The injured Annandale High School football player is back at school and on the road to recovery

Sixteen-year-old Isaiah Turner is on a journey of healing.

He has now been back at Annandale High School for two days, walking bravely from class to class, aided by a pair of crutches.

“I’m doing quite well, my legs are becoming a lot more mobile,” he says. “It’s kind of nice to see all my friends here and just be around people. I haven’t been there since the injury.”

During a game on October 11, Isaiah, a running back for the Annandale Cardinals football team, was suffered a serious leg injury when he was tackled.

“It was a run play, he got hit and was down for a while. I saw him on the ground,” quarterback Michael Kovall recalled.

“It was pretty crazy, and scary, because we had never seen anything like it before. It was just so serious. We had no idea at the time.”

At first it seemed to be a relatively minor injury.

But soon after, Isaiah’s right leg began to swell and was later diagnosed as compartment syndrome, a painful condition caused by pressure from internal bleeding.

The injury required six surgeries over the course of 12 days to remove damaged muscle tissue.

Matt Walter, the team’s head coach, said he had never seen an injury like this in 25 years of coaching Cardinals football.

“I didn’t think you could ever get injured like that in football,” he notes. “I thought it was more of a car accident.”

Isaiah spent six weeks at CentraCare-St. Cloud Hospital.

On the playing field he had learned about teamwork and being part of a group.

But now he learns new lessons about the power of friendship and healing.

The community rallied around Isaiah and his family with crowdfunding and regular visits to the hospital.

“I don’t think a night has gone by without football players, moms, teachers and the principal,” said Joy Turner, Isaiah’s mother and the school’s dean of students. “It’s like nothing I’ve experienced before. And so we were just grateful for the support.”

She says players on the team made sure Isaiah was always aware of their activities.

“Every night they would tell him what happened in practice and go over the plays and other things,” Joy Turner said. “He felt very much part of the team.”

The 16-year-old has attended practices and games and ridden the team bus.

“He was sitting outside our stadium,” Walter explains. “All of our players got to run by him, give him a high-five and hug him, and that was just a great day, a special day for our kids, and I know it was a big deal for him.”

Isaiah now undergoes physiotherapy once a week: strength training and stretching.

“Obviously the goal is to walk without a limp and then move on to the running part,” says Joy Turner. “He is excited about preparing for the fall football season.”

As for himself, Isaiah says he takes each day one day at a time.

Determined to play again, and reach the goal line, both on and off the field.

“What strikes me most is that you shouldn’t give up anything, for example don’t give up on your dreams and just keep going,” he explains. “Just stay strong and have a strong mind, and push through the things that get hard.”