‘Firecracker’ athlete is ‘all smiles’ after scary collision at Coast softball tournament
A softball player in a Woolmarket tournament has returned home with full mobility after being airlifted to the hospital following an on-field incident that left her temporarily paralyzed.
Stephanie “Stevie” English was tracking a fly ball in the outfield on Sunday afternoon when she collided with her sister, Samantha “Sammi” English, hit the ground and lost the ability to move her extremities.
Incoming paramedics ordered a helicopter to airlift her to USA Medical in Mobile, where Stevie regained full movement in her body within 48 hours.
Stevie suffered what doctor’s called a shock to the nervous system, causing the scary moments that played out on the field, said Amber Murphy, Woolmarket youth baseball and softball event coordinator.
Stevie, a 14-year-old student at North Woolmarket Middle School, did not immediately get up following the collision and told those around her that she couldn’t move.
“You think, ‘oh she’ll get up by the time we make it out to her,’ then get there and she’s screaming ‘I can’t move, my neck hurts,’ going in and out, pupils as small as a pen point, and that’s when we realized that this is a real medical emergency,” Stevie’s coach, Kelvin Murphy, said of the scare.
Amber Murphy told the Sun Herald that every field at the tournament stopped playing and took a knee as the helicopter arrived at what was an emotional scene.
The pitcher of the opposing team led a tear-filled prayer before Stevie was moved into the helicopter from the ambulance.
“She is a firecracker, she is just a spitfire with red hair,” Amber said of Stevie. “She never has a bad attitude, she’s always cheering for others. She is the sweetest young lady that you’re going to meet. She is precious.”
Stevie regained feeling in her upper body before leaving the field and then the rest of her body on Monday. She suffered abdominal bruising near the pancreas and a concussion.
She was sent home on Tuesday with clear scans and no lasting medical conditions.
“She is all smiles, ready to get back out there and play,” Amber said.
