MACON, Ga. — Doris Howard was two hours away in Atlanta when her phone started ringing on Oct. 4. She was at work with her husband and the calls kept coming.

When she finally answered, she heard the words every parent fears: Her 13-year-old son Kelvin had been seriously injured during a football game.

“I called the coach and I said, ‘Hey, what’s going on with my son?’ And he said, ‘Miss Howard, where you at?’” Doris said. “I’m like, ‘I’m in Atlanta.’ He said ‘you need to get here ASAP. He’s messed up real bad.’”

Kelvin, who plays for the Appling Middle School Raiders and is affectionately known as “Bug” by his family, suffered a severe spinal injury on the field. He was being rushed to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta because the local hospital couldn’t help him.

“Everything was going through my head,” Doris said. “I thought my son was gone.”

Doris and her sister drove 80 mph down the interstate, desperate to reach Kelvin. When they finally arrived at the hospital, the doctors delivered devastating news.

“When we got there, they explained all the situations to us, told us that he can’t move his hands, he can’t move his legs, he can’t walk,” she said.

Kelvin sustained a spinal injury leaving him paralyzed, along with a brain fracture and hip injuries. He was admitted to the ICU, where he remains nine days later.

For Doris, a mother of 12 children who works at Wendy’s, the past nine days have been the hardest of her life. She splits her time between the hospital in Atlanta, her job and caring for her other 11 children at home in Macon.

“It’s hard. It’s hard. I spent half of my day in the bathroom crying and praying. The other half in the truck driving to work, crying and praying,” she said. “But it’s hard. I just know that as a mother, I have to do what I have to do.”

Despite the severity of his injuries, there is hope. Doctors told the family Kelvin will walk again, though he faces months of intensive rehabilitation.

Doris said he’s already showing signs of progress. He can now move his legs and use the restroom on his own, though he still cannot move his arms or sit up without assistance.

And true to his personality, Doris said Kelvin has been keeping his spirits up from his hospital bed.

“Every day when I go to work, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, he calls me on his Siri,” Doris said. “And I always end up crying and he said, ‘Mama, stop that crying. What did I tell you about that, we grow, we don’t cry.’”

The community has rallied around the Howard family. Teachers, coaches and parents from Appling Middle School and Northeast Middle School are providing meals, gas money and constant support.

“I want to thank the teachers. I want to thank the coaches that have been calling every day, checking up on him,” Doris said. “They have been praying for us. I really, really appreciate that.”

The family started a fundraiser to help cover rehabilitation costs and home modifications Kelvin will need when he’s discharged. You can visit it here.

Doris said the therapy Kelvin requires may not be fully covered by Medicaid.

“I work at Wendy’s, so I know I’m not rich,” she said. “I want him to get the best therapy that he needs so he can get back on his feet.”

Kelvin was scheduled to be transferred to in-house rehabilitation Monday morning, but the transfer was postponed. He will remain in the ICU for an undetermined amount of time while doctors continue to monitor his condition.

Despite everything her family has endured, Doris said she won’t stop Kelvin from playing football again if he chooses to.

“If it was left up to me, no,” she said. “But at the end of the day, he makes his own decisions and I know once he get well and get better, he’s back at it again. He loves sports. He played football, he played baseball, he did wrestling, like sports is in him.”

The family is asking for continued prayers and support as Kelvin begins his long road to recovery.

Doris said the outpouring of love from the community has been “truly, truly a blessing.”

“I ask for everybody to please continue to pray for us,” she said. “And I asked for everybody to continue to please keep checking up on us and making sure that we’re okay, cause we need that too.”