MACON, Ga. — On Wednesday, 13WMAZ is helping to raise money for the Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital in Macon. All day, we'll be airing stories that highlight kids you'll be helping when you donate.
RELATED: Cares for Kids | Here's how you can help kids at the Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital
Darren "DJ" Willis said the Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital literally helped get him back on his feet after breaking both legs. During the recovery period, a team of doctors stayed by his side until he started walking again.
"But when I looked down and saw my kneecaps the wrong way, I felt everything, and I immediately started screaming for my mom," DJ said.
In 2018, DJ said a regular track meet changed his life forever.
"Right before the meet started I did my practice jump, and that is when I landed wrong," he said.
As an avid football and baseball player, DJ knew something wasn't right.
"I was shocked, I did not know I broke both of my legs," he said.
With his parents by his side, DJ was rushed to the Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital.
"They had the trauma center ready for us when we arrived. His pain was controlled the entire time he was there, and the nurses worked around the clock," DJ's mom, Sharon, said.
Within a day of arriving, DJ went into surgery.
"They were all very nervous, they felt comfortable with the process, the surgery itself has a long recovery process," nurse practitioner Brandee Paullin said.
Paullin worked with DJ during his recovery. Early on, she said DJ was determined to get back on the field.
"So when he got out of surgery, he was in a long-lay cast, so past the knee, so he could not walk on his legs for about eight weeks," Paullin said.
For two months, DJ sat in a wheelchair.
"I couldn't believe it, I couldn't believe the progress he had made so soon," Sharon said.
DJ said through the recovery process, God, family, teammates, and his medical team kept him motivated.
"My dad had been hurt before, and he told me you can do anything through Christ who strengthens you, and I just stuck with that and kept going, I was not going to give up," he said.
Today DJ is back in the game showing that hard works pays off, no matter how you play.
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