Nov. 9, 6 a.m. I woke up and groggily got ready for the beginning of what I would soon find out to be the craziest day of my life. In the next 30 minutes, I prepared myself for the day and began the hour-long drive toward Byron Nelson High School to watch my best friend sign his scholarship to Butler University. When I was watching him sign, I was so happy to see his dreams come true, and I couldn’t help but think that I would be in those same shoes a few hours later.
Fast forward a few hours later, and the moment arrived. I talked with my parents, a few of my close friends, and coaches as I waited for everyone to fill the main gym at Legacy. Once everyone arrived, my coach had a few words to say about me, and I was able to thank everyone for supporting my journey and path to college. It was wonderful, and the cheers when I signed my acceptance of a full scholarship from Texas Christian University made me even more sure I was making the right decision. I took pictures with a large group of my friends and mentors and got ready for our shortened practice in anticipation of our scrimmage.
I was a little late to practice, but the energy in the gym was amazing. Everyone was feeding off the positive energy in the air and it felt like practice was shorter than ever. We went through shooting drills and a bit of transition defense; it felt like our intensity for the scrimmage would be higher than ever.
I ate lunch with my friend and teammate, Tyler Dozier like I always do, and we talked about how great the season will be. Tyler and I have waited years for our senior season, and we know it’s our chance to take hold of our situation. I wrote my “Word of the Day” on the board which was “Winners will find a way to win and losers will find a way to lose,” and then we got ready for fourth block.
Fourth block was a breeze, as Mr. Bautista gave our class extensions on assignments. At the end, he also announced that we would get a hundred for a completion grade on our quiz. I thought this day could not get any better until I remembered that the baseball players were also doing their signings at 2:30 pm.
I got down to the athletic fieldhouse just in time for their signing and it served as another great moment in my day. It was great to see the guys I used to play with accomplish their dreams just like I was, and there was food for everyone to enjoy.
As I mentally prepared for our scrimmage at 6 p.m., I thought about all the things I had to appreciate about this day. The pure joy from everyone in my circle, and the opportunity to make the most of my senior season. However, this energy went down just a little bit when our scrimmage got pushed back from 6 to 7 p.m. and then from 7 to 7:30. Without any food in the past couple of hours, my stomach was starting to hurt, and I couldn’t think about anything other than food.
When the scrimmage finally started, we got out to an early 16-0 lead effortlessly with everyone playing perfectly off of each other. With a win almost certainly in hand, I got a steal on an inbound pass and went up for what I had no clue would be my last dunk in a very long time. I came down on someone’s foot and to the disgust of everyone in the gym, my ankle was turned facing away from the rest of my leg. As my coaches and trainers helped me hop to the training room, my mind rushed to the fact that I may not be able to play again this year.
When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics helped me in the best way anyone could. They talked to me to keep me calm, and even played Ariana Grande on the way to the hospital. Once we got there, I was rushed into a bed, and that’s when the rushing ended. It took the doctors over an hour and a half to get me the pain medicine that I would need to relocate my foot. When I finally got the medicine, it was like my brain went to a different place than the rest of my body. I felt so detached from the world I forgot about the season, or even what had just happened. I just let the blankness take hold of me. When I woke up, my foot was back in place, my mind was out of place, and I had on a splint that was so tight it literally ripped skin off my foot. Some of my teammates were there to support me, and I realized being on this team meant way more to me than just playing basketball.
At 11:00 p.m., we were cleared to leave and with it being this late at night there weren’t many options for food. Luckily, Wendy’s stays open until midnight so I ordered both of my favorite meals because my parents felt bad for me. Wendy’s being open turned out not to be as much of a blessing as I thought because the pain medicine numbed my taste buds, and my desire to eat was gone. But I ate enough to put me through the night, and end of the most interesting day of my life.
