BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) -- Those who play football never know when their final play will be. It's something Drew Keller was afraid had already happened.
On Aug. 10, during the final drive of a scrimmage game in Tuscaloosa County, Keller ran down from his safety position to make a tackle on the running back.
"It was a run play, I just went up normally. There was a hole opened up [for the running back] and I just went up there and I made the tackle. I remember like, it got hit when I first made the tackle, and I felt some people land on it, and it hurt really bad," said Keller. "I limped off the field, and was sitting off the field for a while. It wasn't a crazy play, I just tackled the running back, and then people landed on me, just felt it hurt."
During the tackle, Keller experienced pain in his leg after several players dogpiled on top of him, but he didn't think too much of it at the time.
"It was hurting, but I was just like 'It's just like a Charley horse, I just got hit, I'll be good'," he said.
That was until the swelling began, continuing throughout the night to the point that Keller eventually lost range of motion in his leg. Keller's mother, Juli, began making calls to friends in the medical field. After following the normal protocols when treating an injury--icing it, taking Advil, wrapping it-- one friend ended up giving them critical advice.
"I called a friend of mine who would have been asleep normally, she's and ER nurse, she happened to be on her way home from a movie," said Juli. "And I explained it to her and we had almost just decided to go to bed... But I just kept thinking something's not right. So I called her and she says 'you know I think this could be compartment syndrome, you need to get to the ER.'"
Compartment syndrome is described as a condition that occurs when pressure builds up around the muscles, restricting blood flow and causing muscle and nerve damage in the process. In severe cases, damaged muscle tissue is surgically removed to get the blood circulation back on track to prevent further damage.
It was critical now. Doctors brought in a doppler machine and were having no success in locating a pulse.
"Nobody's really saying anything to me yet, but I can tell this isn't good... Before we know it, we're getting some pretty devastating news," said Juli.
Before they knew it, Keller was being taken into emergency surgery in an attempt to save his leg.
"At that point, it was such an emergency situation that we really only had minutes. They measured the pressures in the muscles in his quad. They explained it like every muscles almost like in a compartment and they each have a pressure," said Juli. "I am going to draw a blank on exactly what that is, I think it was like five, 10, the top of his quad was a 76."
"They weren't giving us a good prognosis. They were saying he's most likely not going to come out of surgery with his leg. Best case scenario, he does come out with his leg, but football's done," she explained.
In the end, the surgery proved to be a success and the doctors were able to save Keller's leg. He came out of surgery with an open incision and a wound vac, but more surgeries were going to follow once the swelling reduced.
After the second surgery, doctors found all of Keller's muscles and nerves to be healthy and that nothing needed to be removed. The swelling had also reduced enough that his leg was able to be completely closed, no longer requiring any more surgeries.
Undergoing physical therapy, Keller had his sights set on returning the game he loves.
"I just love playing football. I was blessed, had a really good physical trainer, she was a huge help to me. She pushed me, a lot of my friends, my family, they all pushed me, my teammates pushed me. They were always there, and I just wanted to get back out there and play with my boys one last year, wanted to be able to prove everybody wrong and be able to get back out there," Keller said.
Keller had a goal of returning to the football field around the halfway point of the season, ideally for Tuscaloosa County's rivalry game against Hillcrest.
"I think most people expect me to say 'No, I don't ever want him to get back on that field,' but I had two main thoughts about that. It's his love, he has loved it since he was a little boy," said Juli. "I took him into a sporting goods store when he was 2 years old and he begged me for some shoulder pads that he would never wear any time soon. He told me he was born to wear those shoulder pads and he wanted them so badly."
"He's loved it that much since he was little and I couldn't not want him to get back out there as hard as that is sometimes. And my other thought is, God will never bring him through all of this and then not take care of him if he gets back out there. I think more than anything, we were just so happy to see him be able to walk back out there. It was a long road from beginning to end and so many people told him he was done...his reaction every time was 'they don't know me...'"
After seven weeks of physical therapy, regaining full range of motion in his knee and reestablishing the connection between his brain and the muscles of his leg, Keller was able to return for the Wildcats game against Hillcrest on Oct. 4.
"It was a amazing feeling, I was really blessed to be able to get out there. I had some doubts myself, that process was hard," Keller said. "God blessed me to help me get back out there, my teammates were really excited, and I was to to be able to play with them. Gameday I was really really nervous getting back out there, I had to get on the bike before to keep my leg loose so it didn't get tight or locked up...I was really nervous that first play I got back out there, but after the first play, I started to get back and started to feel more normal again and just kind of get used to it."
Now a senior, Keller is set to play in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl at 12 p.m. Monday on ESPN3. However, he hopes this won't be the last time he suits up for a game.
"I would love to play college football. That's the goal for me, to go play at the next level," he said.
