Athletes take a risk each time they suit up to take the field, especially football players.

Anything could happen during the full-contact sport: concussions, sprains, twists and even broken bones.

This past week a Coal Grove High School football player unfortunately suffered one of those injures, probably one of the most terrifying and dangerous ones of all — a broken neck.

Amazingly the young teen, Nathaniel Brumett, walked off the field after the practice hit that fractured his cervical vertebrae and, subsequently, caused a stroke.

What at first felt like a tingling sensation in the teen’s arm, a supposedly common occurrence in football players, was thankfully not disregarded by the coaching staff as such.

If it were not for the quick actions of those in charge, Brumett may not have been able to get the immediate medical attention needed to treat his stroke and injured neck.

As of Friday Brumett was in the intensive care unit at National Children’s Hospital in Columbus and we hope everyone, no matter their school affiliation, will send positive thoughts and prayers to him and his mother and sisters as he recovers.