CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — A 16-year-old baseball player at West Oso High School is facing a difficult medical challenge after an injury left him with permanent damage to his hip.
Kendall Taylor, a shortstop who has earned all-district honors, continues to play despite walking with a limp and experiencing daily pain from an injury that occurred during his freshman year.
"The rest of my body went forward and my bottom half stayed. And my whole body just folded in like that and just shattered the whole back wall of my hip," Taylor said.
Taylor couldn't feel the pain initially, just the adrenaline as he tried to continue playing.
"I tried to get back up and run and I just fell back down. My coach said I was supposed to be on second base by then but I was on the ground already," Taylor said.
After surgery that placed six screws in his leg, Taylor began physical therapy and was eventually cleared to return to baseball. However, his condition has worsened over time.
"His femur bone is deteriorating, or let's say collapsing," said Stacy Simmons, Taylor's mother.
West Oso High School Baseball Head Coach Gonzales says he's never seen an injury like Taylor's and admires his determination.
"With an injury like that, I felt like there was a very slim chance that he was ever gonna play baseball again, and he's battled through it, tremendously. It would be so easy for Kendall to say 'you know what I throw it all in. I have pain on a daily basis. I don't wanna do this anymore. I don't wanna push through.' But that's not his character. He pushes through every single day and that's exactly what the team sees. The team follows in his footsteps," Gonzales said.
Simmons, who is a teacher and coach at West Oso High School, has spent months calling hospitals across the country searching for a specialist who can help her son.
"The only option is hip replacement. But hip replacement, they don't do it on kids. It'll be when he gets 30 or 40," Simmons said.
Taylor needs hip resurfacing surgery, a procedure that could restore his mobility and stop the bone from breaking down. His family found a doctor in Seattle who said Taylor is a good candidate for the surgery, but insurance won't cover it because it's out of state.
"A lot of people just don't know what we go through on a daily basis. Especially him, with the pain he has," Simmons said.
Despite these challenges, Taylor remains focused on his senior year.
"I'm looking forward to playing my senior year pain free and giving everything I got on the field," Taylor said.
To donate to Kendall's GoFundMe, click here:
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