By Nathan Garcia
Contributing Writer
In the world of sports, athletes have a range of hopes that drives their passion and commitment for the sports they play. For football players, it ranges from the pursuit of personal and team achievement to a desire of recognition and growth, which these aspirations shape their journeys on and off the field. Athletes strive for excellence but also aim to inspire others like Casteel varsity football player Myles Curry.
In the summer of 2023 Myles Curry participated in the NAU 7-on-7 tournament and suffered a devastating knee injury. Myles Curry was taken to a hospital up in Flagstaff to identify the severity of the injury. Myles Curry had tears to his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), PCL (posterior cruciate ligament), and LCL (lateral cruciate ligament). Tears in any of these three make for a long recovery but with tears in all three it can become very dangerous.
“In the moment I didn’t know what happened, I thought I could just walk it off, I just really didn't know what I kind of went through, In the moment I was just thinking about coming back playing football and hopefully coming back as soon as possible,” Myles Curry varsity tackle for the Casteel Colts.
Monroe and Damita Curry got the call about Myles’ injury, they were originally down in the valley.They were told what could've been the injury that Myles suffered, but wouldn't find out the magnitude of the injury until they were at the hospital.
“We weren't aware of the severity of the injury until we got up there, the doctor was checking his pulse in his foot and that it was lower in one foot than the other and that they were afraid that he may have done some damage to the main artery on the lower extremity of the leg,” said Monroe Curry.
A singular tear is more common than not in the football setting, but having three tears in one leg is something that is particularly unheard of in an injury.
“Basically they asked the questions for me and my wife it went from oh this is just a normal injury that players get playing football to oh wow this is something serious where there was a potential that Myles could lose his leg, and then the questions started coming back that not can he play football again but would he ever be to walk and be mobile as before,” said Monroe Curry.
As athletes get injured frequently, the mindset is when they can get back to playing again. Myles case it is more than just playing football, it is how can he get back to being able to walk again. This is something that people would never have to believe to learn to walk again. The rehabilitation process would be long and difficult for Myles Curry.
“Being able to do simple stuff like figuring out how to put clothes on, getting from upstairs to downstairs, just day-to-day really,” said Myles Curry.
Myles Curry had to endure a long process to be able to get healthy but he wasn't alone in doing so.
“I basically moved into the hospital in Flagstaff and overseeing and making sure he was fine with all his surgeries, he had a total of four surgeries, and made sure he the right medical support we took care of medical transport to get him back home,” said Damita Curry.
Coming back from injuries takes multiple measures of rehabilitation to get back to where you are desired to be. In Myles' injury there are many steps that is needed to be taken for him to succeed in the long run.
“It was an entire year plus to get Myles back to where he is currently,” said Damita Curry.
“We went to all his doctor appointments, to his physical therapy appointments, and made sure was was expected of us, sat down with the coaching team, and physical therapy team to make sure what they needed to do at school for Myles and even got involved with the administration at the school making sure that he had what he needed to get to school, whatever was necessary for him to be successful,” said Damita Curry.
With challenges in the recovery stage like Myles Curry most would stop at this stage. Which leads to failure to achieve what they had told themselves to do. However not Myles, he took it every step of the way to get healthy and get back where he wanted to be.
“This was really Myles recovery, his determination, on wielding spirit to do what he's doing right now and everybody was convinced that he wouldn't want to play football anymore, the best way I would describe it was quiet determination and that he showed us better than he can tell us, not only has not allowed his physical limitations deter him but made sure he focused academically, he's excelling in all expectations,” said Damita Curry.
With the support of his parents it strengthened the determination to get back to 100% and do what he wanted to do which was to get back on the field.
“It was reassuring, and I needed that to keep going,” said Myles Curry.
On Sept. 20, 2024 after a year plus in recovery, Curry was able to suit up and take the field with his teammates for the Colts’ home game against Mountain Ridge and was even able to get on the stat sheet with a tackle.
“As his parents we are super proud of Myles, I cant talk enough about how hard of a journey how stressful it was not just for him but for his parents especially as a father and him going through this journey and me not really being able to do anything to help him along except for support him and help him when he falls down and to let him know that I have his back hen he needs it, but I am super proud of where he's at and what he has done and has become, Im very excited for what he has in store for us for the future and the rest of his life,” said Monroe Curry.
The journey of what Myles has had to do and the challenges he has had to face when recovering from his injury is really exceptional and inspiring and shows that you are always able to come back and shows that if you truly want to you will succeed.
“My hopes for the future is that I stay as the same person I am have nothing effect me, nothing change me and keep continuing to be myself and to have the freedom to do whatever I want no matter what setbacks or challenges I face in my life,” said Myles Curry.
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