AUSTIN, Texas — With the delayed start to the high school football season last year, Lake Travis had their first day of practice on Sept. 7. The Cavaliers took the field early that morning with cooler than normal temperatures.
As practice wound down, the players were finishing up by running sprints. During that time, junior defensive lineman Jaden Nguyen started to feel a little off and he eventually fell to the ground.
“All of a sudden, I just see him lay down and fall over,” said Lake Travis defensive line coach Omar Ochoa.
The initial thought was that it wasn’t serious and maybe he just overheated.
“Once we all got there, we realized it was something more than cramps,” said head coach Hank Carter.
“I just like passed out and that’s the last thing I remember on that day on the field,” said Jaden Nguyen.
The coaches and trainers for Lake Travis immediately took action. They attended to Nguyen and called an ambulance. Coach Carter remembers Nguyen being somewhat incoherent and visibly in pain.
“We had never dealt with anything like that,” said Carter, a longtime high school football coach. “But we were still thinking when the ambulance came, they’re going to get him over to the hospital, get him IVs and in 30 minutes he’ll feel like a new man.”
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. When Nguyen arrived at the nearby hospital, doctors realized this was a much more serious situation.
“Forty-five minutes later we found that things were a little bit more grave,” says Ochoa.
Nguyen was in a coma and placed in the ICU.
“My next memory is waking up in a hospital in a coma two weeks after,” says Nguyen.
A terrifying two weeks in which Nguyen’s life was in real danger. He had suffered severe heat stroke and his temperature reached 108 degrees.
“It was very scary and that probably doesn’t do it justice,” says Carter. “Every machine that I can think of in a hospital was hooked up to him.”
Nguyen eventually came out of his coma and slowly began to see progress. He remained in the hospital for over two months.
“When I was in the bed, I was just saying random stuff. I didn’t know who everyone was,” says Nguyen.
During that time in a coma, he had lost a little of his speech and some of his cognitive thinking skills. But when he started to remember things, he remembered his desire to play football.
“I was thinking I just want to get back on the field and just play again,” says Nguyen.
“I chuckled on the side thinking, ‘Oh, I love his spirit. Obviously, football means so much to this kid and the other kids on our team mean so much to him,” Carter recalls.
Football seemed so far off though and risky.
“In the back of my mind, I never dreamed that was going to be a real possibility,” says Carter.
A few months after the incident, Jaden was able to return to school. Eventually, he got clearance from doctors to return to some light physical activity. Coach Carter and the football staff were very careful with the work they gave him.
“We brought him along really, really slow,” says Carter. “We monitor him and he’s still on a pitch count.”
Nguyen was able to go through spring practice with the Lake Travis football team and took part in their summer conditioning program.
“That’s where I got back everything,” says Nguyen. “My cognitive thinking, my physical and mental aspects of it.”
“He just never had another experience other than that day,” says Carter.
So, after being in a coma for two weeks and the hospital for two months, Jaden Nguyen was ready to play football again this fall. He was going to return for his senior season and that first moment would come in the opener on August 27 in a home game against Arlington Martin.
“Feels great to be back,” says Nguyen. “Can’t wait to get back on the field after what happened.”
“I’m still kind of in disbelief. I never would’ve thought that we would be back here,” says Carter. “He’s going to be a captain and that’s going to be a great moment for a lot of reasons, but especially having him back with us.”
Nguyen made his return that night and helped Lake Travis to a win over Martin. Not only is he back on the field, but he’s a starter at defensive tackle and a big reason the Cavaliers have started this season 3-1.