Lending a helping hand on the family ranch in Watford City was always a joyful experience for Tel Sorenson. Being around animals in his early years and developing a passion that stemmed from his parents, Kadie Sorenson and Jarvis Sorenson, led to Tel falling in love with competing in rodeos.

Tel’s passion paid off, as he earned a full-ride rodeo scholarship to Gillette (Wyo.) College last year to compete in Tie Down Roping and Team Roping. In October, Tel returned home to practice with his partner for the Circuit Finals. Qualifying for the Circuit Finals is an incredible accomplishment, creating excitement for someone like Tel, who lives and breathes rodeo competitions.

Unfortunately, the exciting trip home turned traumatic when fires started flaring up in Watford City. With the family together, Jarvis, Tel, and his brother, Stran, knew they had to help save their land, animals and the surrounding area from being severely damaged.

“Tel came back that week because he made it to the Circuit Finals, which is a really big deal in the rodeo world. He came back to get ready for it and practice with his partner. Then suddenly, things changed,” said K. Sorenson

At first, the situation seemed to be under control. On Friday of that week, Jarvis, Tel and Stran saw fires flare up, and they quickly brought out their equipment to keep it under control. They also received help from their neighbors and the Watford City Fire Department. The fires were put out that day and everything seemed to be fine.

The following day, the wind picked up and caused the fires to spark up again around 1 p.m. In a collaborative effort, Jarvis went out on the tractor, while Tel and Stran went to get the truck before meeting up. In the back of the truck was a pressurized fire unit that helps smother fires.

With everything going on around them, the pressurized unit was still under pressure when Tel went to check the tank level. That’s when it lit off and blew up, resulting in Tel being hit in the face by a 120-pound pressurized cap. Fortunately, his brother Stran was there to alert the rest of their family about the accident.

Because of the wind and fires happening around Watford City, a helicopter was unable to get Tel and an ambulance couldn’t leave town right away. A few hours later, an ambulance out of Williston was able to get Tel and transported him to Trinity Health in Minot, where he arrived around 9:30 p.m.

“I’m very thankful that we have our kid here, but when we couldn’t get a helicopter in because of the wind, I was panicking,” said K. Sorenson

Upon arrival, Tel met with the Neurosurgery team at Trinity Health, where they went over the initial treatment plan with the family. The first step was getting bone fragments surgically removed from Tel’s brain to avoid an infection.

“The Neurosurgery team was so confident, and their bedside manner was awesome. Our family was very impressed with their confidence,” K. Sorenson said. “Every nurse and every doctor were great to us. We can’t say enough good things about the care team.”

The surgery was expected to last roughly one hour, although it ended up being a little longer than that, causing the family to worry. Jarvis called the care team, who reassured the family that things were going well.

“We were all wondering what was happening, but then they told us everything was going well. We were scared, though. My husband [Jarvis] kept saying, ‘Why couldn’t it have been his arm or leg and not his brain of all things?’”

Following a successful surgery, Tel went back to the ICU, and his family was able to see him around 1:30 a.m. Even though Tel’s family was happy the surgery went well, it was still very emotional seeing Tel after everything he just went through.

The recovery process for Tel involved physical therapy, which he passed with flying colors, as well as family visits and getting him up to walk around Trinity Health Hospital throughout the day. In the location where Tel was hit with the pressurized cap, and because of the brain trauma, it was hard for him to eat. The nurses on staff were able to assist with that and reassured the family that this was all normal and the brain trauma was similar to a really, really bad concussion.

After getting out of the ICU on Sunday, Tel felt ready to go home, but he still had to wait a little longer. On Tuesday, David Min, MD, Neurosurgeon at Trinity Health, came in to assess Tel and told the family that he could go home on Wednesday.

When the time came for Tel to head back to Watford City, Kadie admits that while she was happy for him to go home, she also felt slightly nervous about it. “I wasn’t ready for him to come home, but the kids love home, and you heal up faster at home.”

By Sunday of that week, Kadie recalls Tel starting to hit a turning point: He was awake more often, could talk more clearly, and was acting more like his normal self.

While at home, Kadie and Jarvis encouraged Tel to take small steps toward a healthy recovery by having him walk to the barn, pet his horse and walk to the mailbox and back so he could get some fresh air.

Kadie and Tel also watched the Circuit Finals and his brother and sister compete in a high school Badlands Challenge in Bowman on TV. So, while Tel’s life felt completely different for a few days, there began to be a sense of normalcy again.

When the family met with the Neurosurgery team for a follow-up after the surgery and treatments, the sense of normalcy continued as they told Tel he could get on a horse again.

As far as school goes, Tel has been doing online classes and working toward building his endurance back up. Although he has had a strong recovery from the brain injury, he is not pushing himself and taking breaks when he feels tired.

Since Tel has been improving and seeing his everyday life come back together, he has his sights set on making it to Arizona to train for the World Series of Team Roping.

“When he couldn’t enter the Circuit Final, we decided that it would be Tel’s goal to go to the World Series of Team Roping. We told him, ‘If you get better, you can go out to the World Series.’ That is what he has been working toward,” said K. Sorenson.

She added, “I’m a little nervous about roping and what will come back and what won’t, but Tel has full confidence, and his dad has full confidence. It is just a matter of doing it and seeing how he feels. Tel is really listening to his body, so we know what to ask and how to get him there.”

As Tel gets back into his passion for roping and riding horses, where he excelled, it’s evident that his journey has been remarkable. What started as a traumatic event turned into a testament to his determination, with the support of his family and the help of his Trinity Health care team along the way.

“As a parent, in the back of your mind, you think, ‘Did we go to the right place?’ We were scared that night. I really do feel like God had a plan, and he put us in the hands of the right people.”