Getting hit on the head with a softball saved St. John's Lindsey Ganey's life

April 5, 2010

St John's College High School


Last April 23 started like any other day for Lindsey Ganey. Then a freshman at St. John's College High, Lindsey arrived at school in the early morning wearing one uniform but anxious to change into another. She had played softball since the second grade and earned a spot on the varsity roster as freshman. The season was barely underway.

Ganey was playing second base that afternoon when a player from the opposing team hit a pop fly just beyond the bag. Ganey dropped back to make the catch at the same time as the shortstop. The ball bounced off the tip of her teammate's glove and smacked Ganey in the forehead. She left the game with a bump on her head but little else. Concerned she may have suffered a concussion, she went to the hospital later that night.

"Getting hit may have been the best thing to happen," said Lori Ganey, Lindsey's mom. There was no concussion. Instead doctors discovered a large brain tumor that would require 10 hours of surgery. In the hospital, Ganey found herself unable to walk. Her parents say there were days when she barely spoke more than five words. She spent part of the summer on bed rest. "When she came home from the hospital, it was still a long recovery," Lori said.

Ganey was determined to make it back to the field in time to play with her fall team, but in August, doctors were concerned about swelling and a blood clot that had formed. Playing was still a no go. "That was the first time that I think we saw her upset," her mother said.

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