Youngster lost his arm, but not his football dream

Will Treadway’s life got turned upside down at a very young age.

The Chapman High sophomore, then 3 years old, was involved in a car wreck in which his vehicle overturned, resulting in the loss of his right arm.

Treadway (5-foot-7, 280 pounds) doesn’t have a recollection of the accident or the events that led to his recovery. What he does remember was his unwavering desire to play football just like the rest of his friends.

“That next year after the wreck I made sure that I was going to play football,” Treadway said. “I wanted to play, and I haven’t stopped since.”

Treadway is a starting nose guard on the Panthers junior varsity team. He competed at the varsity level during jamborees in the preseason but decided against staying there to allow his best friend, senior defensive lineman Jamie Means, to win the position uncontested and pursue his goal of a college scholarship.

Treadway’s mother, Misty Treadway, said a few months of recovery time was all Will needed to make his dream come true.

“(The wreck) happened two days before Valentine’s Day, and he had spent the night with my dad in North Carolina,” she said. “We wrecked on New Cut Road, and you could see the sign for my road that we live on when it happened. I swerved to miss a dog and it flipped over. Will was sleeping in his car seat, and he had a bad habit of sticking his arm out and under the seat belt. He never cried. I don’t know if he was in shock or what. I just saw blood. ... We’ve always said where there’s a ‘Will’ there’s a way. He’s so amazing. When he puts his mind to something, there’s no stopping him.”

Michael Treadway, Will’s father, said his son is a miracle.

“He lost 98 percent of his arm at the scene,” he said. “He was airlifted to Spartanburg Regional and then sent to Duke University. They reattached his arm, but staph infection set in and it had to be removed by surgery. It’s overwhelming now when you see him make a good play because you know how much he had to try. He gets double-teamed, and it’s four hands versus one, but he’ll still whoop them. It shows a lot of courage and heart.”

Will doesn’t feel as if he’s different than any other player on the team. He said there are times where opponents get timid around him, but it quickly goes away.

“I just go out there and not think about it and not let anyone bother me because they have two arms,” Will said. “Sometimes (an opponent) will ease up on me, but after a couple of plays they don’t because I’m not easing up.”

Chapman coach Mark Hodge said Treadway is an inspiration to his teammates as he’s constantly pushing them to do their best.

“We’re lifting weights, and one of our players says that his hand hurts,” Hodge said. “Will just looked at him and said ‘Your hand hurts. Come on man I’m doing this with one arm.’ Imagine, too, trying to tackle somebody with one side of your body. He plays hard and plays well. He has every reason to point out why he could be unsuccessful, but he doesn’t do that.”

Means, who has been friends with Treadway since before the wreck, said the sky is the limit for his teammate.

“I think he’s a great player with potential,” Means said. “He doesn’t use his arm to fall back on mistakes. He just looks at the coach and says it’s my bad and goes on. He’s been like that with all sports, even when he played baseball in little league. He inspires me because other players say they can’t do it, and I use Will as an example. He’ll tell me that he’s going to take my position, and that pushes me.”

Misty also said her son has been an inspiration to her through the times that she wanted to blame herself for the wreck.

“He was a very strong little boy,” she said. “When we first started taking him out of the house, other kids would stare and would say things about him. I would lose it, and he would tell me not to be that way and that it wasn’t my fault. He’d say ‘If Jesus didn’t want me to be this way, it wouldn’t have happened.’ “

Will doesn’t see himself as an inspiration like many others do. He said each day is just business as usual.

“I just go about my day,” he said. “I don’t pay it any attention really. I’ve heard others say I’m an inspiration, but I don’t try to be. I just feel like I can do whatever I put my mind to.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2016 at 11:48 PM with the headline "Youngster lost his arm, but not his football dream."