KOAM: Coltan defies odds to play ball

By Andi Sioteco

You can not tell by looking at 10-year-old Coltan Crumrine today, but Coltan suffered a severe accident at just 14 months old. The result was a traumatic brain injury.

"The doctors told us when it happened that he wasn't going to make it through the night. That I could basically go in to the PICU room and say goodbye to my 14 month old son," says Coltan's mother Christina Crumrine.

A 72 hour window passed and Coltan proved the doctors wrong.

"They couldn't believe it. They said there was no way. At that point they said the damage would probably lead him to having to be in a wheelchair. Sports was absolutely out of the question no matter what kind," adds Crumrine.

After the accident, he spent a week and a half in the PICU and 3 weeks in a rehab unit at Children's Mercy in Kansas City. Doctors removed a piece of his skullcap in that time, and coltan had to wear a helmet everywhere he went. A few years down the road, Coltan had a mesh titanium plate implanted to strengthen his skull in March of 2017.

Coltan has been playing baseball for 3 seasons now for Yates Center."My doctor told me to not play sports, but here I am. It feels good to win, bat and run bases."

"It's incredible. I think God's really working with him and I think he's doing a great job. So I'm proud of him," adds coach Tricia Stockebrand.

Read the full story via KOAM

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