Terell Handley Recovers From Injury for Breakout Season

It was a normal, slow Tuesday gym class. The activity for the day was tennis with Mr. Sauro. Terell Handley reached over the net to grab his racket and a stray tennis ball nailed Handley in the eye.

The accident transformed into a full-blown nightmare in the coming weeks, progressing into a “downward spiral” from the time his eye was contacted.

It seemed like a harmless accident until Handley realized he couldn’t see out of one eye.

“It looked like I was underwater. I had no idea what was going on,” Handley said.

Even then, the SKHS senior had no idea that a gym class was going to end his junior season of football before it even started.

Handley was taken to the hospital the next day and was referred to a specialist in Providence. Fears of the worst flooded his mind, as a doctor examined his eye and determined that his injury was a detached retina. The injury would require surgery and potentially impact his vision long term. Nonetheless, Handley spoke with doctors constantly, holding out hope that he would regain full use of his eye and be cleared to play.

For a period in the summer, Handley was visiting the doctor for what felt like “Basically every other day for about three weeks,” according to his mother, Bridgette Handley. “The worst part was feeling like there was nothing we could do to help,” his mother added.

Eventually, after a three-week period of waiting for the swelling to diminish and testing, doctors performed a surgery that involved putting a gas bubble into his eye. Throughout the three weeks Handley was in and out of the doctor’s office, with each visit diminishing hopes of returning to the field.

“The longer things went on, the more thought I put into it, I figured there was at least a 50–60 percent possibility he wasn’t playing,” Said Jeremy Handley, Terell’s father.

The next step in the process was recovery, one of the more difficult things Handley said he has ever done in his life, both physically and emotionally draining. After a gas bubble was surgically placed into his eye, Handley returned to normal activities, including football captain’s practices. On Handley’s next checkup, the doctor discovered his retina had detached again, requiring yet another surgery. This time, the doctor decided the best choice would be to put an oil in his eye that would not be removed until February, eliminating any chance to play his junior year.

“Going back and forth to the doctor and hearing it’s not getting better, and months later hearing that my eye was not going to get any better” Handley said was grueling, especially learning he could not participate in sports and would possibly have permanent damage to his eye.

“It was like the doctors all knew it, but nobody wanted to break the news,” Mrs. Handley said.

Handley was coming off a year where he started varsity on defense and saw time on offense, an impressive feat for a sophomore. With aspirations to play in college, Handley and his family felt he was poised for a breakout season. These hopes for a big season, Handley said, made it especially difficult on Handley when he was forced to the sidelines.

“It was probably one of the toughest things that happened to me,” Handley said. “Not playing with the team and knowing I could have been a positive impact on the field really affected me.”

Handley said he has big plans for this year back with his teammates, saying, “Hopefully we play for a State Championship”.

Handley has returned for this season and has already scored 13 touchdowns through six games with over 700 yards rushing. His return to the playing field certainly does not come without a certain amount of anxiety for his parents.

“It was exciting and concerning. I can’t tell you I’m not still nervous watching him play.” said Handley’s father.

The senior fullback and Safety agreed “It was scary at first, but I have been gaining confidence with each game” Handley said.

Handley said he has been able to draw extra motivation from being forced to the sidelines for a year, “It gave me a lot of motivation to perform” the SKHS senior said, “knowing that it could be my last year.”

If all goes according to plan, Handley hopes to conduct a postgraduate year at a prep school and then move on to college football. While Handley’s eye may never be the same, his desire to play for as long as he can has grown even stronger.