Though Kainan Rejtharek missed his roller hockey game Monday night, his presence was everywhere.

His name and number were on every jersey. Every time his team scored, it was Kainan’s goal.

“Goal scored by No. 7, Kainan Rejtharek,” the announcer’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker.

The 17-year-old Laguna Hills High School junior has been in a coma since Dec. 29, when he fell 40 feet off a cliff while riding his dirt bike during a family vacation in Ocotillo Wells.

Kainan’s left side took the brunt of the fall. He broke his left cheek bone, eye socket, hip and femur in three spots. He broke his jaw and several ribs and dislocated his right elbow. His aorta was severed, requiring intensive open-heart surgery, and he suffered bleeding on his brain.

“I feel like I have died and gone to hell,” his mother, Jill Rejtharek, said.

Doctors are uncertain when Kainan will come out of the coma or how much damage was done to his brain, though he began opening his eyes this week.

Since his accident, the community and his teammates on Laguna Hills Hawks Hockey have been fighting for him.

“I feel, I just know, he’s going to come out fine,” said his best friend and teammate, Marissa Lucido, who encouraged the skilled utility player to join the coed team in late August.

“It might take awhile, but he’ll be fine,” Lucido, 17, said. “We just need people to pray for him.”

Monday’s game was the team’s first without Kainan. They played Mission Viejo’s Trabuco Hills High School at the Irvine Roller Rink, tying 3-3.

The absence of Kainan’s infectious laugh and playful nature was inescapable.

“He’s always just sitting there, saying funny, stupid things to make everyone laugh,” Lucido said. “He’s always the loudest.”

To honor Kainan, Hawks coach Danny Alacali made special jerseys with Kainan’s name on the back and his number – 7 – on the sleeves.

“I just thought it’d be a really cool, loving way to pay tribute to Kainan,” Alacali said. “It was our way of supporting him.”

Kainan’s dad, Daniel Rejtharek, attended the game.

He gave Kainan’s jersey to Lucido to wear.

Since the accident, Jill Rejtharek has been staying in a camper at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where Kainan was airlifted after the accident.

At $65 a night, she could no longer afford to stay in one of the homes designated by the hospital for family members and instead began renting a spot for the camper at the medical center for $35 a night.

Kainan’s dad and three sisters – Kassey, 25, Karina, 19, and Karli, 15 – visit on weekends. Kassey Rejtharek moved back to her family home after the accident to help her dad and sisters.

Meanwhile, local businesses and Kainan’s school family are doing what they can to raise funds to help with his mounting medical expenses and his mother’s housing costs.

The Pizza Store & More across the street from Laguna Hills High is setting aside 20 percent of its proceeds every time a customer mentions Kainan’s name this month.

Owner Jeff Ghanei said he doesn’t know Kainan or his family. He wanted to help when he heard about the accident from school parents.

“We have to help each other,” Ghanei said. “Nobody knows what’s going to happen to me tomorrow or to my family or to my kids.”

Our Place, a Lake Forest restaurant, held a fundraiser over the weekend and gave a portion of its proceeds to the family, co-owner Sally Tarver said.

Tarver doesn’t know Kainan or his family either, but when she and co-owner Tammy Clements heard about the accident from some regular customers and an employee, they had to help, she said.

Tears flowed down Jill Rejtharek’s cheeks when she began speaking about the community support.

“I think it’s been an absolute blessing,” she said. “I don’t know any of them, and they’re doing this for my son.”

Contact the writer: 949-454-7363 or mshadia@ocregister.com

Contact the writer: mshadia@ocregister.com or 949-454-7363