After graduating high school in 2022, athlete Parker Byrd had high hopes for his future career in baseball. He was all set to play for ECU as a freshman in the fall. Unfortunately, that summer he was injured in a terrible boating accident. His right leg was cut open by one of the propellers, and he had to be airlifted for treatment.
“I knew I was dying in the helicopter for sure,” Parker Byrd told WITN. “I felt my energy leaving my body.”
Who knew that, two years later, he’d be making baseball history?
Parker Byrd made it out of the hospital alive, but he had to undergo 22 surgeries in 54 days. In the end, doctors were forced to amputate his right leg below the knee. While this would seriously affect the rest of the athlete’s life, he was optimistic about returning to his beloved sport.
“Prosthetics are much better for below the knee,” he said. “There’s a lot more movement and you basically can get near 100% with a prosthetic with the technology they have today.”
Parker Byrd was not about to give up on his baseball dreams.
Head baseball coach at ECU, Cliff Godwin, was also thinking about Parker Byrd’s future on his team. In fact, he was rooting for the young man’s recovery the entire time.
“Even from the very beginning I think he was one of the first people at the hospital,” the young man said.
Finally, on February 16, Parker Byrd made his return to the diamond, according to The Sporting News. Not only that, but he made Division I baseball history as the first player to step up to the plate with a prosthetic leg!
Life certainly threw Parker Byrd a curveball when he lost his leg, but he’s not letting this injury get in the way of his dreams. What an inspiration!
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