MACON, Ga. — Doris Howard was two hours away in Atlanta when her phone started ringing on Oct. 4. She was at work with her husband and the calls kept coming.

When she finally answered, she heard the words every parent fears: Her 13-year-old son Kelvin had been seriously injured during a football game.

"I called the coach and I said, 'Hey, what's going on with my son?' And he said, 'Miss Howard, where you at?'" Doris said. "I'm like, 'I'm in Atlanta.' He said 'you need to get here ASAP. He's messed up real bad.'"

Kelvin, who plays for the Appling Middle School Raiders and is affectionately known as "Bug" by his family, suffered a severe spinal injury on the field. He was being rushed to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta because the local hospital couldn't help him.

"Everything was going

See Full Page