A young boy from Cattaraugus County is fighting for his life at Women and Children's Hospital following a terrible chain of events triggered during a midget football game.
Caedon Wyatt, 12, suffered a concussion and a brain bleed after what looked like a routine tackle on September 23rd. He followed all the sideline protocols, according to his father Preston Cochran.
It was an unseasonably hot day, with temperatures nearing 90 degrees as the Ellicottville Little Eagles took to the West Valley field.
During his final play, Caedon began the run, took a sweep to the left, was tackled, and immediately came up. He was brought to the sidelines where he was checked out for a concussion. After several minutes, it was clear he needed further examination and Caedon was transported to a local hospital. Shortly after, doctors noticed something more urgent was happening.
"That's when the doctor said he's got bleeding on the brain and that's when we called Mercy Flight," Caedon's father Preston told 7 Eyewitness News, fighting back tears.
A few days later, Caedon needed surgery on his brain. Preston says his son was diagnosed with a left temporal subdural hematoma with a subarachnoid cyst that's hemorrhaging with a right midline shift of his brain.
"The doctor said nothing's getting better, symptoms are getting worse, he's getting blurred vision," Preston said.
During surgery, doctors cleared the blood and drained fluid to ease swelling.
The family is devastated, and is sharing Caedon's story with 7 Eyewitness News to raise awareness about the realities of football: that brain injury can happen to players of any age, even as young as Caedon. They do not want this incident to deter people from playing.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with mounting medical expenses. As of Friday evening, more than $2,000 was raised.
