SEATTLE — Sequim High School football player Adrien Gault was reported in serious condition Saturday night after brain surgery at Harborview Medical Center.
His stepfather, Kevin McCarter, said the 17-year-old gave a thumbs-up sign after he came out of surgery.
“It takes him a little while but the thumb goes up,” said McCarter on Saturday night.
The boy was hurt on Friday before the school’s Olympic League football game against North Mason.
The 5-foot-9, 164-pound Gault ran into a teammate during warm-ups and came out of the game complaining of a headache before going into seizure in the second quarter, McCarter said.
Gault eventually slid into a coma on the sidelines, according to McCarter.
He was taken to Olympic Medical Center by ambulance and airlifted to Harborview when it was determined his brain was hemorrhaging.
Doctors at Harborview removed a piece of Gault’s skull upon arrival to relieve the pressure on his brain.
The portion of the skull was immediately frozen and will be replaced in the head three months later, said McCarter.
McCarter said that Gault came out of the coma on Saturday.
Gault was placed in intensive care after surgery and was able to breathe on his own, move his fingers and open his eyes.