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Rock Island rallies behind injured football player

A Rock Island High School senior has been overwhelmed by support from his classmates and complete strangers after a fluke football injury nearly ended his life.

A Rock Island High School senior has been overwhelmed by support from his classmates and complete strangers after a fluke football injury nearly ended his life.

Prince Gbeddeh, a running back at Rocky, thought he had torn his ACL when his leg got tangled up in an opponent's during the season opener on August 29, 2014. After being rushed to the hospital in Peoria, Gbeddeh learned he had a dislocated knee, and the injury had cut off blood flow to his leg. He underwent emergency surgery, and complications put Gbeddeh on life support.

"I was sleeping. That's the good part about it. When I woke up, I just looked at my leg and was like, 'Whoa.' I was shocked," said Gbeddeh.

Three weeks later, Gbeddeh is still in Peoria, but hopeful that he will soon return home. He's going through physical therapy and able to walk short distances with crutches, and he says it's the community's support that has kept him going.

Gbeddeh's Rocky teammates and coaches have visited, along with co-workers and classmates. Stacks of cards fill his hospital room, many of them from other area football teams and people he's never even met.

"I don't even know what to say, I'm like shocked. Thank you so much. I don't even know, I'm just excited to seem them and tell them thank you," said Gbeddeh.

Perhaps the most unlikely visitors, though, traveled only a few minutes down the road.

On the night of the injury, the Rocks played Peoria's Manual Academy. Since that night, though, Rock Island's opponent has taken Gbeddeh under their wing.

"We brought him into our family, the Manual Rams family. He's part of us now," said Marcus Sierra, a senior football player.

Players and coaches from Manual have visited the hospital, brought food for Gbeddeh and his mom, and even raised $1,700 for the player. Not only is he a full-time student and athlete, but Gbeddeh also worked two part-time jobs to help support his family, who moved from Liberia in 2008.

"I didn't expect for a team I really don't know to come up here and just talk to me, and so it just shows they really care about people. It's not only about football," said Gbeddeh.

Now, Gbeddeh hopes that this weekend's homecoming celebration will also be his chance to return home to the Quad Cities, as the healing process just begins.

"I'm never going to forget this year. It's still going to be there, every time I look at the scars on my feet. It's going to be there," said Gbeddeh.

Rock Island teachers and staff have set up a GoFundMe page to collect donations for Gbeddeh, which you can find here.

Rock Island High School will also be collecting money at Friday's homecoming game versus UTHS, with a goal of raising $30,000 for #30.

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