By Joe Johnson
A stand out baseball player for Gainesville High School has been declared brain-dead after a teammate accidentally hit him in the head with a bat during a routine practice session late last month.
Jeremy Medina, 17, was injured on Nov. 20 and has been hospitalized in a coma ever since.
His family confirmed this week that he will be removed from life support and become an organ donor.
GHS principal Jamie Green had explained that Medina leaned into a batting cage net while a teammate was hitting balls.
“As a player followed through on his swing, Jeremy leaned into the net and was struck in the head,” Green said.
“There is no horseplay, no misconduct and no intent.”
The administrator revealed Medina’s fate to his teammates in a private meeting Wednesday, and counselors have been made available to students.
Medina’s family said he had a scholarship offer to play college baseball before the tragedy.
The local community rallied around the teen since the incident, with a local billboard asking residents to “Pray for Jeremy” as his prognosis grew bleak.
Medina was a devout Christian who hoped to become a youth minister while pursuing his baseball dreams, according to his father,l.
"Our strength, my family’s strength, my strength since day one has been rooted in the most amazing power of Jesus Christ,” David Medina said.
“(Some well-wishers) don’t even know my son, don’t even know my family, but they’re together with us in prayer and support us in this moment.”
Doctors said Medina was unable to recover from the blow that immediately rendered him unconscious.
“The initial trauma to his head was significant and caused him to lose consciousness and as he lost consciousness, he lost his ability to maintain his airway,” said Dr. Michael Cormican, the director of Surgical Critical Care at Northeast Georgia Medical Center, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
May God Bless this young man and his family. this is so tragic.
Heartbreaking outcome. So sorry for his family, friends, and teammates.