#16 The Big Game

“In the backseat of your Rover, that I know you can’t afford...” Played in the background on Sam’s way home from a long and exhausting two-hour practice. The roads were icy, and the wind was horrendous, but all she wanted to do was go home, take a nice hot shower, and stuff her face full of food. She’s been trying to get to bed early since the big championship game between her school, the Landfield High Jaguars, and their rival, the Titon High Falcons, is coming up in two and a half weeks for the first chance ever to go to State for basketball.

Buzz Buzz . . . Sam’s boyfriend, Nathan, was texting to see how practice went.

6:50, she thought, Must be just getting out of practice.

“Hey babe, how are you doing?” asked Sam.

“Same ol’ same ol’. Practice was super hard. We had to run through plays the whole time,” answered Nathan.

“Are you kidding? We had to do fifteen down and backs, and that’s a pretty low amount compared to what we usually do,” snapped Sam.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Well, since you're still driving, I'll let you go so you can be sure to get home safe. Text me when you get home please. Love you,” said Nathan.

“Lov-,” is all she could text before she looked up and saw headlights coming straight at her.

BAM!

Sam couldn’t feel anything. She felt numb. She tried to get up but she couldn’t even move her hand. She even tried to reach for her phone but couldn’t even move a finger.

“Are you okay? I can’t move, I have part of the car stuck on me,” a voice yelled out.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I can't move either. My body is like numb,” Sam yelled back.

“A car is pulling up hopefully they’ll help us. I'm really sorry,” the voice said.

“I’m going to call 9-1-1 are you both conscious?” another voice yelled; Sam assumed it was from the car that pulled up.

“Yes!” they both yelled. Sam could see her phone lighting up and buzzing, but just couldn’t reach it. The ambulance soon arrived after, getting Sam and the other person into ambulances. Sam started to feel tired and drifted off into sleep.

When Sam woke up in the John’s Children’s Hospital, Nathan and her parents were standing over her.

“What happened? How do you feel? I'll tell the doctors you're awake,” her mom rambled off.

“Mom, I'm fine. I just want to go home,” she said, as she started to get up. The thing was, she couldn't really move. She felt like she was moving, but her body wouldn't. Her mom saw her struggling and helped her lay back down.

“No, you need to stay right there. I’ll get a doctor,” her mom said, running out of the room. The doctors looked her over for what felt like hours to Sam. All she wanted to do still was get home and shower and sleep. She still was sweaty and gross from practice. The doctors came back in after looking at x-ray results, and different things.

“I don’t want to scare you guys, but I think Sam will need to go into surgery. There seems to be a blood clot in her leg and we just need to remove the clot. Your leg should be back to 100% in a few weeks,” the doctor said.

“How long would I be out for? I have the championship game in two and a half weeks. I absolutely cannot miss that. Please is there anything else you can do?” pleaded Sam.

“Should be around two weeks at the most. Could be shorter, we really don’t know. We would find out in surgery and it just depends how quick you recover. If you don’t get the surgery now, you could potentially lose your leg,” answered the doctor.

So they got Sam all ready for surgery after Sam and her parents talked over and decided that surgery would be best. Sam started drifting off into sleep after they gave her anesthetic.

When Sam awoke, she had a long scar along the outside of her calf.

The doctor walked in, “The surgery seemed to go great. We want you to stay overnight just to make sure you adjust well. Should be a little less than two weeks until your leg will be 100%. Now we just have to wait and see how you recover. I’ll come check on you in a bit and then you can go to bed, and we will talk in the morning about releasing you,” the doctor said. So Sam rested for a bit while her exhausted parents and boyfriend talked.

“Hey, there’s an article out on WQAD about the accident. I wonder what happened to the guy who hit Sam,” whispered Nathan. It stated that there was an accident by Henry Road between the two cars, and that the man, named Jim Wells, had crossed the centerline and hit Sam’s car head on. They think he may have been intoxicated, but had been taken to Sand’s hospital, and has minor injuries. It also says that Sam could have been on her phone too, but had minor injuries that could result in surgery also. They would put an update out when they find out more.

“Oh my gosh. She was texting me while driving home. It’s all my fault. I should've known she was driving home. How could I let this happen?” Nathan cried.

“Don’t beat yourself up over this. It wasn’t completely all her fault. The guy was intoxicated, too, and was the one who crossed the centerline. Sam should know not to text and drive. Don’t blame yourself, Nate,” Sam’s dad said reassuringly.

“A lot of people have shared this article on Facebook,” Nathan said. “Her teammates all have posted their praying for her and can’t wait to have her back for the big game.”

“I just hope she can play in the championship game. It’d break her heart if she couldn’t,” said her dad worriedly.

Sam got released the next morning after the doctor gave them instructions on how to clean the incision and tips on how to recover fast. They told her she needs lots of rest, to stay off of it, and use her crutches as much as possible.

All Sam could do is wait. It was basically her body that has control on whether she gets to play or not. She is hoping she can. Her team needs her, and she will do whatever possible to make sure that happens.

Sam had a doctor appointment almost two weeks after her surgery. She was really hoping she’d get released today. She had been doing therapy for the last two weeks to make herself stronger, and had done all the tips the doctor gave to make the recovery faster. She feels great and is ready to get back on the court.

“Well Sam, you seem to be doing a lot better and your leg is looking amazing also,” the doctor said.

“Does this mean I’m allowed to go back to basketball now?” Sam said excitedly.

“You can go back, BUT you need to make sure you take it easy. No full-speed running, only jogging, and just shoot around for the first day or two. Don’t get right back into it or you won’t be able to play in the big game,” warned the doctor.

“I won’t, I won’t. I’ll take it easy I promise. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!” Sam said, hugging the doctors.

Sam’s first couple days of practice were difficult. She had to get used to exercising again and using her leg, but it felt great to be back out there. Two days before the big game, Sam was able to practice almost 100%. She didn’t do the greatest, but she was getting back up to where she was. She even stayed after each night to work on her skills and make sure she was ready for the game.

Finally. The day of the championship game. Sam was ready. She couldn’t wait. Her coach had told her she wouldn’t be starting tonight, just because of everything that happened and missing those practices, but he’d definitely get her in.

After the first quarter they were up 25-23. She had been in a minute or two, and then was taken out after a turnover. She hasn’t made any points yet, but she knows she will.

At halftime, it was 41-38 and they were up still. She has five points, and only had turned it over once more. She hasn’t gotten many minutes just because she isn’t in the best shape anymore, but she’s doing her best.

There was three minutes left in the fourth quarter, and it was 50-45, they were still ahead. They even started picking up a bit more and went on a 8-0 run, making the score 58-45.

With thirty seconds left, it was 62-59, they were still up. The crowd was going crazy. The bench was going crazy. Sam knew they had to play tough defense, especially because both teams were in double bonus. They couldn’t afford giving them a chance at two points. The other team had the ball, they were passing it around the perimeter, until dribble, dribble, shot went up, SWISH.

With ten seconds left, it was tied 62-62. They had to get a basket here. So they set up a play called Tap the Head. They passed to Sam on the wing, she passed to the post in the corner, she cut to the block, the post gave the ball back to their point guard, Sam cut right back out to the corner with two seconds on the clock.

Pass back to Sam, one second remaining, SWISH, ERRRRR.

“We won, we won!” Everyone piled on top of Sam. The first State Championship title for the Landfield High Jaguars, all thanks to Sam.