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TUNKHANNOCK — Tommy Traver is used to be involved in the wrestling action. On Tuesday night, the Tunkhannock senior was in the unfamiliar position of sitting at the end of the mat in a wheelchair cheering on his teammates.
It’s the first time he saw his friends since suffering a broken leg during an accident at school last week.
“I’m feeling pretty good right now,” Traver said. “I’m a little sore here and there. I’m trying to overcome that. Not taking any kind of pain meds. Just trying to stay healthy and work through the pain.”
It was originally believed that Traver’s career and shot at a state championship would be over. But he’s not ready to say it’s over. He even told his doctor that.
“This is just a lump in the road. And after this, it’s gonna depend on me. So hopefully, five weeks I’ll be out of this and back on the mat,” he said. “Obviously, No. 1, I’m gonna have this leg the rest of my life and I want it to heal. But No. 2, you only get one more time to wrestle districts, regionals and states. So that’s about just as important. So, I said to the doctor, ‘five weeks you can cut it off or I can cut it off.’”
Prior to the biggest dual of the season so far for the Tigers on Tuesday against Lake-Lehman, coach Bob Hegedty kept it a surprise for his young team that Traver, who was released from the hospital on Sunday, was back in the Tunkhannock gym. He hasn’t even returned to school yet.
Then minutes before the dual started, Hegedty opened the door to the wrestling room and Traver was there to give the team a pep talk.
“They were in the room warming up and I wheeled him over to the door and opened the door and they jumped around and ran to the door and they were pretty excited,” Hegedty said.
The pep talk went well and then Traver took his spot on the edge of the mat.
“Coming into a gym where you’ve wrestled every single match of your high school career and you’re sitting in a wheelchair, it’s kinda heartbreaking,” Traver said. “But right now it’s just a mental thought that I’ll be back on the mat in five weeks. Now I’m basically coaching and helping out my team for the next five weeks. And then I’ll be back on the mat, hopefully.”
Traver is already working out on his upperbody to stay in shape so Hegedty is not ruling out a return for districts on Feb. 22.
“(He told me,) ‘If I have to I’ll cut the damn thing off. I’m gonna be wrestling on that Friday,’” Hegedty said about his first conversation with Traver. “And I’m not ruling that out. Knowing him, I’m not gonna rule it out. If he steps on the mat I don’t know how I’ll react.”
Traver, who said he still has many goals to accomplish and is not ready to end his season yet, added that he got dozens of messages and well wishes from people in the wrestling community, including rival wrestlers from Lake-Lehman.
“It’s amazing to see how many people from the wrestling community reached out and how much support there is out there,” he said. “Wrestling is a family thing. We’re all family until we get out on the mat. That’s the best thing. A lot of sports don’t get to see that. There’s no other sport like it.”