Karla McIntyre peered over Wolf Lake in Hammond on Sunday, scanning the swimming caps bobbing up and down in the water, seeking for the one attached to her husband, Todd.
She stood at the water line with Todd’s walker in place so he easily could transition out of the water and make his way to the bicycles, where he would begin the second leg of his first Leon’s Triathlon.
Her excitement and emotion could be seen as her daughter, Emily Bauman, 14, pointed and shouted, “There he is. There he is.”
With the help of an aide, Todd McIntyre he moved from water to the cycle staging area, family in tow, dried off and moved on to the next leg of the race. It was a moment Karla McIntyre less than two years ago never thought would happen.
“This is a very emotional day for us,” Karla said. “I cried when he went into the water.”
McIntyre, of Pittsburgh, was one of hundreds of participants in the 34th annual Leon’s World’s Fastest Triathlon, which draws competitors from around the world.
Leon Wolek, who started the triathlon in 1983 in Hobart, stood at the finish line of the final leg of the race, the run, with a cup of water in one hand and a race medal in the other. He handed both to triathlon participants crossing the finish line, trying to personally acknowledge and thank each athlete.
“It’s very humbling,” Wolek said. “I believe it is very important for me to thank and honor participants, especially our veterans.
Karla McIntyre describes her Navy veteran husband Todd as an athlete and fierce. He served in the Navy for 27 years until he retired in 2010. Throughout his career, the 52-year-old completed 35 marathons, six ironman competitions and 75 triathlons. His dream race is the Ironman in Kona, Hawaii.
Back home in Pittsburgh, he was known in his circle as the triathlete, Karla said.
However, on June 15, 2015, that all changed after a vacation in Aruba went horribly wrong. Karla said something happened after McIntyre went diving that day, and after treatment at the local hospital he wound up with cerebellum brain bleeding that led to multiple surgeries and stays at hospitals in Florida and Pittsburgh, where after months of care Todd was diagnosed with Locked-in syndrome.
“Locked-in syndrome is a rare neurological disorder in which there is complete paralysis of all voluntary muscles except for the ones that control the movements of the eyes,” according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders website. Individuals with Locked-in syndrome are conscious and awake but cannot speak, nor move anything but their eyes, the website explains.
To this day, Karla said they are unsure exactly what caused the medical incident that lead to the cascade of treatments and brain surgeries that left McIntyre in a coma and then locked-in, but believe overaggressive pharmaceutical intervention after a misdiagnosis in Aruba may be to blame.
As the family fought to allow McIntyre time to recover, doctors routinely told her to consider taking him off life support. She could not.
“I strongly believe in God. I have a strong faith,” Karla said. She believes God told her Todd would come out of his coma if she just stayed the course.
In Pittsburgh, doctors did something for McIntyre other doctors were unwilling to do. They gave him time, she said. He was in a coma and semi-conscious for two months before he was moved to an acute care facility with Locked-in syndrome. He remained in that state for 90 days before Karla said she was able to convince doctors from the University of Pittsburgh Traumatic Brain Injury Model Center to take his case.
After more brain surgery, McIntyre began to regain some movement. Eventually, he was able to return home. He would float in the family’s pool, eventually progressing to walking and swimming. A harness helps him use his treadmill at home without a spotter. He connected with a para-sports group in Pittsburgh, were he began training on the hand bike in March.
“He has full movement. He exercises seven days a week,” Karla said.
McIntyre’s condition has left him with severe balance problems. He made his way through the triathlon course with the assistance of a guide who went through the course by his side in case he needed a hand.
His stepdaughter said McIntyre’s recovery has been a step toward solidifying their relationship. Emily said she had a hard time adjusting to the man he had become after his accident.
“If I were to be blatantly honest, I practically hated him when he was in the hospital. I thought he was changing. I thought he’d be different,” Emily said. There were times she would just hug her mom and the pair would cry.
Seeing her stepdad train and compete has brought some normalcy back to their lives.
“Now he started to get some of his old self back,” she said.
Karla said McIntyre still dreams of competing in the Ironman in Kona. Watching him compete Sunday in Leon’s Triathlon, she knows he may be able to realize that dream.
“He’s just going to have to learn a different way to do it. It won’t be how he imagined it,” Karla said.
Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
