Football is often said to be a game of blood, tears, and sweat. But when you ask 6-foot-3, 280-pound Trevor Wikre, it is much more.
An offensive lineman for Mesa State College in Colorado opted to have his pinkie amputated in order to continue his senior year, rather than undergoing surgery and sitting out waiting for it to heal.
Wikre fractured his right pinkie when it got caught in a teammate’s jersey during practice as he was making blocks. Although Wikre felt something weird he did not give it a second thought and continued practice thinking that a piece of tape had simply come loose within his glove.
Upon removing his glove however, he noticed his pinkie bone jutting out. Although Wikre had simply asked his trainer to just tape it, he was immediate sent to the hospital where doctors informed him that he needed immediate surgery, ending his season.
But instead of opting for basic surgery with a recovery period of four months or more to reconstruct ligaments and pin the bone, Wikre ordered doctors to amputate his pinkie instead.
According to the Daily Sentinel, he told the doctor:
“This is my senior year. If I want to go on, I’ve got to play great the rest of the way. These are my last few games, we’ve got to make this work. He’s like, ‘We can’t.’ I said, ‘We can. Cut it off.’ I love football. When you face the fact you’ve played your last game, it hurts.”
To Wikre, he is just now one digit short. Meaningless, when compared to his love of not only the game but his teammates.
“If you love the game and you’re told that, you do whatever you have to do to play again.”