http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/Top-ranked-North-Carolina-wrestler-paralyzed-dur?urn=highschool-wp9664Luke Hampton knew he was taking a risk every time he stepped on the
wrestling mat. However, the Alleghany (N.C.) High senior, who was the
top-ranked Class 1A wrestler in the state, never thought the sport he
loved would leave him paralyzed.
As the Winston-Salem Journal and other news outlets throughout the state of North Carolina reported,
Hampton's match on Saturday took a horrible turn when he tried to charge his opponent and take him to the mat. In the midst of going
for the pin, Hampton lost his grip and went head-first into a padded
wall.
"When I saw it, I thought maybe a concussion or he just hit his
head," Alleghany High wrestling coach Derrick Calloway told the
Winston-Salem Journal. "Right when I got to him, I knew immediately it
wasn't good."
The sheer force of the
collision broke Calloway's C5 and C6 vertebrae.
After being rushed rushed to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, it was
confirmed that Calloway's injuries had left him paralyzed from the neck
down.
The entire Alleghany community has
rallied around Hampton following his injuries, holding prayer vigils
and setting up a fund to help the family pay for medical costs. As
the Associated Press reported,
the goal is for the Alleghany High senior to increase his strength
before heading to Shepherd Center, a hospital located in Atlanta, Ga.,
that specializes in spinal cord injuries.
The hope is that the hospital in
Atlanta will give Hampton the best possible chance to regain full
movement. Despite the awful situation, Calloway said Hampton's strong
work ethic makes him believe he will walk again.
"You don't tell that to anybody in Alleghany or around here because
we all know he's going to walk again," Calloway told the Winston-Salem
Journal. "Just because they told him he can't do it, he'll do it."
Hopefully he's right. Despite the advancements in injury prevention
on the field, wrestling remains one of the few sports that hasn't
changed much in the last 20-plus years. While injuries can occur, what
happened to Hampton is a rarity in the sport.
You just hope and pray that, like
Calloway said, Luke Hampton works hard and finds a way to walk in the
future. Based on what coaches and members of the community said about
him in recent articles, it sounds like he has a great chance to defy the
odds.
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