A long road ahead

Winter Springs Hall of Famer Caldwell faces a difficult recovery following auto accident

Winter Springs athletics hall of famer Tony Caldwell remains in critical but stable condition after undergoing multiple surgeries in one day last week due to an automobile accident.

Caldwell began breathing on his own Monday. He previously relied on a ventilator following surgeries to repair fractures to his face and right arm. He also suffered injuries to a shoulder, foot and the L3 vertebrae, which is located along the lower spine.

Caldwell, 31, has been able to respond to commands and show some movement in his extremities, according to his older brother, Jimmy, who said the staff at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach is now focused on monitoring “significant injuries” to his brain and left eye.

Jimmy Caldwell said the family has been “overwhelmed with all the love and support we have received” from people across the country, which has included Tony’s former high school, college and minor league baseball teammates and coaches.

“Seeing the way he’s touched people’s lives has been crazy,” Jimmy said. “You just don’t realize how much love there is out there [until something like this happens].”

Tony Caldwell had his hand and arm put back together with plates and screws. Five plates were required to repair fractures in his cheeks, eye orbits and the side of his forehead. He also had his nose surgically repaired, his foot put into a cast and shoulder immobilized to help prevent further injury, according to Jimmy.

Two years younger than his brother Jimmy, Tony Caldwell was a standout baseball and football player at Winter Springs and was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 2014. Jimmy referred to Tony as a gifted athlete and tough-nosed kid, which he said was evident at an early age while playing up with older kids in youth baseball leagues and while later excelling with the Sun Devils travel team.

“His whole life has been geared toward athletics and being an outdoorsman,” Jimmy said.

Named one of 13 semifinalists

COURTESY OF CALDWELL FAMILY Former Winter Springs baseball and football player Tony Caldwell, pictured while playing college baseball for Auburn, required multiple surgeries last week due to injuries sustained in an auto accident.