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I love this story. It’s not often you find something like this in the secular press—yet, here it is:
Grant Mays was not able to attend the Centerville High School scholar-athlete banquet Sunday. Considering the events of Saturday, the Elks lacrosse captain was fortunate to even make it to Sunday. The senior midfielder appeared to make a gutsy play shortly after halftime of a game at Moeller, where the Elks trailed the Crusaders, 8-2. A Crusader shot on goal hit Mays on the left side of his chest, below his heart. On instinct, he picked up the ground ball and started running down field. Then, he collapsed. Immediately, the referee stopped play. “We knew something was pretty serious right away,” Moeller coach Sean McGinnis said. “They stopped the game and got the medical personnel out there. Then, it took a turn for the worse as his rhythm was off.” …What occurred to Mays was a condition called “commotio cordis.” It’s something Lindsey and all trainers learn in college and is defined as a lethal disruption of heart rhythm caused by a direct blow to the chest while the heart is in between beats. “When that happens, it sends the heart into a quivering state,” Lindsey said. “It’s not beating efficiently. It’s like the heart muscle is twitching and not firing.” Whomever may have had doubts of the power of prayer before had to have at least come away with something to think about during those tense moments. Both teams gathered around the scene and all was quiet except for the sound of “Hail Mary” being repeated by those kneeling near Mays. After Grant collapsed, the players witnessed his mother sprinting toward her son and sobbing. “We held hands and did the only thing we knew to do: pray. Pray hard and loud,” Moeller junior lacrosse player Adam Kohlman said. “That kid needed us and that Mom needed us.” While his son was being attended to, Doug Mays walked around the field asking spectators to pray. The nearby rugby game also stopped and those players joined in the spiritual efforts while Lindsey’s crew worked fervently on resuscitating Mays.
Photo: Donna Rice, ESP Media
And today we celebrate...
