Forever-upbeat. eternally-optimistic and always-determined, Kaelene Voorhees (ATC/L), ATC Regional Coordinator and Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s “Making Better Lives’’ recipient for October of 2021, knew something was wrong with the football player on the turf before her.
“Tough kid, really tough kid,’’ Voorhees, the longtime — and greatly-admired — trainer at Davenport, Iowa’s Assumption Catholic High School, said of the situation during the recent Assumption-Benton Community prep football game.
“For him to be down something had to be wrong,’’ Voorhees said he said “he just had the wind knocked out of him,’’ added Voorhees, a Dubuque (Iowa) native and graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, who has been a vital part of the Rock Valley Physical Therapy family for five years.
“Still, it was not like him to be the guy that didn’t pop up after a play. He went back and finished the game, but we paid close attention to him.’’
Following the contest, Voorhees, like she always does, checked on the health of all her players. One, though, received more attention than the rest of the group. The player who uncharacteristically did not pop up after a shot to the midsection.
“He (the player) came to me and said he had blood in his urine, had right shoulder pain, abdominal pain, and complained of dizziness,’’ Voorhees said.
Recognizing the player was showing signs of a possible spleen rupture, Voorhees — who had just finished packing the school’s SUV used to transport medical equipment and other game-needed supplies back to Assumption — immediately located Knights’ head coach, Wade King.
Voorhees then told King he had an injured player requiring immediate medical attention, found a driver for the Suburban and commandeered an Assumption assistant football coach — and his vehicle — to drive her and the athlete to the nearest medical facility with emergency services.
That was St. Luke’s Hospital at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 32 miles from where they stood. En route, Voorhees notified the player’s family — which had left for Davenport — that it should turn around and meet them at the hospital.
“All the signs pointed to something severe,’’ Voorhees said.
And she was right.
The player had suffered a lacerated spleen.
“They examined him and determined what the problem was,’’ said Voorhees, who — in typical Voorhees fashion — would stay at the hospital until 2:30 a.m. making sure the athlete in her care was on stable ground while assisting the athlete’s family.
“I’m just glad we acted when we did to get him to a hospital,’’ Voorhees said in rather modest fashion. “A 90-minute bus ride back home would have presented huge issues.’’
The player, after a three-day hospital stay and a week off from classes, is back in the fold. He is hopeful that after an eight-week period of recuperation, he can make his way to the wrestling mat.
“Tough kid, great kid,’’ Voorhees said, noting that the $200 she receives for a non-profit of her choice, will go to “Salute to the Fallen.’’ “His (the injured athlete) mother was amazing when we notified her and amazing at the hospital. All we wanted was a positive outcome.’’
Voorhees won the praises of several members of the Assumption High School family — King especially — as well as Jason Viel (ATC/L), Director of Athletic Training for Rock Valley Physical Therapy.
“Kaelene was right in her assessment and most likely saved this athlete’s life by taking him to the hospital,’’ Viel siad. “The athlete was diagnosed with a ruptured spleen and Kaelene stayed with the athlete and the family in the hospital. This shows the dedication and care that Kaelene has for her athletes and why she is “Making Better Lives.’”
By: Johnny Marx, Storyteller