By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A Thompson High School wrestler who was severely injured in an April 30 wreck was still in the intensive care unit at Trinity Medical Center on May 7, but had made steady improvements since the wreck.

Branden Belser was airlifted to the hospital after his truck overturned on Ridgeview Lake Road off Shelby County 26. After he arrived at the hospital, doctors discovered Belser had broken temporal bones in his forehead, a shoulder blade and collar bones.

Since arriving at the hospital, Belser has begun walking with his physical therapist and has begun eating on his own, THS wrestling coach Shawn Weltzin said on May 7.

Because he suffered head injuries in the wreck, Belser has had regular meetings with a neurologist over the past several days, Weltzin said.

According to posts by family members on his journal on Caringbridge.com, Belser has been recognizing friends and family members who have come to visit him at the hospital.

“His teammates have been going up to see him all week,” Weltzin said, noting he and other THS faculty members have also made regular visits to visit Belser.

Weltzin said Belser’s truck was crushed in the accident, and said Belser’s injuries could easily have been worse.

“If God didn’t have a plan for him, Branden wouldn’t be here with us right now. You just have to look at his truck to realize that,” Weltzin said. “He is getting better and progressing, but he isn’t out of the woods yet.”