An Illinois community is rallying around a teen athlete who broke their neck in a high school track meet accident.
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Dylan Wescott, 18, was warming up for the triple jump ahead of the season’s first meet when tragedy struck on Saturday, March 15, at the Westwood Sports Complex in Sterling, Illinois, per NBC affiliate KWQC-TV.
The three-sport athlete stumbled in the sand, tumbling headfirst into a padded brick wall located just a few feet from the sandpit in the indoor facility.
Following the accident, Wescott briefly lost consciousness. When he regained awareness, he immediately told his mother, Nicol, that he understood what had happened, according to his aunt, Kim Kilday, who shared the details with the Sauk Valley News.
“He’s like, ‘Mom, I broke my neck. I can’t move,’ ” Kilday told the newspaper. “He knew immediately that it was bad.”
According to a GoFundMe page organized by his family, Wescott was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors discovered he had a fractured vertebra in his neck and two others pressing against his spinal cord.
The Teen Track Star Has Undergone Several Surgeries
The high school senior has undergone several surgeries and is now recovering at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab rehabilitation facility in Chicago. According to his family, he has been making steady progress in the month since his accident.
On Friday, April 11, the family posted a video on Facebook showcasing Dylan’s latest progress in rehab. The footage, captured the previous day, highlights him playing bocce ball with a recreational therapist.
“Thursday was our absolute BEST therapy day here!!” his mom Nicol wrote alongside the footage. “I can’t even explain how well he did and the improvements today.”
The teen’s remarkable progress is widely attributed by friends and family to his unwaveringly positive attitude.
“He’s a very empathetic kid. Really cares a lot about everybody, not just himself,” Eric Bontz, Dylan’s track coach told KWQC. “You know, he’s a fantastic teammate. If I could have all my kids with a mentality like that, it would be a wonderful thing … He was always on time, always cared about what he was doing, always gave his best efforts.”