You may know him as number 87 on the Yeoman Football team. He’s one of the big guys on the D-Line that strives for big plays. Numerous individuals view sophomore Chris Pisani as this loud, “crazy tall” angry kid, but who is he really?

At the age of 12 Chris was struck by a drunk driver while crossing the street on his way to play baseball with a buddy. The driver never stopped as young Chris was lifted off his feet.

Chris suffered compound fractures in both his tibia and fibula in both legs, meaning that the bones broke all the way through. As a result the doctors told him that he would never be able to walk, let alone play sports again.

Due to the fractures there was a lack of blood flow to each of his legs. The doctors had to cut his calf muscles in half, in order to avoid amputation. In the condition that he was in, cutting the calf muscles in half gave him another chance to walk again, so he went through this procedure.

Over three years he underwent 16 surgeries that would help in reconstructing his legs. When the reconstruction of his legs was complete, Chris had to go through a series of plastic surgeries to cover up the huge scars on his legs.

“When the accident occurred I really couldn’t comprehend why this was happening to me. I was told by the doctors that I wouldn’t ever be able to play sports again, and, as a 12-year-old kid, sports were the only thing that mattered to me in life,” said Chris.

“On top of all of that, going to school every day in junior high was awful. Other students used to harass me because I was in a wheelchair for a year and had pins that were sticking out of shins to help heal my legs.”

Being ostracized and bullied in junior high is what mostly inspired him to walk and play sports again. His mother was another inspiration to him, as she assisted him in his rehab every day at home.

By the time Chris was a freshman in high school he was walking and his legs were stronger than they had ever been. The doctors told him it was still questionable whether he could play sports, but Chris went out for the football team without their consent.

“All of these people doubted me and said that I wouldn’t be able to play sports and this fueled my fire to prove them wrong. Plus I just missed the competition and being able to enjoy the game with all of my friends.”

Chris went on to compete in football, baseball and wrestling in high school. He is currently a defensive starter for the Yeomen football team, and is enjoying a game he loves so much.

“Being able to play sports again felt great and I don’t ever want to stop playing for the rest of my life,” Pisani reflected.

“The thing is even though I had to undergo three years of pain and surgeries, I wouldn’t take the accident back. The accident made me a stronger person, and taught me how to strive for things in life. I have learned not to care what people think about me and to use their negative words as fuel for working out at practice, or on the football field.”