14-Year-Old Walking After Successful Open Heart Surgery Following Collapse on Football Field

It has been a rocky road to recovery for 14-year-old high school freshman Zaidyn Ward who collapsed in the end zone after scoring a football game’s final touchdown as his team huddled there.

Thankfully, this Texas student-athlete successfully received open-heart surgery two months after the August 31 incident at Monterey High School in Lubbock, Texas.

Ward had just finished playing his second game of the year when he suffered a seizure on the field, according to ABC affiliate KXXV. A medical team at the game provided CPR and eventually used a defibrillator twice to save Ward.

The teen was transferred to Cooks Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, roughly 300 miles away. Due to complications, KXXV reported that surgeons quickly realized Ward wasn’t getting blood flow in the left side of his heart and considered performing open heart surgery, considered rare for people his age.

A fundraiser was organized to help Ward and his family pay for the necessary medical expenses. The effort raised over $35,000 with an original campaign goal of just $8,000.

But amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Ward’s scheduled surgery was reportedly delayed more than once.

“What they wanted him to do was come here and give, I guess, his lungs enough time to heal,” Ward’s mother, Cassandra Combs, told KCBD.

Despite the challenging road, Ward persevered and completed the surgery successfully.

“It feels good. They’re saying that I’m healing faster than what I am supposed to be, so that’s a good thing. I’m already walking after the surgery,” Ward told KLBK following his surgery. Doctors said complications amid an unknown birth defect involving the arteries caused Ward to pass out.

“He’s healing,” Combs added. “Zaidyn is pulling through. He’s been walking around, he had his tubes taken out, and he’s done his breathing treatments. He’s healing slowly, but so far, he’s doing pretty good.”

Overall, Ward is optimistic for his future as his doctors said he can return to the football field next year.