Henry Debardeleben

I was just named the starting wide receiver for my high school football team going into my junior year. This achievement was backed with the grind of summer football, fighting for a spot in the starting lineup. It was a childhood dream come true, for me to be playing under the lights on Friday nights in front of my entire community.

One practice before games started, I felt a strain in my upper thigh following a collision with a teammate. The following day I went to get it checked out at the doctor's office. A routine x-ray was administered on my thigh to assess the issue. To my misfortune, the doctors informed me that there was nothing wrong with my thigh, rather with the bone beneath it. They found a benign bone tumor located at the top right of my femur. The x-rays also showed that the tumor was progressively thinning my bone and any random, awkward tackle or direct collision with the area could result in snapping the bone. His advice to me was simple, season ending surgery immediately.

But I couldn't bear to lose my chance at playing. Football was more than just a sport to me; it was my passion. Because of how much this season meant to me I chose to forgo season ending surgery and play out the rest of the season. With the guidance from my parents and continuous prayers from friends and family, I decided to take the risk and trust God with the season regardless of how it shook out.

From that point on, every Friday night was as much a mental game as it was physical. I knew the risk involved with continuing to play could lead to severe consequences which lead to intense fear before every game. I had to learn to block out the fear and trust in God's plan for me.

Week after week, I continued to make plays, score touchdowns, and take brutal hits. After every time I was tackled, I'd lay on the ground wondering if this was the final blow. Thankfully, it never came. My team went on to finish out our season, winning our schools first ever playoff game. I was able to be a part of the historic moment for our school. After the final whistle blew of the very last game, the first thing I did was release a sigh of relief knowing I finished my season.