MASSILLON, Ohio — Bryan Witmer will not take any moment on the baseball diamond for granted.
As the 16-year-old Perry High School student played catch with his coach on a cloudy day, it was clear you could not steal his sunshine.
"I'm trying to do the best I can because I almost got it taken away from me," Witmer said.
During a 2021 tournament game in Columbus, Witmer suffered multiple facial fractures and a traumatic brain injury after colliding with a catcher as they both raced toward a foul ball.
"My catcher went for it. I went for it and he hit me head on, shoulder went right into my face," Witmer told News 5.
He was transported to Nationwide Children's Hospital, where he was treated for a week.
For a few agonizing days, his chances of survival were brought into question.
"We weren't exactly sure what the outcomes would. They had to place him on life support for that time just to kind of let his brain rest and heal and everything like that," said his mother, Emily Witmer.
It was a long process, but Bryan recovered, had surgery on his face and took more than a year off from playing ball.
"Doctors kept telling me, they're like, 'I don't know if you're going to be able to recover from this,'" the teen recalled.
But Bryan was determined to return to the game he loves and now the sophomore second baseman is back, feeling great and playing varsity for the Perry High School Panthers.
"I feel like God was always with me through this. It's been a rough, rough two years and I feel like he's been there."
A few months back, Bryan decided he wanted to give back to his baseball community. Specifically, he wanted to replace the benches in the dugouts that were in rough shape.
"They were broken, moldy. It was terrible," he said.
He decided to lean on his Boy Scout knowledge and pursue building new benches for his Eagle Scout project.
Friends from his team and his troop pitched in to help with the build, and the finished products proudly display Perry baseball decals. Several area businesses donated money and supplies towards the project, which took about three months to complete.
"We built them. We sanded all of it and we painted it, everything," Bryan Witmer said.
For Bryan's mother, the benches represent so much more than baseball. They also tell the story of how far Bryan has come since the accident.
"It stands for a lot," she said. "There's hope that you can overcome things and that you can give back. Always give back," she said.
Bryan still has a few more meetings before he officially becomes an Eagle Scout. He expects the process to be completed within a few months.
In the meantime, he's counting his blessings to be alive, play baseball and for the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy.
"I'm hoping it could be here as long as 40 to 50 years. I want people to remember that this was built here from a Perry baseball player."
