LELAND, N.C. (WECT) – A week ago, inside a quiet, dark Scorpions Stadium before a North Brunswick playoff football game, Aidan Talley prayed. He thought back to three years ago, when he sat in a hospital bed, battling excruciating pain almost 160 miles from home.

Then, he looked at where he is today: a senior linebacker, finally fully healthy, helping the Scorpions push forward through the 3A State Playoffs.

Three years ago, doctors told Talley he might never walk again. On Friday night, he started at outside linebacker for North Brunswick, and celebrated a second-round win over Lee County.

“I’m just blessed to be able to be here,” he said.

The first setback came a few weeks after his freshman season, when him and his friends decided to jump over a fire at a birthday party. After watching his friends do it and trying it for himself – admittedly a “stupid” decision – Talley ended up at the Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Chapel Hill.

“You think you’re invincible as a teenager,” Talley said. “And you realize quickly you’re not.”

Almost all of Talley’s left leg up to his thigh was completely burned. His right leg was significantly impacted, too. Walking – much less ever playing football again – seemed like a stretch.

The recovery process started immediately. Talley’s legs were covered in bandages for roughly three months. After they were removed, he had to wear sunscreen to prevent further burning. Six months in, he was able to start exercising again. He wore leggings his entire sophomore season, too.

Initially, Talley expected to miss the first month of his sophomore season. But he ended up missing no action, and even earned a call-up to the varsity team.

Talley said he was excited going into this junior year, when he would be 100% healthy. But in week two, he tore his shoulder. An MRI two weeks later confirmed the injury, but Talley opted to play through it. That only made the pain worse, and at the end of the year his labrum was 87% torn, he said.

“I played through that season with excruciating pain,” he says.

Talley returned to the field this season, again not missing any time. North Brunswick head coach Bryan Davis says that’s a testament to the senior’s strength.

“Through and through his perseverance and his ability to keep chugging along and certainly help be a leader, he’s a captain on our football team because of many of those qualities,” Davis said.

Talley has made his final high school season count, beginning week one when he notched a pick-six against East Bladen, and continuing throughout the year, as he’s led the Scorpions in tackles per game.

And with a third-round matchup against Seventy-First High School waiting next week, the goal is for that strong play to continue.

“It’s just so humbling and rewarding to be able to see where I’ve come, and it’s so cool to be able to have this,” he said.

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