“In my 10th grade year, I basically had a minor heart attack during a game.”
That was the moment Grayson Walker’s life changed forever.
Walker, now a senior offensive lineman for the Yazoo County Panthers, was just like any other young man in rural Mississippi.
He loved his family, the outdoors and football.
On October 24, 2014, an event happened that threatened to take all of that away from him.
During a football game against Ridgeland, exhaustion, dizziness and a pounding chest struck Grayson out of nowhere.
He had to come out of the game, and his mother, Tracey, could tell that something just wasn’t right.
“I took myself out of the game because I felt like something was wrong,” Walker said. “My chest was pounding, like I could feel it. I was dizzy and immediately exhausted. I’ve never felt that way ever. My mom could tell I wasn’t right. She came down and checked my heart rate. I had to calm myself down.”
But Walker, the hard-nosed kid that he is, had to finish a little business.
He asked (former Yazoo County football coach) Bernard Euell if he could go in and finish the game off.
“I went back in during the fourth quarter,” Walker said. “I told coach I was okay, and he let me in. I finished the game.”
Despite a high blood pressure and a lingering tiredness, Grayson did not feel like anything was too terribly wrong or needed immediate attention.
He decided to sleep it off.
A Minor Setback
But it didn’t take him long the next day to figure out that he wasn’t okay.
“I didn’t go to the hospital or anything that night,” Walker said. “I got up and went to school the next day. I don’t know how I made it there. I was exhausted, like I could barely keep my eyes open. I had to call my mom to come get me and take me to the doctor.”
The Walkers made the trip over to a local doctor, and the testing began.
An EKG and stress test, among other tests, were done to try and locate the origin of the problem.
It was determined that he suffered from supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), which is a an abnormal heart rate stemming from improper electrical activity in the heart.
To correct the problem, Walker had to have a minor surgery.
In February of 2015, the doctors went in and performed a catheter ablation, which utilizes catheters that go in through the neck and groin to destroy cells that were causing the electrical issues.
For six weeks, Grayson had to take things easy and do his best to recover.
The doctor had one more concern, so he ran another test for an ailment that he considered to a long shot, but for the time being, Walker was back to his normal life.
An Unfortunate Call
Then a phone call undid all the happiness that Grayson had regained.
“I had to have a DNA test, but they cleared me to go back to play,” Walker said. “He told me that he didn’t think I had any more problems, but he didn’t have the blood test back yet. I had started back practicing when he called my mother two days later. They told me not to practice or anything anymore. I had to immediately stop everything.”
The doctor’s fear was correct.
Grayson Walker had long QT syndrome (LQTS), a rare disease that causes fast, chaotic heartbeats that can spiral wildly out of control.
The realization of what had occurred during that football game in October became more of a blessing in their eyes.
“The doctor told us that long QT syndrome is normally diagnosed in autopsies,” Tracey Walker said. “He said we were extremely luck that Grayson didn’t lose consciousness that day.”
Had Grayson Walker lost consciousness, he likely would have died.
That meant football was likely over for him.
“If he had LQTS, he would never be able to play football again,” Tracey said. “It was hard to tell him that. He was really upset. It was a rough weekend.”
At the doctor’s appointment the following Monday, however, Grayson had his hopes revitalized.
“Dr. (Charles) Gaymes did his research and decided to implant the defibrillator deep behind muscle tissue,” Tracey said. “He felt that would make it safe to return to football. The worst case scenario would be that he would break a rib, and it would break the defibrillator. They would know if that would happen. He believed that it would be best for Grayson to get back to his normal routine and get back to playing the game he loved.”
Along with taking a new medication that he would have to stay on for the rest of his life, more surgery was needed for Grayson, but this time, it would be much more invasive.
The plan was to put a small defibrillator in his heart as a failsafe in case something went terribly wrong again.
The surgery was a success, but it meant a long, arduous recovery was ahead.
The Struggles of Rehab
For six weeks, Grayson was unable to be submerged under water.
For six months, he couldn’t lift his arm over his head.
For a whole football season, he had to watch as his friends and teammates fought on the field, knowing they could have used him.
Tracey struggled to watch her son go through such a difficult time in his life.
“It was a long recovery,” Tracey said. “It was probably tougher emotionally on him than physically. He doesn’t like to lay around, and he just couldn’t do anything. It was tough.”
Grayson worked and worked and worked to get back to normal, and in November of 2015, he was finally cleared for contact.
Positivity and Change
One positive that came from Grayson’s story is that is caused the rest of his family members to be checked for LQTS, which is passed on genetically.
Grayson’s father Aubrey and brother Blaine were both diagnosed with LQTS, something that more than likely would not have happened if they had not first found it in Grayson.
“Aubrey and Blaine both had Type-1 LQTS,” Tracey said. “Since they haven’t had an episode, they only needed medication for it. It’s kind of a blessing that we found out.”
The whole multi-year grind has been tough on the whole Walker family.
Tracey, however, has turned her focus to the future.
Her recent experiences have helped shape her opinion on what she believes is a major problem in Yazoo County, the lack of access to defibrillators.
“Our churches and schools and other places around the community don’t have defibrillators,” Tracey said. “They are crucial. People’s lives could be saved. If Grayson had lost consciousness in Ridgeland, they didn’t have the equipment to bring him back. I don’t know if it is something the taxpayers have to do or what, but need to make it happen. We need them in our schools and churches.”
A Heart for the Game
He had missed his entire junior season, but he refused to miss his final one.
His hard work and effort finally paid off when he was given the news that he could play once more.
“I was dang near in tears when they told me I was cleared to play,” Walker said. “I was so happy. It was such a great moment. It was emotional for me every Friday night watching them play, and I was finally ready to join them.”
While playing football may not have been advised, the decision fell in Grayson’s lap.
And for him, it wasn’t much of a decision at all.
He was playing the game he loved.
“I told them it was my senior year and I was playing,” Grayson said. “I didn’t care what happened. I was playing football during my senior year. My mom and dad didn’t want me to play, but they said it was up to me. It was my decision, and I was going to play no matter what it took.”
Losing the game he loved and finding his way back to the field has given Grayson a unique perspective that not all high school athletes have.
He’s felt loss.
But now, he will never feel regret.
“I don’t take it for granted,” Grayson said. “I hear people complaining about little things sometimes and miss practice and stuff, and I just shake my head. I had two seasons where I wasn’t able to play. You just don’t know how much you miss every little thing until it’s taken away. I’ve had people tell me I was a living testament for working my way back to playing. You just can’t take it for granted because one day it will be gone.”
