Keep this number in mind: 1.
As in one in a million.
Football players, coaches and parents all know the usefulness of statistics, but numbers cannot begin to explain the amazing story of Line Mountain's Connor Laudenslager.
On Sept. 6, Laudenslager was going through conditioning drills with the rest of the Eagles football team in the school gymnasium when, in just a moment, his world changed.
A perfectly healthy teenage boy suffered a stroke.
Doctors have told Connor's parents that about one in one million kids have a stroke each year in the United States. They are not so bold as to offer statistics across the board of the likelihood of a full recovery. They are, after all, doctors and not oddsmakers.
What happened between when he suffered the stroke and six weeks later is nothing short of remarkable.
That day
Tuesday, Sept. 6 will be remembered by most people as the day the rain came. More than three inches fell as Tropical Storm Lee pounded the area.
For the Laudenslagers, the day began normally enough. Connor had only the usual bumps and bruises after playing a game the previous Friday, and his parents, Bill and Roxanne, had no reason to think anything out of the ordinary would happen.
"He left for school in the morning, and," Bill said, "like every other morning, he looked around said, 'See you dad, love you,' and looked healthy as can be. You never expect anything to happen."
Line Mountain, coming off a 42-25 loss to Southern Columbia in the season opener and preparing for Jim Thorpe, was forced inside for practice.
At least his parents thought Southern was the best game Connor had played. The team in general had reason to believe that the line was the team's strongest unit. And Connor was a key piece of that.
"He had his best game against Southern, and he felt he did good," Bill said. "He really proved himself in that game to a lot of people. They didn't win the game, but he has that (performance) to remember."
The thing is, so much more is emblazoned in Connor's memory, especially from that Tuesday.
"I remember everything," he said. "We were doing line jumps. I stumbled a little bit, took one step forward and just fell back. Marty (Beninsky) caught me and I remember sitting there and he kept telling me, 'You're going to be OK.' I heard Coach Wetzel tell me that they called 911. When the ambulance crew got there, got me on a stretcher and asked me all these questions about my day to see if my mind was right. My mind was perfect. They got me to the hospital, I remember the IV and when I woke up I was whooped up and asked if I had surgery yet."
Recovery
The surgery went better than expected. The doctors were able to stabilize Connor and reduce the clot, and had a positive outlook for Bill and Roxanne.
"I went in after he was in surgery and I didn't know what to expect," Bill said. "What I knew of stroke victims was that the last time you saw them is the way they stayed, and that just scared me to death. That's all I knew. But it's incredible what they can do."
Connor had some tell-tale signs of what had happened. His left side was temporarily paralyzed. There was a droop in his mouth and he had very little control of his left hand, but when he came to, he had visitors. Lots of visitors.
"I was surprised they left the boys come in, three at a time for a couple minutes, to see him after his surgery," Roxanne said.
The constant flow of visitors was inspirational for Connor and his parents.
"It's a big band of brothers," Connor said. "Marty, Luke (Erdman) and A.J. (Karlovich) were there the night it happened, along with two other good friends. We're one big family.
"I have a lot of people who love me, and that includes the football team."
As the visitors kept coming, despite the ongoing rainy conditions, Connor kept regaining strength on his left side.
"The recovery is amazing," Roxanne said. "On Thursday just before noon, they had him sitting up in his chair. Bill and I went for a cup of coffee and when we came back, people were standing around his bed. We looked at each other and the physical therapist said we just missed him walking 400 feet."
He progressed so well that he was moved to the rehabilitation center within the week to begin speech, physical and occupational therapy.
Support
In addition to his family, his friends and his girlfriend, Connor's story found its way to the greater football community.
"The support came from within the football community and even other school districts," Bill said.
Steve Boyer, the Millersburg football coach, had dog tags made up for every boy on the Eagles' team. The front had Connor's name and number, the back a Bible verse.
"The boys wear them before the game, and I thought that was the most touching thing anyone could have done," Roxanne said.
"People we didn't know came to us. We're Christian people and we believe that God has performed a major miracle for us. We remember to thank him for healing our son, too."
Hope
"Everything kept coming back remarkably on its own," Bill said.
Because of this, Connor was released from the hospital in time to walk the team out for the Williams Valley game, less than two weeks after being taken to the hospital, but he has bigger goals in mind.
He has been released from speech therapy and soon physical therapy, but he continues to need occupational therapy for his left hand, which seems to defy even Connor's strictest commands.
This is the last of the hurdles he must overcome.
"The doctors have said his age is on his side in the recovery process. They do expect a 100 percent recovery eventually," Bill said, although there were plenty of unofficial diagnoses from his friends.
"Connor was cracking jokes right after the surgery and one of the boys said then that he was going to be all right," Bill said. "That's him."
Almost as soon as he was home, and when time would allow because there was therapy sessions to go to and classwork to catch up on, Connor found his way back to football practice.
"I go to therapy three days a week. When I get the chance I'm in the weight room. I run and condition to stay fit. I have to catch up with my schoolwork because I fell behind, but that's coming along," he said.
His presence at practice has been good for the team, too.
"I think it's meaningful to our kids, but it's even more meaningful to Connor. It gives him a reason to be hopeful. I think this is true of almost every school, but it's a family atmosphere and he's an important part of the family. I know the very first time he was back our kids were so happy to see him."
Rainy Tuesdays
"I still get nervous on rainy Tuesdays," Roxanne said.
And Bill agreed, "Tuesdays are the worst.
For Connor, Tuesday usually follows a Monday which he still hasn't been cleared to play, and while he understands his doctors' hesitation at allowing him to play, it doesn't mean that pain will go away quickly.
"I'm a little upset I can't play, but these things happen," Connor said. "It hurts knowing that I could be out on the field.
"I feel great, just amazing. It's just the hand that's keeping me back right now. I'm in the weight room benching. I'm with the team conditioning. Everything is back to normal."
His doctors refused his request to be cleared again Monday, but as long as the Eagles keep winning, Connor has more time.
"I'm giving it a month yet," he said. "There has been so much progression in the past five weeks since the stroke."
While getting the chance to take the field one more time would be a cherry on the top of Connor's story, his coach knows how hard his player is pushing yet sees the big picture.
"I'm hopeful for him that he has that chance," Carson said. "As much as it's a shame that he's not playing, I'm so thankful that everything worked out the way it did. We can thank God it happened when he was supervised, we were able to get a quick response and get him to where they could take care of him in a hurry."
If a return to the field doesn't happen this year, Connor is looking toward playing college football and then...
"I want to play college ball. I remember lying in my bed and the doctor telling me that with the progression I make, I might be able to come back by mid season. That's been keeping me pushing this entire time. I just want to suit up in a high school uniform and play one last game.
"I plan to major in criminal justice and play football. Live a happy life after that."
More than anything, that's what his parents want, although would add healthy in there as well.
"That's what we're hoping for," Roxanne said.