Football Player Gets Back in the Game
When you’re a football player, getting knocked around comes with the territory. But, when Brandon Krushall, a student at Kansas Wesleyan University, sustained an injury to his shoulder in the fall season of 2010, he didn’t think it would lead to surgery.
Liz Krushall, Brandon’s mother, noticed that once Brandon was injured, it was not getting any better over time.
“He was hit by another player in October. He came home [to Texas] for Thanksgiving and his shoulder looked really bad. Brandon said he was following what the trainers told him to do but when he came home for Christmas, his shoulder looked like it dropped a few inches. I scheduled an appointment with his orthopaedic surgeon,” she said.
Brandon received news that no athlete wants to hear. “His injury was a severe case; the shoulder was not going to heal without surgery. Brandon didn’t want surgery and did everything he could to avoid it, but that wasn’t enough. An operation was the only way to go,” said Liz. Brandon’s surgeon used a donated tendon to help repair his shoulder.
“At first Brandon didn’t understand donated grafts. Then we researched it and he was amazed that someone would be unselfish to do this,” said Liz.
Liz worked in an operating room and was familiar with Muskuloskeletal Transplant Foundtion (MTF). She was also familiar with LifeGift (the organ procurement organization in Texas) through work and for a more personal reason. “My nephew passed away a few years ago and was a donor for LifeGift so we felt the blessing for Brandon came back to us. We are grateful for the unselfish family that made the gift for Brandon possible. We can never thank them enough.”
Brandon is back in school playing football, and studying to be a coach.
Source: MTF