FINDING HIS STRIDE
Higley athlete recovering after tumor removal
Two strokes, two surgeries for a brain tumor, 52 days in the hospital later.
Now, 15-year-old Marcus Edwards looks only at what tomorrow presents.
Baby steps.
Walking without help.
Jogging.
Running.
Sprinting.
Getting back on Gilbert Higley High’s campus, then maybe — hoping, praying — he can put on a helmet and play football again.
“I want to try to come back this season, but it depends on how long recovery is,” he said. “I want to get back to running and getting back into shape.”
Nobody has told him no. Nobody has told him yes.
But this is Edwards’ heart talking. “When I first got to the hospital and they were examining me, I asked if I would be able to play football again,” he said. “They said they didn’t know.”
Edwards still can’t believe what’s happened since November.
The 5-foot-9, 135-pound cornerback, who was an up-and-coming sophomore with a bright future in football and track ahead of him, was promoted from junior varsity to the varsity football team for the playoffs.
Friday night lights. Warming up with the big boys. An up-close look at pushing perennial 4A power Scottsdale Saguaro into overtime in the state semifinals.
Then, Edwards got blindsided by life. Recurring headaches became so excruciating, he couldn’t get out of bed.
“When the season ended, I told my mom that the headaches were getting worse,” he said. “I missed two days of school because of it.”
In January, he was diagnosed with a tumor on his brain stem.
He was admitted to a Mesa hospital, where he was scheduled for surgery. But the first surgery was unsuccessful.
Amber Ledbetter, Edwards’ mom, believes Edwards had a stroke in Mesa before he was moved to Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. There, he received a cerebral angiogram because, Lebetter said, there was fluid.
Then, he had another stroke, Ledbetter said, within a week.
In the second surgery, the entire tumor, which was benign, was removed, Ledbetter said. Edwards was later moved to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where he began his rehab.
Edwards said he has had to relearn to walk, talk, feed himself, brush his teeth, things he had always taken for granted.
After returning home last week, Edwards kept a wheelchair nearby. He used a walker but still needed help to go to the bathroom. His mom has not worked during Edwards’ ordeal, making sure he is being cared for. She has seen him depressed. It’s been hard.
“One day at a time,” she said. “But he’s doing amazing so far. In a month, he already is taking steps, walking, which is more than some people do.”
He began home-schooling on Monday. Eventually, he’ll get back to campus, even if it’s for half a day. He is not ready yet.
“He’s an athlete,” Ledbetter said. “He’s a superstar. Going from being a star athlete to a wheelchair and not being able to do things he was used to doing, it’s hard.”
Edwards is surrounded by support. His mom and grandmother are always around. His twin brother is ready to help. His best friend, Jamarlo Campbell, a sophomore linebacker at Goodyear Millennium, spent most of his spring break with Edwards after he came home from the hospital. The two became best friends during the year Edwards lived on the west side before moving to the East Valley.
“I didn’t think it was true at first,” Campbell said about hearing about Edwards’ brain tumor. “I just try to be here as much as I can.”
Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner sent Edwards a signed football, and Muhammad Oliver, a former pro football player who runs a west-side track club at which Edwards was a member, has visited Edwards, who is a sprinter. Oliver gave him an inspirational book to read.
“I say to him, ‘You know what, you take one thing, one step at a time,’ ” Oliver said. “‘Approach this the same way. Take this as an obstacle and overcome it. Keep moving. You’ll start to walk, then jog, then you’re back on the track to get ready for a meet.’ ”
Higley football coach Eddy Zubey is keeping Edwards’ jersey ready for him anytime. He will always have a place on the team, whether as a player or as a student coach.
“We’ll have a jersey ready for him,” Zubey said. “We expect him out there opening night, one way or another.”
The road looks difficult. There are harder days than others. But there is no looking back.
“They say it’s a miracle,” Ledbetter said.