ROCK FALLS, Ill. (KWQC/Gray News) – A high school senior in Illinois is facing the fight of his life after he suffered a devastating injury during a track meet.
The community of 18-year-old Dylan Wescott is now rallying to support him and his family through an unthinkable chapter after he was left paralyzed.
March 15 started like any other day for Wescott, who attends Rock Falls High School.
However, a routine warm-up for the triple jump turned tragic for the student athlete in a matter of seconds.
“He was warming up in the triple jump, just doing run throughs, and as he was going through the sand, he tripped either over his own feet or over the sand, and kind of stumbled, and was kind of running as he was stumbling, and just fell head first into the wall,” Eric Bontz, the head track coach, said.
In the fall, Wescott broke his neck. He is now paralyzed from the chest down.
Since the accident, he has undergone multiple surgeries and now faces a long road to recovery.
“You go from being a normal, happy family with, everybody talking about future plans and graduation, prom — he just got accepted to study to be a vet tech after high school — and then seeing him in a wheelchair, not able to do a lot of the things that he used to do,” Wescott’s aunt, Kim Wescott Kilday, said. “It really hurts.”
Wescott’s head coach said he has always been the kind of kid every coach dreams of.
“He’s a very empathetic kid. Really cares a lot about everybody, not just himself. You know, he’s a fantastic teammate,” the coach said. “Like I said, if I could have all my kids with a mentality like that, it would be a wonderful thing, because, you know, just a very prompt kid. He was always on time, always cared about what he was doing, always gave his best efforts.”
Despite the unimaginable change, Wescott’s family says he is showing incredible strength and determination.
“You’re looking at possibly an electronic hoist of some sort to get him in and out of his chair easily so that once again, he’ll have some sense of independency,” Wescott Kilday said. “That’s the biggest thing right now, is an 18-year-old boy who can’t feed himself.”
Wescott’s family launched a GoFundMe in the wake of the accident to help them pay for the mounting medical bills and future rehabilitation costs.
Wescott Kilday said the outpouring of support has been overwhelming.
From fundraisers and raffles to classmates donating money in exchange for wearing hats to school, she said the community has stepped up in big ways.
“The outpouring of the community has been wonderful, but he’s got a long journey ahead of him, and that’s the toughest part, is all the unknowns and what he’s going to need when we do get to bring him home,” Wescott’s aunt said.
In the meantime, Wescott’s family is making major adjustments to their home to prepare for his return — modifying the space to be more accessible and comfortable. They’re also exploring equipment options to help Dylan regain a sense of independence.
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