Tucker Moody expects full recovery

mbrown@sunmulti.com

Tucker Moody should be able to lead a normal life and do

whatever it is he wants.

That didn’t seem to be the case on Thursday when Moody,

playing basketball for Westfield against Crisp Academy, collapsed on the court

late in the first half.

After suffering a cardiac event that night, Moody will have

open heart surgery at Egleston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta Tuesday morning,

according to his father, Trey Moody. He said his son has a congenital defect

known as an anomalous left coronary artery, something he was born with that has

no symptoms and no means of which to detect it.

“He is expected to have a full recovery,” said Trey Moody,

adding that there was no neurological damage done.

“The gym was dead quiet,” said Westfield athletic director

Chip Champion. “I’m really proud of how everyone responded. It’s a blessing

from God that it all turned out like it did.

“Nobody was too worried about a basketball game after that.”

“It’s every parents’ nightmare to see their child hurt, let

alone have a heart attack,” said Trey Moody.

“The family sends kudos to Sheila Southerland, emergency

room doctor from Crisp Regional. She’s the one who resuscitated him. And to the

E.M.T.’s, the Medical Center of Central Georgia, Egleston and the Ronald

McDonald House. “The love, support and prayers from Perry, the Westfield

community and even the Crisp Academy family are just overwhelming. We feel it.”

 

Not only is Tucker Moody a member of the Hornet basketball

team, the sophomore (5-7, 130 pounds) also played football as a B-team starting

cornerback and kick returner, and he is in the baseball program. His father

said he doesn’t have a real favorite, but he feels he’s most competitive in

basketball.

HHJ News