Photo via TexasHSFootball.com

Editor’s note: Grant Milton of The Woodlands was rushed to the hospital after The Woodlands defeated Austin Bowie with a brain injury. After a prayer vigil, Grant Farley, one of his best friends, reached out to us, and his email crossed the desk of our CEO. He discovered it almost immediately and replied, which turned into an emotional conversation between the two. TexasHSFootball.com has partnered with him in order to help get the word out on how you can help Grant Milton, his family, and the entire The Woodlands community. What follows are the words of Grant Farley.

My friend Grant Milton lies in a cold bed one hundred and fifty miles from his real bed, hooked up to an assortment of medical devices that have kept him alive. He underwent lifesaving emergency brain surgery after collapsing during the second half of his high school football playoff game, but he is probably not suffering yet, since he is in a medically induced coma. His family and friends are the ones suffering, we know that Grant is lucky to be alive, but he is alive and that is what matters. Did our individual prayers work? Did our prayer gatherings help? Something did – he has survived.

*****

Grant has been my friend since sixth grade where we met on the pee-wee football All-Star team. Football brought us together and friendship took over from there. We thought it cool that we shared the same name, we’ve spent countless hours bumming around, and have vacationed together. I hope Grant and I go skiing together again, and with the right medical treatment and community support it may just happen.

That may just be a dream, for nobody knows what obstacles Grant will face when he wakes up. He may never be able to walk, much less ski, but more importantly, he will have the friendship and support of his community family – we have grown up with him and we love him. It’s our duty to be there for our brother and his family going forward. He will need help, possibly more than we ever imagined, so we need to be prepared and make sure he gets what we can give. What Grant needs now and in the future are prayers and medical help. I pray that he gets plenty of both.

When you lose someone, or almost lose somebody, it is natural to be reflective of the friendship. The night Grant was rushed to surgery, a group of us got together to make the drive to Waco to be with him. Early into the trip, we were informed that Grant was in a coma and we would not be allowed to see him, so we turned back. I could not sleep, so I wrote a letter. I wrote it for him, and I wrote it for me. I hope he does not disapprove of me sharing it:

Grant,

I know you won’t be able to read this right now, but I want to tell you that I love you man! We first met in SCFL, and from then on we’ve been brothers. We have know each other for over 6 years, we’ve gone on vacation together, and we’ve spend countless weekends together. From spending such a large part of my life with you, I have come to learn that you are a true friend, a good man, and will be brothers no matter what. I have faith in you Milton, you’re strong and determined, and I know you’ll give it your all. When the right time comes I’ll come visit you. If there is anything I can do please let me know. I have faith in you and I love you!

Your brother,

Grant Farley

You can donate to the Miltons by giving to their GoFundMe.