of miraculous.
Miraculous?
It is the only way to describe it.
It is approaching noon on a rainy day, and Neblung, one of life’s truly good souls, is chatting-up Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s Donovan Day, PT, DPT, and Sarah Haines, PTA. Haines and Day, a dynamic duo from Rock Valley’s Clinton, Iowa (931 13th Ave. North) clinic – in the eyes of Neblung – have played a vital role – over a five-month period – in his recovery and return to work.
Vital…
“Wouldn’t be here without them,’’ Neblung said. “It’s that simple. I had a two-week stretch before I got to them that wasn’t productive, but that changed in a hurry with Rock Valley. They (Day and Haines) understand me, what I needed to get me stronger – and better the past few months – to have me in a place ready to return to work. It’s great to have a place where you can walk right in and be accepted.’’
On this day, Neblung – under the caring and compassionate eye of Day – has just completed a bevy of functional, strength-related exercises, all done to prepare him for his job at Clinton, Iowa’s ADM plant. A job Neblung, a Northeast High School (Goose Lake) graduate, had held for just three weeks before his September accident. An assignment that is labor-intensive and requires a level of physical stamina, strength, dexterity, and endurance, to perform.
“They have made it challenging and fun,’’ Neblung said of Day and Haines. “They have helped me realize the goals we all set for me when I got here. And they care. They care about my well-being. Thanks to them I’m ready.’’
Neblung, Haines says, through hard work, determination, and great support from family and friends, earned the right to get back to work.
“Brennen has been a go-getter since day one with us, so anxious to get back to all his normal activities,’’ Haines said of the upbeat and outgoing Neblung. “We really had to reel him back in the beginning, educate him about his weight restrictions and work on core strength and lifting form and technique."
“I remember seeing stories of his accident when it first happened,’’ Haines added. “I am shocked at where he is now. I am very hopeful that he will get to return his "normal" 20-year-old life.’’
That Neblung is upright, strong, sturdy, and willing to share his story, is something only an amazing group of people who have lived his journey – and witnessed recovery – can understand.
From a loving and caring family to emergency personnel, dozens of skilled doctors and nurses and therapists at several stops, a bevy of concerned friends – and a deep sense that help from above played a role – can explain where he is today.
A hard-working 20-year-old with a new lease on life.
“Lots of people have been looking after me,’’ Neblung said. “So so fortunate. It would take forever to share how grateful I am to have a second chance (at life). I’d love to tell everyone along the way thanks.’’
As Neblung tells it, he was with a group of friends in the early hours of Sept. 28, 2025, and was given the impression a friend at a party in Sabula, Iowa, was in peril. It was then that Neblung, racing to help the friend, took his Mustang to 140 miles-per hour (his words, his number), took a curve too sharp, hit a gravel patch, and went sideways. Seat belted, thank goodness, Neblung soon found himself in a ditch, his car demolished, his life hanging by a thread.
Rescue workers from the Andover (Illinois) Fire and EMS, Clinton, Iowa (Fire), pulled, treated, and transported Neblung to Mercy One/Clinton, where he was stabilized before being airlifted to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa.
“I’ve been told I had a 25-percent chance to live at the scene,’’ Neblung said. “I don’t remember. I was in bad shape. I can tell you I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who came to help. I’m here because of them.’’
The obvious of the accident was the dire condition Neblung’s body was in. Calling his injuries severe might be understanding them. They were almost life-ending.
According to written accounts, Neblung suffered bilateral subdural hemorrhages (bleeds on both sides of his brain), and cerebral swelling. An intracranial pressure monitor was put in place to measure the pressure and activity in his brain.
He had retroperitoneal hematoma (bleeding in his groin) and large pulmonary hematomas in both lungs. He was placed on an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), a specialized life-support machine that pumps and oxygenates a patient’s blood outside the body, allowing critically ill patients with severe heart or lung failure to rest and heal while keeping the body going. There were multiple spine fractures: L1 broken in two places; T12 displaced, along with seven rib fractures. Neblung also suffered major abdominal trauma, requiring surgery to repair a liver laceration, remove part of his small intestine, and clear out nearly a liter and a half of internal bleeding. When he was stable, Neblung would undergo surgery to place rods in screws in his back and additional abdominal surgery.
“I had a lot of people in my corner,’’ Neblung said. “But I was banged up.’’
After a five-week, Iowa-City stay (three in intensive care); Neblung was air-flighted to the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, a physical medicine and rehabilitation research hospital based in Chicago. Shirley Ryan specializes in rehabilitation for adults and children with the most severe, complex conditions ranging from traumatic brain and spinal cord injury to stroke, amputation, and cancer-related impairment.
“My main doctor at Shirley Ryan, with the reports he had seen, didn’t know I would be doing as well as I was,’’ Neblung said. “It’s a great place. They did amazing things and it was great for me. They really helped get me moving, but the doctor in charge was surprised at how well as was considering the brain trauma I had experienced.’’
After a two-week, January 2026 respite in Davenport, Iowa, Neblung moved back to Clinton and began working with Rock Valley Physical Therapy. His goals were to improve strength, balance, grasp the functionality of his job requirements, and earn the OK to return to work.
“The first thing we talked about was Brennen’s goal of getting back to work,’’ Day said, noting that Neblung came to Rock Valley armed with a sheet of work-related tasks he would be required to fulfill.
And he came ready to work at whatever tasks Day and Haines had planned for that day’s therapy session.
“We got started right away,’’ Day said. “Brennen had to be able to lift 50 pounds, to be able to carry things around the factory. We had to be able to prepare him knowing he has rods in his back, to make sure he could pick things up while putting less pressure – less torque – on the back. It was functional related all while meeting the weight requirements needed for his job. And Brennen completed all the tasks required.’’
That news brought a wide smile to Neblung’s face.
“Good news on that front,’’ Neblung said. "It's nice to get good news. I didn’t expect to get this far this soon. I expected it to take at least a year.’’
Today, Neblung drives a 1994 Old Body Style (OBS) Chevy pickup. His Mustang, he notes, has been – and will continue to be – put to beneficial use. Occasionally, the car is loaded on a trailer and shown at high schools to show young drivers what can happen at a high rate of speed. And that you have a better chance of surviving a crash if you are wearing a seat belt.
“My dad is in law enforcement and others in law enforcement around the area have shown the car to high school students,’’ Neblung said. “I went to my high school and talked about driving too fast but also got to talk about how I would have had no chance of surviving it if I wasn't wearing my seat belt. I even show them my seatbelt scar, but the seatbelt saved me.’’
Forever humble and expressing gratitude for all who helped him get to this point, Neblung said he will get a return trip to Rock Valley come September.
“I have six-to-eight weeks of rehab after they take the rods and screws out of my back,’’ he said. “But I know I have a great place to help get better after that here with Rock Valley.’’
And the future?
“Just enjoy being back at work and making sure I tell a lot of people thanks,’’ Neblung said.
By: Johnny Marx, Rock Valley Storyteller
