When a high school player collapsed, the rival trainer refused to play until he got to a hospital — and it saved his life
Firm and persistent demand for action can be life-altering in many cases. A high school football player who experienced a severe kidney injury after being tackled to the ground can attest to that. The teen, Brayden McClish, was tackled during the game and another player landed on top of him. The opposing team's athletic trainer recognized that his injury was severe immediately and pushed for quick medical attention. The doctors explained that the trainer's demand proved to be life-saving for the teen, per WXYZ Detroit.
Brayden had landed on the ball and the other team's player fell down on him. The impact caused internal bleeding in the teen's kidney. "I just remember I was hyped going into the game…and I remember I was running the ball over and over and over. I had so much adrenaline. I just remember seeing him grab my jersey, seeing the ground and me not getting back up," the teen recounted. "So he kind of had two people's weight come down on top of the ball and he was having pain in his abdomen and ribs on the left side," Landon Lalonde, the other school's athletic trainer, explained. The man checked on Brayden and could see evident signs of internal bleeding. He knew that the teen boy needed emergency medical help and immediately stepped up.
"We got Brayden onto the cart, took him around to the visitor's side and told his mom, 'He has to go to the hospital right now, it cannot wait,'" Landon revealed. "It was probably the scariest thing I've ever been through in my whole entire life. Thinking that your child could possibly not be here," the teen's mom, Ashley, remarked. The family could reach the hospital on time and get medical help for Brayden. The doctors pointed out that any further delay could have been fatal for the teen. His injury was rare and the doctors in the county had only seen four to five such cases per year among thousands of children in the area.
Brayden's one kidney was completely fine. His injured kidney had come down to only 25 percent functioning capacity. So the community stepped in to help the family during their challenging time. They were grateful for all the support and kindness that they were receiving. "We wouldn't be able to get through it without them. The phone calls, the texts, the messages, all of it, the visits. They've just been so supportive. I mean, people that we aren't even close to, reaching out to say, 'If you need anything, we're here.' It's just very touching," Brayden's dad, Jeff, went on.
The teen was supposed to return home after two weeks in the hospital. His full recovery might take up to a year, according to his parents. On the other hand, Brayden revealed that he was looking forward to getting back to football once he was done recovering from the injury. "Oh yes, I see myself playing again. Give me that year to recover and I'll be back on that field." He added, "And I've been falling asleep with my football...It's like my little teddy bear. It's my little teddy bear, I just hold it."
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