The Daily Populous Wednesday October 29th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by statesman.com and submitted by licecrispies

Jarod Adkison revisits the site where his jaw was broken at Barton Springs in Austin Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. On July 26, Adkison stepped in to defend a trans woman during an assault, and the attacker broke his jaw and gave him a concussion. Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman

Jarod Adkison remembers only parts of what happened on July 26 at Barton Springs Pool.

The 33-year-old who usually has custody of his 9-year-old son on the weekends had a rare weekend to himself while his son was on vacation with his mom. Adkison had just finished a long bike ride around Lady Bird Lake and decided to cool off at Barton Springs.

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He met three women at the side of the pool and made friendly chitchat with them before going his own way. While he was sitting by the water, he saw three men who appeared drunk come up to the women and make fun of one of them, who is trans.

"It all stemmed from the men seeing the trans lady and making a lewd gesture," Adkison said.

A couple of the women were thrown to the ground, he said. "I tried to step in defensively, to tell the guys to move on," he said. "One of the guys punched me a couple of times. I wasn't trying to fight."

According to the police report, one of the men came from behind and hit Adkison in the head. Adkison fell to the ground. He had a broken jaw and a concussion.

The next thing Adkison remembers is being in the CT scanner at Dell Seton Medical Center having his head examined.

He blacked out again and came to while on a gurney in the hallway of the hospital. Adkison was extremely confused. He removed his IV from his arm and walked out of the hospital. He didn't have any identification on him and didn't know where it was, but he was able to call his parents to come pick him up.

Based on his wireless headphones' GPS location, he figured out where his bag was. One of the women had kept it for him and he was able to get it back. "She was happy to see I was OK," Adkison said.

While the hospital had encouraged him to stay and later had encouraged him to come back to have his jaw fixed, Adkison was very confused about what had happened and how bad his injuries were. A piece of bone from his jaw was in his ear canal, which was full of blood.

Adkison, who works for a small construction company, does not have insurance through his employer and makes too much to receive Medicaid or Central Health's Medical Access Program. He needed time to figure out his son's care, take leave from work and find a way to pay for jaw surgery.

Adkison's parents started a Go Fund Me site, which raised more than $74,000, but not enough to pay for a surgery out of pocket.

"It irked me to ask for help," Adkison said. "A lot of people donated. It was overwhelming."

The donations helped cover his time away from work because Adkison also does not have sick time.

Dr. CJ Langevin, a plastic surgeon at Wellspring Plastic Surgery, was contacted by one of his patients about Adkison. He agreed to do the jaw repair surgery for free if Adkison could pay for the surgical suite time, which was a doable $1,400.

On Aug. 13, Langevin repositioned Adkison's jaw and wired it shut. Langevin explains it's like putting a cast on a broken arm. You hold the bone in place until it can heal.

For two weeks Adkison dined on anything he could sip through a straw. "Ice cream and milkshakes were a big staple," he said.

Then for another two weeks, Adkison had rubber bands much like people with braces have to help hold his bite in place. He continued to be able to eat only soft foods: A lot of pasta and baked potatoes.

On Oct. 7, Adkison had his final check with Langevin. "He should be fully healed," Langevin said. "He was an amazing patient."

"It was pretty minimal work from my side," Langevin said.

Askison said Langevin and his assistant "were the kindest people."

He said he intervened because he was physically closer to where the women were and had just talked to them, "and they were really nice."

His son now tells people "My dad's a hero," even though Adkison has tried not to tell his son too much about what happened.

"Honestly, I think I might have done the right thing," Adkison said. "I would have felt awful if I had not helped out."

Adkison had to be convinced by friends to press charges. Two people — Joshua McKeith Bell, 28, and Matthew Robert Villanueva, 29, — have been charged with aggravated assault.

Moondoox on October 29th, 2025 at 16:59 UTC »

so inspiring: man injured by violent bigots requires charity to receive essential healthcare

matternenergy on October 29th, 2025 at 15:45 UTC »

What got me about this were the comments that "$74,000 was not enough to cover the surgery" that was "minimal work" for the surgeon.

Coal-and-Ivory on October 29th, 2025 at 15:15 UTC »

I admire his want to turn the other cheek, but the "young guys" he's talking about are 28 and 29, WAY old for that kind of leniency. Furthermore, that excuse is for dumb kid stuff like tagging walls and trespassing on golf courses. Not hate crimes and physical assault.