Waynesburg basketball player recovering following stroke

As her daughter lay on an operating table at UPMC-Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh late Monday night, Karla McDowell paced back and forth in an empty waiting room, waiting for the surgeon to walk through the double wide doors.
McDowell feared the worst, but hoped for the best after her daughter, Morgan, a 17-year-old senior at Waynesburg Central High School, suffered a “significant” stroke during the second quarter of the Raiders’ basketball game against Beth-Center.
Thanks to the work of surgeons and the support of people from across the country, that anguish of waiting gave way to a brightened optimism Thursday morning.
After surgeons removed a blood clot from Morgan’s brain and a part of her skull to reduce swelling, the girl with an infectious smile and buoyant personality surprised doctors with her progress.
Morgan’s breathing tube was removed Thursday, she is responsive, has feeling in her arms, legs and face, and according to doctors, is on her way out of the intensive care unit with a path toward recovery being planned.
“They are totally amazed how this kid is kicking butt,” Karla McDowell, a Ruff Creek resident, said. “It’s awesome news. It’s really hard seeing my daughter lie there. She can’t talk, she can’t walk, but she knows us. She responds. She just can’t speak yet, but she’ll get there.”
Along with being a junior firefighter for the Morris Township Volunteer Fire Department and being active in 4-H, Morgan is a key component of the Raiders’ basketball team. She’s their top rebounder and is often the first player off the bench.
Monday night’s game was like any other. She warmed up, made her teammates laugh and played half of the first quarter, grabbing a couple rebounds and helping Waynesburg secure an early lead.
She fell to the court with 5:51 remaining in the second quarter. The gym went silent and after a few moments, Waynesburg head coach John Garber knew it was more than a minor injury.
“Coaches are programmed to think about wins and losses,” Garber said. “We obviously want kids out there competing and doing their best, but in the grand scheme of things, when something like this hits your team and players right square in the face, it put things into perspective. Morgan still needs a lot of prayers and all of the support.”
Karla and Keith McDowell had just finished a long weekend working for PennDOT, and wanted to grab a quick bite to eat Monday night before Morgan’s game at Waynesburg, when their son, Zachary, called with news that Morgan was lying on the floor and was unresponsive. Karla found her daughter being tended to by the school’s training staff on the gymnasium floor and an ambulance was on the way.
Play was stopped for 45 minutes, and Morgan’s teammates and coaches huddled in a small training room to pray.
“It was heart-wrenching,” Karla McDowell said. “What do I do? I prayed to God to please help me heal her. I didn’t know what to think. I was hurting. I wanted to trade places with her so bad. I thought to myself, ‘Let me lay there and let her get up to play the game.’ I was numb.”
Morgan was flown to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, where doctors immediately diagnosed her with a stroke that paralyzed the right side of her body.
Within minutes, she was being rushed to Presbyterian, where surgeons found and removed a blood clot from her brain. Several teams of doctors performed a battery of tests to determine what caused the clot in someone with no previous medical issues.
When removing the clot caused swelling, surgeons removed part of Morgan’s skull late Tuesday night, a four-and-a-half four procedure that relieved pressure on the brain.
Both procedures brought the anguish of waiting.
“I was thinking the worst, but hoping for the best,” Karla McDowell said. “I didn’t sit down the whole time. I paced, I prayed and I kept thinking of all the memories, like when we were at the beach when she was 2. Bringing back those memories really kept me hopeful. She’s so strong.”
Morgan began responding with thumbs up and thumbs down to notify her parents and doctors of pain. She was able to eat and drink. The next steps are the removal of the draining tube from her brain, leaving the ICU then a stop at a rehabilitation facility.
Doctors have not offered a timeline for Morgan’s recovery, but Karla is confident her daughter is capable of anything.
“It’s all up to how hard Morgan works, but I know how hard she is going to work,” McDowell said. “She may not be 100 percent, but by golly she’s 75 or 85 percent. I have no clue, but I know this kid is one tough cookie.”
Karla’s inbox on Facebook has been filled with well wishes and prayers. Friends and family also are finding ways to help the family pay for Morgan’s treatment. An account on GoFundMe.com has raised almost $5,000 in one day and the Morris Township Fire Department is holding a benefit meal next Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The community also donated baskets to be raffled.
Morgan’s path toward recovery might have its challenges, but the McDowell family has found solace in the support.
“It’s unbelievable how Waynesburg is rallying around this kid,” Karla McDowell said. “People you don’t even know are giving money, and sending prayers thinking of us and our family. It puts a smile on your face and a tear in your eye to see that there are still good people out there.”
Greene County Bureau Chief Mike Jones contributed to this story