AURORA | Michael Morris’ two older sisters went to Cherokee Trail High School and played sports, so he grew up around the school and dreamed of someday being the starting quarterback for the powerhouse Cougars.
That someday has arrived, though in the most unexpected way possible for the junior multi-sport athlete.
Just five months ago, Morris lay in a bed at Children’s Hospital Colorado down nearly 30 pounds thanks to a medical odyssey that started last spring when stomach pains forced him out of the middle of a baseball game. Recovered and back to full strength, Morris got the call to be Cherokee Trail’s quarterback when friend and fellow junior Conner Nantkes suffered a broken arm in a preseason scrimmage against Pomona.
Now 3-1 as a starter — after throwing for a touchdown and rushing for one in a 14-7 victory over Rangeview on Sept. 24 — Morris intends to make the most of the time he has in the role he always wanted.
“It was always a goal to play at Cherokee Trail as a kid; you look at them then and call them the ‘big guys’ and that’s what you want to be,” Morris said. “Now, I’m living the dream and being what I used to look up to.”
Suffice it to say that nobody appreciates the ‘dream’ as much as Morris, who has a new perspective on being able to play sports because of what he went through in the past few months.
On April 23, Morris was playing shortstop for Cherokee Trail’s up-and-coming baseball team, which got off to a strong start and appeared to be up to the task of challenging Cherry Creek for the league championship.
During a rain delay before the second game of a back-to-back with rival Grandview, Morris felt some stomach pains, which the team trainer initially believed could be gas pains. He took some ibuprofen and was told to lay down on the bench to help them go away, which he did during every time his team came up to bat, but the pain remained.
Cherokee Trail coach Allan Dyer knew something had to be done, so he removed Morris from the game and his dad and sister rushed him off to a local urgent care near the school.
“It was always a goal to play at Cherokee Trail as a kid; you look at them then and call them the ‘big guys’ and that’s what you want to be,” Morris said. “Now, I’m living the dream and being what I used to look up to.”
“Since it was a big game at a critical time, I wanted to keep playing through it for my teammates, but Coach Dyer had to pull me out,” Morris recalled.
After an immediate scan, the belief was that Morris’ intestines had twisted, so he went into surgery less than 12 hours after he left the ballgame.
During the laproscopic procedure, Morris’ surgeon found no swelling of the intestines to support the original diagnosis, but removed Morris’ appendix (which hadn’t ruptured) and trimmed the Meckel’s diverticulum, a pouch in the lower part of the intestines.
Morris got the OK to go home the next day, but similar stomach pains returned soon after and he found himself in and out of the hospital for the next few weeks, dealing with high fevers and large amounts of fluids that had to be drained, the byproduct of a blood leak from the procedure to the Meckel’s diverticulum.
Poked and prodded with needles and all sorts of tests, eventually another surgery was needed as an infection that formed into a softball-sized mass of hardened blood in his pelvis had to be removed.
When it was all said and done — and the cause of his original stomach pains still hadn’t been found according to his father, Brian — Morris had spent 29 days in the hospital and lost 28 pounds, down from the 160 he had worked so hard to get to for his playing days.
“He was so weak for a guy who worked out three times a day,” Brian Morris said. “He missed the last seven games and four weeks of school. It was depressing for him to miss out on baseball showcases, camps, tournaments, etc. and he was uanble to play anything until mid-July.”
Though tested physically, Morris had the emotional support of his baseball teammates, who visited him in the hospital regularly and kept him up to date on the season.
Hearing the stories helped Morris (who still was picked to the All-Centennial League second team despite his missed time) stay involved, but he was raring to go. He could only begin with jogging and had to avoid anything that put strain on his core for quite some time.
Just five months ago, Morris lay in a bed at Children’s Hospital Colorado down nearly 30 pounds thanks to a medical odyssey that started last spring when stomach pains forced him out of the middle of a baseball game. Recovered and back to full strength, Morris got the call to be Cherokee Trail’s quarterback when friend and fellow junior Conner Nantkes suffered a broken arm in a preseason scrimmage against Pomona.
Once Morris got the go-ahead, however, it was full speed ahead, especially with football season ahead.
“It was somewhat discouraging, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to work out while my body healed,” Morris recalled. “Once I was set free to work out and do whatever I could, it was like a fire started inside me. I used football to motivate me to get back.”
Expected to play a key role in the defensive backfield for Cherokee Trail, Morris split time on offense and defense between practices, learning new systems the team had on both sides of the football.
When Nantkes — also Morris’ baseball teammate and one of his biggest supporters — went down with an injury that may keep him out for the entire football season, Morris switched to offense full time and has gradually grown more comfortable as he’s capably led the Cougars.
“It was hard to see my friend Conner not be able to play after working so hard and he looked like he was going to be very successful this season,” Morris said. “I feel pretty good considering the situation and everything that’s happened, having to rebuild my strength and the ability to play.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel