The long-time coach of the Hannah-Pamplico High School football team suffered a tragic fall last week and is in the trauma unit at an area hospital.
He's paralyzed and school officials say doctors aren't sure if it's permanent.
For nearly 18 years, Coach Kirk Mays has stood on the sidelines guiding his Hannah-Pamplico Raiders to many victories.
But now the beloved coach is in a trauma unit at McLeod Regional Medical Center following a tragic accident last week.
"Everything that he's pushed the kids to do, it's time for him to do now," said Robert Sullivan, Superintendent of Hannah-Pamplico schools.
Coach Mays was hunting when he fell from a deer stand in Pamplico. The fall left him paralyzed.
Jamal Simon plays on Coach Mays' football team and thinks of him like a father.
"I got a text message from some of the other football players saying he had got into an accident. It was hard to believe," said Simon.
School officials say when Coach Mays fell from a deer stand on Old River Road, and it was his young son who found him.
They say the boy called a relative and did what he could to stabilize his father until paramedics arrived.
Jamal says his fellow athletes and students have signed a card for Coach Mays and made him a special basket.
"Very pleased at the progress he's making, very hopeful. With our thoughts and prayers he and his family will make a full recovery," said Sullivan.
"I hope to see him walk again. I know it's tough on him but again, I know he'll walk again," said Simon.
And everyone at Hannah-Pamplico High is optimistic that coach Kirk Mays will be back on the sidelines soon.
We're told Coach Mays has felt some sensation in his toes and feet.
You can leave a comment here about the coach and you can sign a get well message for him at the link below.
