Gov. Jim Pillen talks about his injuries, recovery and getting back to work
by Aaron Sanderford
Gov. Jim Pillen sits down with the Nebraska Examiner at the Governor’s Mansion in Lincoln on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a former University of Nebraska defensive back, knew about getting hit hard long before he played for Hall of Fame football coach Tom Osborne.
He got bruising lessons at home, on family land near Columbus, where big brother, Clete, an all-Big 8 linebacker, pummeled him long before the Pillen boys played against Big 8 offenses.
Gov. Jim Pillen sits down with the Nebraska Examiner at the Governor’s Mansion in Lincoln on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
But the governor said the pain of backyard tussles was “nothing” compared to what he felt after a few slow-motion seconds on Dec. 22, when his son-in-law’s horse and his got spooked.
“I’ve never experienced anything close,” said Pillen, who broke seven ribs, two of them twice, along with a collapsed lung, a lacerated spleen, a bruised kidney and a fractured vertebra.
“I was just trying to figure out where I was. … I knew my head was OK. I knew my neck was OK. I knew I didn’t have any broken arms or legs. But I hurt like hell and couldn’t breathe.”
Speaking from mansion
Pillen discussed his injuries during that horse ride, his recovery at hospitals in Columbus and Omaha and getting back to work in a sit-down interview with the Nebraska Examiner on Friday.
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He laughed and teared up in a high-backed chair in the living room of the Governor’s Mansion, where he has stayed since being released from the Nebraska Medical Center a week earlier.
He said the state-owned property across from the Capitol is perfect for keeping him connected with the job, though he said he is hoping to move home by “around Valentine’s Day.”
The 69-year-old governor, whose doctors said he was up and walking before a Christmas Day surgery to repair his ribs, called the experience of confronting his mortality transformational.
“It’s extraordinarily humbling, quite honestly overwhelming,” he said. “I’ve had the opportunity to reflect and be incredibly grateful … and say, ‘OK, God, thanks for the second shot.’”
History with horses
Riding horses is a regular occurrence for Pillen, a veterinarian whose family runs a major hog operation based in Columbus, who said he has been doing it since he was “a young man.”
Pillen said he got wrapped up in finally having time around the holidays to get out and ride with his family, including his son, daughter, son-in-law and “grandbabies.”
He said he had ridden some “tough stallions” and knew how to handle a horse. But he said he needs to “look in the mirror” because he didn’t do as he should to respect and read his new horse, Jack.
His son-in-law was riding another new horse named Tuesday. They still don’t know what spooked them, no obvious animal or brush. But he was grateful the grandkids were done riding.
Dr. Zach Bauman, left, and Dr. Charity Evans, trauma surgeons at Nebraska Medicine, speak about Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s recovery from a horseback riding injury. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)
“I had all these plans that I wanted to do that day,” Pillen said. “Didn’t look my horses in the eye to just see what they thought of it. … I hadn’t had them out in the open.”
Tuesday bucked first, throwing his son-in-law off and injuring him, though he fared better. Seconds later, Pillen said, Jack “absolutely exploded,” sending him “flying” into the air.
Family members who were close came out to check on him, and so did the governor’s detail from the Nebraska State Patrol, which keeps tabs on the first family’s safety.
From Columbus to Omaha
Pillen said he wanted to stay in his hometown because he is proud of the regional medical center his daughter helped by serving on the board: the Columbus Community Hospital.
But he understood when doctors talked about him needing a “Level I trauma unit” why he needed Nebraska Medicine, the hospital and clinical partner of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Nebraska First Lady Suzanne Pillen, left, and Gov. Jim Pillen pose on Friday before leaving the Nebraska Medical Center. (Courtesy of Taylor Wilson of Nebraska Medicine)
That was when he said he realized that his injuries were likely worse than he knew, because he had heard how serious that level of care was while serving on the Nebraska Medicine board.
Pillen said arrangements were made to fly him by helicopter to the Omaha hospital, and he said the 37-minute flight was among the longest, most painful stretches he had endured.
He said the broken ribs before he had surgery to stabilize them felt like a broken finger or arm before you have it stabilized. He said they popped “like popcorn” when he breathed.
“I went through moments not knowing if I would make it,” he saidof the helicopter flight, choking up. “It felt like it was three hours.”
Pillen said he later spoke with mentor and friend Coach Osborne about the coach’s experience getting bucked off a horse, and he said Osborne told him nothing changes someone like pain.
Grateful for care
For Pillen’s recovery, he credits the work of his doctors and nurses who helped repair his spleen and ribs and put up with him when he was trying to walk too soon, and too far too soon.
He remembered one nurse urging him to stay positive during a difficult walk down the hallway, waving to neighboring families in the unit as he passed. He said her spirit made a difference.
Gov. Jim Pillen sits down with the Nebraska Examiner at the Governor’s Mansion in Lincoln on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
He has a doctor’s appointment next week to learn more about his next steps. Pillen said he has to rest more while healing, 10 or 12 hours a day. But he’s feeling better and getting stronger.
He said he’s been working eight to nine hours a day. He interviewed potential Nebraska Supreme Court justices before choosing Platte County District Judge Jason M. Bergevin this week.
He said he met with state lawmakers at the mansion on Friday and started taking meetings with staff while at the Med Center. He’s still negotiating a way to pay for more property tax relief.
“We’re working on it,” he said, offering no specifics yet.
Pillen said he plans to stand and deliver his State of the State address to the Legislature in mid-January. He said he won’t need any special accommodations.
“I’m totally back in the game,” Pillen said. “I just make sure that I … have enough rest time for my body to heal.”
He said he is grateful for the outpouring of public support for the governor of Nebraska, no matter who is in the office, which is overwhelming. He read the cards and letters.
Climbing back on
His family hasn’t yet had its Christmas get-together, but he and his wife visited with loved ones on Christmas Eve, and he talked to more of them after surgery on Christmas Day.
Gov. Jim Pillen, center, looks toward Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly at a news conference in August 2024. Kelly took over as governor during Pillen’s two surgeries and immediate recovery. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
Pillen said going through the “traumatic experience” would likely change him a bit. He said that doesn’t mean he will be a blank check for the University of Nebraska or hospital associations. The state is still facing a $432 million budget shortfall.
He said he would be “more engaged” and more focused with every Nebraskan he crosses paths with and that he is more convinced than ever that he wants to run again in 2026, when he is likely to face a GOP primary challenge. He said there’s more work to do.
He said he planned to ride again when he can, and that when he does he will take a selfie with Jack, who is being cared for by a friend who sent the governor a photo of the horse after the accident saying simply:
“Good morning boss.”
At work and home, Pillen said he plans to get “back in the saddle.”
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