TRAVERSE CITY- Brady Lewis has been playing hockey since he was five years old. From squirts to his state title in Bantam AA, to travel hockey, to eventually becoming an on-ice leader for the TC West Titans as a sophomore, Brady poured countless hours into the sport he loved.
“I think as a coaching staff and, you know, speaking for the, you know, for our players too, it’s like it wouldn’t be Traverse City West Titans if Brady Lewis wasn’t on the team” (Jason Fernsler, head coach).
But the game Brady loves so much was nearly taken away from him earlier this year during a game in Cadillac.
“I just remember the sound of it and knowing something was wrong right away” (Fernsler).
“I remember most of it.
I think we were ending our power play, or a penalty kill or something. with that. I was in the corner, and I passed the puck back and then I don’t remember getting hit or anything, but I do remember like, laying there for a minute, and, next thing, I woke up in the Cadillac hospital” (Brady Lewis).
Brady was motionless and unresponsive on the ice after that hit, but thanks to the quick actions of spectators and coaches, Brady received CPR on the ice and an ambulance arrived to take him to the hospital.
He was then intubated before being taken to the Helen Devos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids.
There he began to regain movement in his extremities and was placed in a halo neck brace.
“It’s actually gone pretty fast from just everything that it sounds like hearing from doctors, but, yeah, you also had to be patient.
They wake us up earlier, which I didn’t like. And then, I’d have, I think, like, two hours with occupational therapy, and then sometimes there’d be, like, speech therapists that’d come.
And that was early before if they in make sure anything was wrong there. And then, I have physical therapy in the afternoon after lunch, which is like about an hour break. And then sometimes I’d have, like an activity type of therapy where I can play, like ping pong or something like that. And then the rest is just on my own” (Lewis).
And throughout the whole rehab process, Brady’s mind was never far from his teammates and the sport that he still loved.
“And just, missing it was probably the most important one...we were in playoffs, so I was really interested about that. And. Yeah, just it was always hockey going through my head. Yeah.”
It’s been a long and not always easy recovery for Brady, but he’s now able to be back on the ice with his team.
I remember visiting Brady at, down in Grand Rapids, and this was kind of right when I knew I was going to take over this year, and I told him I can’t do it without him. And he’s so motivational to our team, shows up every day to work, shows up with a good attitude. And, yeah, we’re so, so fortunate that he still wants to be around the program. And we couldn’t ask for a better representation of what it means to be a Titan” (Fernsler).
Brady’s goal now is to finish healing his spine and suit back up for the Titans next year.
“Yeah. I mean, I’d like to heal and play, but I think this year we’re just looking to get better every day and try and compete for the Big North and then hopefully, maybe try to take a step further. But, yeah, I just hope to try and get stronger and become more comfortable”.