萝莉社

At 16, T.J. Williamson already turns heads on the football field 鈥� a standout athlete with natural talent and multiple Division 1 offers. Coaches and fans believe he鈥檚 a young man with a bright future.

Then, in a moment, the game was taken from him. While blocking a field goal, a hard hit caused a severe injury during a Yulee High School game last September. Those around him worried that his dreams of a football career might be as shattered as the tibia and fibula bones of his left leg.

Yet, nine months later, T.J. is not only walking 鈥� he鈥檚 sprinting, catching passes and scoring touchdowns once again. His uncle and legal guardian, Travis Williamson, credits T.J.鈥檚 resilience. And they both credit the medical teams at 萝莉社 Jacksonville.

鈥淭o see how well he鈥檚 recovered is not only a testament to the hard work T.J. put in but to everybody at 萝莉社 for everything they did to make sure he got back to where he was before the injury,鈥� Travis said. 鈥淔rom the time it happened to the time we got to the hospital, everything was so organized. They did a really great job. The accident happened about 8 p.m. and by 8 a.m. the next morning, T.J. was in surgery.鈥�

Crucial care on the football field

The smooth transition from the field to surgery highlights the work of Jeremy Coleman, MD, medical director at 萝莉社 Family Medicine 鈥� Wildlight and 萝莉社 Family Medicine 鈥� Amelia Island. Coleman is board certified in both family and sports medicine and is the team physician for Yulee and Fernandina Beach High Schools, so it鈥檚 not unusual to find him on the field on game night.

It鈥檚 all part of the sports medicine athletic training outreach program that Coleman developed about eight years ago. In addition to placing 萝莉社 athletic trainers at Nassau County high schools 40 hours a week, either Coleman or one of his colleagues is also on the field during games.

鈥淥ften in the sports medicine arena, the focus is on caring for elite or professional athletes,鈥� Coleman said. 鈥淏ut I believe that 萝莉社 has done a great job taking care of these budding athletes even before they make it big.鈥�

Last fall, on Sept. 20, Coleman鈥檚 sports program demonstrated its effectiveness. When T.J. and a teammate rushed forward to block the field goal, the other player鈥檚 helmet collided with T.J.鈥檚 lower leg. He lay on the ground in pain and asked a player to get the coach. 鈥淚 knew my leg was broken, and I was just trying to process it all,鈥� T.J. said. 鈥淭here was a lot of emotion. It was my first high school season.鈥�

Coleman鈥檚 presence allowed for an immediate assessment of the injury. He was able to splint the leg while assuring T.J. that everything would be alright. 鈥淲ithin minutes, I was able to get on the phone with our orthopaedic colleagues downtown,鈥� Coleman said. 鈥淲ith the severity of the injury, I knew he needed trauma care. As soon as the ambulance arrived at the hospital, Dr. Young鈥檚 team was there to meet him at the door.鈥�

Expert care from the orthopaedic trauma team

Once the trauma team stabilized T.J.鈥檚 leg and provided medication for the pain, they scheduled the operating room for the next morning and notified the medical personnel they needed.

Porter Young, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in orthopaedic trauma surgery, met with T.J. and his uncle before surgery to discuss the details of the procedure. Hours later, he would tell them that the surgery went smoothly without any issues.

鈥淗e had a pretty good prognosis going in, yet it鈥檚 still a significant injury,鈥� Young said. 鈥淭o break a tibia takes a lot of force, especially for a young healthy guy like that. He has pretty dense bones, so he took a pretty hard hit. Fortunately, he fractured the bone in an area that heals reliably well.鈥�

Young also said this case was a great example of how 萝莉社 Jacksonville moves trauma patients effectively through the system. For injuries like T.J.鈥檚, Young said the goal is to provide treatment within 24 hours. Yet with Coleman鈥檚 outreach program in place, T.J. was treated in 12.

鈥淲hen all parties are organized and ready to go 鈥� from having Dr. Coleman and the docs on the field to the emergency department鈥檚 readiness to surgery to fix the bones in a timely manner as well as quickly designing a therapy plan 鈥� it all works toward a positive patient outcome,鈥� Young said.

Moving forward with physical therapy

All those who provided medical care for T.J. praised his maturity, his toughness, his motivation to return to football and his hard work in rehabilitation.

Travis praised the 萝莉社 physical therapy team as well as T.J.鈥檚 ability to keep moving forward. 鈥淓veryone who handled T.J.鈥檚 rehab was great, and he was resilient through it all,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he rehab team had an immediate plan that they carefully explained, and he hit it hard. There were some tough days early on, but for the most part he did a good job just keeping his head down, attacking his rehab and just taking it one day at a time.鈥�

And both T.J. and his uncle agreed the outpouring of support from the community for its local football star made a huge impact. People in Yulee sent cards, gift baskets, letters of encouragement and social media and phone messages, which T.J. said boosted his mood and gave him that extra bit of motivation he needed.

Now he鈥檚 enjoying a full recovery, happy to be back at practice and looking forward to attending Bolles this fall as a sophomore. Looking back, he said he was appreciative of the encouragement people gave him, definitely one of the positives of the ordeal.

His uncle believes the injury also provided an important lesson to his nephew. 鈥淚 think he realizes that the game can be taken away from you at any moment 鈥� not that he took it for granted before the injury 鈥� but going through something like that especially being young, I think you appreciate being able to play a little more,鈥� Travis said.