The Team Behind the Team

The Injury

Green 5, 3 Shoot. It’s a three yard quick out pattern that Will Cheesman, senior wide receiver for Olentangy Liberty High School had run dozens of times before. But this time, the results were different. Oh, he caught the ball like he usually does. But as he started to turn up field, he was hit by the Delaware Hayes linebacker and landed awkwardly on the ground, sandwiched between the weight of the linebacker and the ground.

Will immediately thought something was wrong. “The tackle hurt a lot more than it usually does, he says, “and it felt like something was up in my shoulder…I thought I had dislocated it.” After another play, it was fourth down and he began to run off the field, looking for team trainer, Lauren Goebbel. But the field goal unit was coming on the field and Will is the team’s place kicker, so he stayed on the field.

As he lined up for the field goal attempt, he told his holder that something was wrong with his shoulder…he thought that it might be broken or dislocated. “He just looked at me,” Will says, “and told me to kick the ball.” He did, converting a 29 yard field goal.

The Diagnosis

When he did come over to the sideline, Lauren and Terry Philbin, D.O., team physician, checked his shoulder. The skin overlying his left clavicle was tented. According to Dr. Philbin, “Basically, we saw that there was a fracture and it was a pretty significant injury the way it was stretching the skin.” The medical staff checked to make sure there weren’t any other injuries and then focused on getting Will to the hospital.

The ED

We’re fortunate,” says Dr. Philbin, “that OhioHealth Sports Medicine has access to the top hospitals throughout out central Ohio. We called ahead to the ED at Dublin Methodist Hospital and they were waiting for Will when he arrived.” The doctors on the field and the doctors at Dublin Methodist worked together to get Will to the right doctor and ready for surgery.

The Team Approach

“We have a cohesive, hardworking team, from the trainers to the coaches, to the medical staff, says Dr. Philbin, “and we’re able to make sure that the best possible care is given to the players. Bottom line, it’s important for Olentangy Liberty to be a cohesive, hardworking team, and that’s the way we go at it, too.”

Dr. Philbin played football so he knows what the players are going through. “You want to get them back in the game, but it’s more than that. It’s not just getting them back, it’s getting them back safely.”

The Outcome

Will had his sling removed on October 15 and will be able to resume his kicking duties if the Patriots make the playoffs. He also plays basketball which is one of the reasons he opted for surgery. “That’s my main sport, he says, “and I wanted to make sure I didn’t lose that season, too.”

Thanks to the medical team at OhioHealth, he won’t.

Terry Philbin, DO

Grant Orthopedics
Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Center, Inc.