Mayville State quarterback Matt Donovan gave his family and friends reason to be optimistic amid his ongoing hospitalization, where he has been placed in a medically-induced coma, following a violent helmet-to-helmet hit earlier this month.
“They removed the breathing tube and successfully placed a trach,” Matt’s father, Terry, shared via Facebook on Tuesday, September 29. “Everything went well. We look at the trach as a bridge — something that can make things safer and more comfortable while giving Matt the time he needs to heal and work his way toward breathing more independently.”
Terry continued, “Before all of that happened this morning, though, we got another little moment to hang onto.”
The moment happened when Terry’s wife, Tina, was in the hospital room with their son on Tuesday.
“Tina was with Matt and was asking him to blink hard,” Terry said. “His eyes weren’t actually opening, but she could see his eyelashes moving when she asked him. She FaceTimed me, and when I talked to Matt and asked him to do it, he did it twice for me.”
He added, “We obviously can’t say exactly what he was processing, but it sure felt like he was responding to us, and right now those moments mean everything.”
After the hopeful interaction, Matt was sedated for a procedure, which Terry said was completed “successfully.”
“We also understand exactly where we are,” Terry shared. “Matt is not out of the woods. He is still in the ICU, he is still facing a serious brain injury, and there is a long road ahead of him. But we continue to believe. We continue to see little reasons for hope. And we continue to cheer for every single inch he gains.”
Terry continued, “There is nothing more powerful to us right now than the prayers coming from all of you. So please keep them coming.”
In a separate update on Monday, September 28, Terry said they replaced Matt’s breathing tube with a trach to “make him more comfortable and give him the best chance to keep healing.”
Matt has been in a coma since September 19, when he was airlifted to a hospital in nearby Fargo, North Dakota, after the helmet-to-helmet hit in a game against Simpson University.
Mayville Coach Rocky Larson later commented on the play and said that it was not an illegal hit. “The emotion right now is, you’re praying for the kid,” he stated. “He’s tough, he’s a fighter, toughest kid I know, he’s 5-foot-7, 155 pounds playing college quarterback.”
On September 20, an update was shared about Matt’s hospitalization and road ahead.
“Once he arrived in Fargo, he underwent surgery on his brain that lasted just over two hours, where they removed portions of his skull in order to release the pressure from his brain,” the school said in a statement on September 20. “After leaving surgery, he was released into the intensive care unit and is under some of the best medical care in the Midwest.”
Simpson University also issued a statement, expressing that their entire community is praying for Matt’s swift healing and recovery.
