Forlano, Powell Find Different Answers

Peter Forlano wanted to play and he did. Marvin Powell wants to play but says he will not.

Forlano, a senior tackle at Notre Dame High, and Powell, a senior fullback for Birmingham, came facemask-to-facemask this weekend with an agonizing dilemma among athletes: what to do when confronted with a serious head or neck injury.

For Forlano, the vision of suiting up again this season served as powerful motivation for his recovery from a life-threatening illness in October. Miraculously, seven weeks after undergoing emergency brain surgery because of a severe bacterial sinus infection, Forlano returned to the playing field Friday night in Notre Dame’s 27-14 victory over Serra in a Southern Section Division III semifinal.

“I feel like I’m part of the team right now,” Forlano said as the final seconds ticked away. “I never thought I was going to play football again. But I worked for three years in this program. I was gonna be here.”

For Powell, the choice was clear: His season is over. But Powell has no regrets after suffering a sprained neck Friday.

Powell was rushed to a hospital after being tackled in Birmingham’s 27-20 victory over Wilson in the City Section 3-A Division semifinals. He was taken by ambulance to County-USC Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition late Friday.

But after a CAT-scan and X-rays Friday night, Powell was released. Doctors told Powell he probably would be able to play against Bell in the final but he says he won’t. He is scheduled to be re-examined Tuesday.

“I know it looked dramatic with the ambulance and all that, but it was all precautionary,” Powell said. “The guy put an oxygen mask on me in the ambulance and I said, ‘This isn’t necessary.’ ”

Forlano remembers nothing of a 10-day period spent hospitalized in a drug-induced coma. Fluid oozed steadily from his brain through a pair of quarter-inch holes drilled into his skull. Additional tubes protruded from his mouth, arms and shoulder. His vision was blurred to the point of near-blindness, and he was unable to move his right arm or leg or even speak for several days.

Doctors were perplexed by Forlano’s illness. His parents, forced to wear surgical masks when visiting their son, were terrified.

A week earlier, Forlano was a starting right tackle for the Knights. Now, six weeks into the season, it looked like he might never play football again--not that that was of utmost importance.

“I knew God would take care of Peter,” Alice Forlano said of her son. “But there were a lot of prayers, a lot of great friends and a lot of good doctors.”

Friday night, there were a few good blocks being thrown, courtesy of Forlano. And a good bit of grime on his gold and white jersey.

Last week, after undergoing a magnetic resonance imaging test, Forlano received doctor’s clearance to suit up and he spent the week practicing in full pads.

But should he have? From brain surgery to pass-blocking in a matter of weeks?

“We thought a lot about that, but we left the decision up to him,” Alice Forlano said. “The surgeon told me he didn’t have his skull crushed or anything and that he’s a very strong kid.”

Forlano participated only in two goal-line series--a total of four plays--helping pave the way on a pair of touchdown runs by quarterback Ryan Bowne. But he plans to be in uniform again Friday night when Notre Dame (12-1) plays for its first section title in school history.

Forlano may be back in the loop, but he’s not out of the woods. He’s still about 30 pounds lighter than his roster weight of 215 and his speech is still halting as he struggles to put thoughts into words. He meets regularly with a speech therapist.

But his memory is improving. And Forlano, who on Tuesday was featured during a local television sportscast, won’t likely forget events of the past week.

“I was thinking, somebody up there is probably looking out for me and making sure I was gonna make it,” he said. “But I knew it would take a lot of effort on my part if I ever wanted to play again.”

It is nothing short of amazing that Forlano suited up at all.

Early in October, he came down with a sinus headache that grew worse over days. A physician prescribed antibiotics, but his condition worsened.

One evening, Alice Forlano watched with disbelief when her son was unable to grasp a glass of water as he spoke on the telephone with a teammate. Upon hanging up, Forlano could not remember with whom he had been speaking. He eyes were glazed.

He was rushed to a hospital, where he began having seizures before a doctor ever came near him with a stethoscope.

Was Forlano having an allergic reaction to prescription drugs? Was he having a stroke? Was he suffering from encephalitis?

Days passed and Forlano’s condition worsened before doctors made a diagnosis.

“One doctor told us he had seen, in his whole career, maybe, three people with (an illness) like this,” Alice Forlano said. “The other ones said they had never seen anything like it.”

Forlano was hospitalized for 20 days. He responded to treatment quickly--partly, he said, because doctors refused to rule out his return to the team this season.

That was all Forlano needed to hear.

Powell bent the ear of his father, Marvin, a former offensive tackle with the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

By Saturday morning, the two had decided taking chances would be foolish.

Powell, who also plays linebacker, has scheduled recruiting trips to Cal, USC, Northwestern and Colorado.

“Me and my dad talked about it and we decided what’s important is that my team won and I’ll be able to play next year,” Powell said. “It will hurt a little to miss the championship.

“But I know my boys are going to go out and get the job done. I’m not going to play.”

Coach Chick Epstein will respect Powell’s decision.

“If he says no and his father says no, I go along with them 100%,” Epstein said. “I wouldn’t want to risk further injury. I’d feel terrible.”