Someone special came to Indianapolis on November 15th, National Childhood Grief Awareness Day. Brooke’s Place is an Indianapolis-based organization that provides support for grieving children and help them heal and honor those they’ve lost. The organization hosted a program to bring awareness to its services, and  Austin Hatch, of Ann Arbor Michigan, was the keynote speaker. He is certainly no stranger to loss and grief.

In 2003, Austin boarded a plane with his family to return to their home in  Ft. Wayne from their Michigan cottage. His father was the pilot. Austin’s life changed suddenly when the plane’s gauges began to go off, lost power and plunged to the ground. Austin and his father survived the plane crash. But Austin’s mother, five-year-old brother, and eleven-year-old sister did not.

Austin says “My dad and I grieved the loss and suffered. We really just clung on to each other and found a way to push through.” Austin says his dad truly became his best friend. He says his father was his saving grace, along with their shared love for basketball. Austin says he worked every day to improve his game, his dad by his side. He set his sights on playing at the next level, particularly at the University of Michigan, his mother’s alma mater.

In 2011 Austin’s hard work paid off. He committed to play basketball at the University of Michigan. His father had remarried, and his step-mother, Kimberly Neal, adopted Austin although she had three children of her own.  They became a blended family and Austin calls her his “second mother.” It seemed as if it was all coming together for Austin, but it  changed in an instant within just nine days of the family celebration of Austin’s commitment to play at Michigan.

Austin, his father, and Kim were heading  to their Michigan cottage from their home in Fort Wayne, Indiana when weather forced a landing in Charlevoix Michigan.  Their plane came in from the wrong direction and  crashed while trying to land.  The National Transportation Safety Board ruled it pilot error due to inadequate air speed.  The crash killed Austin’s father, Dr. Steven Hatch, and his wife, Kim. Austin, the sole survivor, was critically injured and in for the fight of his life. Austin was in a medically induced coma for six weeks. He suffered from a massive brain injury and multiple bone fractures. He woke up to a nightmare, learning his family had perished in the crash.

Austin , who doctors said might not ever walk or talk again, fought his way back to health. In a grueling rehabilitation, he even returned to basketball. Looking back, he says he knows God saved him for a reason. He says he has learned a lot about life by facing death– twice. Austin now uses his experiences as a way to help others. He presents at events as a motivational speaker and radiates positivity everywhere he goes. Austin says, ” An optimistic view is very important to have. I don’t believe we are a product of the circumstances in our life, we are the product of how we respond to them.” He says he thinks spreading his message is part of his  life’s purpose. Austin graduated from the University of Michigan, got married to his college sweetheart, a ranked University of Michigan volleyball player, and they live happily in Ann Arbor.

Eight-hundred people were transfixed at the Brookes Place event as Austin told his story. Theresa Brun, the executive director for Brooke’s Place, says  the timing of the message was perfect. “Today is actually National Childhood Grief awareness day so it’s a wonderful opportunity for Brooke’s place to share the message about the importance of talking about childhood grief and what happens in communities with unresolved childhood grief, ” Brun said.