This was his year, Johnson decided. He had just finished his tenth year in the NFL and was determined to be a starter. He trained as hard as his body would allow in the off-season He ate right, he lifted, he ran, he went to as many extra practices as he could. When it came time to announce starters for the year, he was sorely disappointed. Second string, yet again. All of the work hadn't paid off. He was furious.
The next day at practice, he was still fuming. The defense blitzed, and Johnson lost it. His frustration and disappointment came ripping through him like a bear feeding at the start of spring. He ran through the offensive line as if running through a line of ten-year-olds. And he sacked Decker. Hard.
Everyone watching could tell something was wrong. Decker didn't get up. He didn't move. Johnson didn't even notice; he was pumped up, relieved to have released some of his frustration.
Decker was taken to the hospital; he had suffered severe brain trauma. He was in a coma, and no one was confident he would recover. One doctor said he would likely never regain brain function. Another said he might make it through but couldn't be sure. His family, friends, and team were all devastated. How could something so horrible happen to such a great and talented guy?
A little over three months later, Decker was still on life support. The family was struggling because his primary doctor was saying he’d never recover. The doctor said his brain function wasn't improving. But his little sister, Courtney, was determined that he would live. She knew he was still alive, that one day he would wake up. The family decided to take Decker off of life support. It was a tough decision, but they couldn't stand the prolonged pain. They believed there was no hope and figured it was time to move on.
A day before the doctors were going to pull the plug, the family was going over the details with the doctor. During that time, Courtney quietly slipped away. She was dead set on saving her brother. Sneaking into his room, she found him there, lying peacefully. She swore she saw him smile when she walked in, as if he knew what she was about to do. First, she unplugged the feeding tube. Nothing happened. Then she went to the ventilator. She slowly began to lower the amount of oxygen being sent into his lungs, and then lowered the pressure. The oxygen content in his blood plummeted; machines started beeping. She didn't know what to do!
But then she saw him move. He started gasping for air, his body instinctually seeking that precious element that allowed him to live. It was rough at first. However, within a few minutes he was breathing on his own. She was ecstatic. He opened his eyes; she burst into tears and leaped onto the bed. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. She saw him, he saw her. He was alive, if only for a moment, and she was there to experience that moment with him.
He died a few days later. It was tragic and it wasn't a surprise. No one truly expected anything different. Courtney was devastated by his death. However, because he woke up, he saw her, and they got one last moment together, she was eventually able to come to peace. Even if he wasn't meant to live long, he did come back, just as she had suspected. He was still there. She knew it.
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