Meet Kid Captain Tate Manahl
Having just returned home from running errands with his mom, then-3-year-old Tate was excited to see his dad out mowing the lawn.
A lawn mowing accident left Tate Manahl with life-threatening injuries when he was just 3, but the Cedar Falls boy has made nearly a full recovery, led by his care team at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
“I had been mowing the lawn while my wife, Fonda, was running errands with our 3-year-old son, Tate, and his older brother,” Tate’s father, Ryan, remembers. “I was focused on mowing, not realizing that my family had returned home. That's when Tate just wanted to see dad and approached me from behind. I unknowingly put the mower in reverse and in a split second, he ended up being underneath the lawnmower from the stomach to his toes.”
Neighbors jumped in to help, and Tate was initially taken by ambulance to a local hospital before being flown by helicopter to UI Stead Family Children's Hospital.
“It was very difficult having him take off in the helicopter and watch him go, because we didn't know if it was going to be the last time that you could tell him you love him,” Ryan recalls. “It was really hard for us to have that separation, and then make the hour-and-10-minute drive down there. Our oldest son, Cason, at the time had questions going through his head: ‘Am I ever going to be playing tag with my little brother again?’”
Tate immediately underwent eight hours of surgery, with surgeons focused on repairing vital organs to save his life. He has since had more than 30 surgeries, including procedures to preserve his legs and leg function.
Michael Willey, MD, was the orthopedic surgeon who cared for Tate when he was admitted to the hospital, along with the rest of the pediatric trauma, plastic surgery, and orthopedic surgery team.
“Lawn mowers cause extremely devastating injuries in children that we see like clockwork every summer,” he notes. “As a team, we care for 10-15 children from all over the state with similar injuries to Tate– though none as severe) – every year. We need to do work to increase awareness of lawn mower safety in children. Tate’s parents have been amazing advocates for children going through treatments for these injuries and promoting lawn mower safety.”
Tate also has helped at events to advocate and educate for lawn mower safety, including at the Iowa State Fair, and on his behalf, his mother, Fonda, showed a steer at the Iowa State Fair that raised funds to support the Ronald McDonald houses in Iowa.
“Ryan talked and I showed, and it was just so powerful,” she recalls.
“At the end of the showings, they do the people's choice award,” Ryan adds. “So everyone cheers for each one and then they take a final three for the loudest ones that cheered. So we were in the final three and they ended up choosing us.”
Tate also served as a University of Iowa Children’s Miracle Network Champion, and he and his family started a lawn mower and machinery nonprofit foundation that helps advocate, educate, and financially support families across the country.
Now 8 and in third grade, Tate is able to play baseball and flag football and enjoys the outdoors.
Tate’s parents credit his care team with saving his life.
Patient Stories
