Injured youth football player transported by Med Flight

The mother of a 13-year-old football player is crediting the Stoughton Youth Football program’s decision to have athletic trainers at games for his recovery from a significant injury.

Isaac Knutson was injured when he was tackled during a 7th-grade football game Tuesday night. After the hit to his lower back, Isaac fell to the ground and didn’t get up.

When the trainer reached him, Isaac started experiencing numbness and tingling in his legs.

“It scared me. I knew how serious it was at that point,” said Sarah Rushlow, Isaac’s mom.

The trainer stabilized Isaac and called for emergency medical personnel. Rather than risk transporting Isaac in an ambulance, they called for Med Flight.

“Then he said, ‘Med Flight,’ which then everybody was, like, ‘Whoa.’ It was pretty scary to hear those words and going from thinking ‘OK, he’s going to get up,’ to all of a sudden hearing ‘Med Flight,'” Rushlow said.

While Isaac was being placed in the helicopter, his teammates chanted his name to let him know they were with him. They then knelt and prayed.

“It was scary. I mean, they are all in tears. They were praying for him,” Rushlow said

By the time Isaac arrived at American Family Children’s Hospital, the numbness in his legs had subsided.

“It was scary because I didn’t know if I would play football again, but doctors told me I could play football again,” Isaac said.

Wednesday morning Isaac progressed to the point where he could be discharged from the hospital. He returned home to find dozens of text messages from friends and teammates, wishing him a speedy recovery. While he is still very sore, he is expected to make a full recovery.

His mother is grateful for the care her son received from the Stoughton Youth Football program and its trainer.