During a game Justin was playing second base and he was hit in the temple by a thrown ball.  Justin did not immediately realize how serious the injury was as he stayed with his team until the game was complete.

It was not until Justin was driving home from the tournament with his friend he began to experience dizziness and disorientation.  He knew something was wrong.  He told his friend he better take him to the hospital.

When Justin arrived at the hospital in Geneva the medical professionals who attended to him knew that something was horribly wrong and immediately transported him by life flight to Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland.

Within 15 minutes of his arrival at Metro, Justin was undergoing brain surgery.

Justin was told later that he arrived just in time and was only minutes away from death if he had not arrived at the hospital when he did.  Justin made a pretty quick recovery and was out of the hospital within four days.  There was only one problem and it was a big one, Justin had no insurance to cover the medical bills he had just acquired.

This is when Justin found out how many friends he had and how much they cared about him.

One of the people who found out about Justin’s new financial problem was Denise Smoley.  Smoley who had played with Justin for years in the Mentor Adult Softball League very quickly got a group of people together to form NTD (Next Time Duck) Super Draft.  The Super Draft is a softball tournament that will be held on August 18 and 19^th at the Mentor High Fields.  The proceeds from the tournament will go toward Justin’s medical bills.  The worthwhile entry fee is only $30.

Smoley said that they have gotten donations from many different organizations such as SPC Sports, Apex, Eastlake Police Department, Lake County Captains and four box seats to a Cleveland Indians game donated by the Cleveland Indians.

Justin said he couldn’t believe it when he found out what they were doing for him.  Denise commented that, “Even though he didn’t get hurt in out league, he’s still one of our friends and we just had to do something.”

Justin was scheduled to get married sometime next year, but now it has been moved up.

Justin said even though he loves softball and the doctors told him that he could play again, he will never play.  He said he just doesn’t want to risk another injury he has too much to live for.