Jaxon Ermo is a senior at Norwalk High and on January 13 during the Staples basketball game, he came down from a layup and hyper extended his knee backwards. That caused a tear in two of his ligaments which are the PCL ,MCL, and then the Meniscus which is cartilage that acts as a cushion between the femur and tibia. As his sister, I got there late and thought my dad was joking about it, but then I walked in and realized it was not a joke and he was sitting on the side in a wheelchair. All I could do was start to cry. You never want to see your brother go through an injury that could possibly ruin everything he had going for him.

Jaxon is a great athlete and was captain of the football and basketball team and will continue to be a captain for baseball too.

There are many phases of an injury, but Jaxon struggled most with the mental phase. The Denial part where he was shocked and confused on how his could happened to him and why him. Then comes the Anger part where he was mad about the fact he was missing the rest of high school basketball season and now baseball. After anger comes, depression hit. This was the stage in his injury where all he did was lay around and think about how he was missing his last high school baseball season and letting his team down. Worried about not being able to play college baseball. After all these stages, there was one more which is

acceptance. He is in this stage now and is realizing that this injury is not the end of the world. He also called his college coach to tell him about what happened even though he was scared to hear what they would say, but he still called. They were very supportive and relieved that he got injured early because they said that high school coaches tend to over use them before they come to college. They will be getting a brand new Jaxon Ermo. He was very happy to hear all the support people had for him.

Jaxon didn’t talk about how much he was hurt, but if you looked at him you could tell he was struggling a lot. He never really liked to talk about it but he was able to talk to his high school coach, Coach Mitchell.

He also talked to some of his close teammates about how it was hard to deal with it and the fact that they won’t get to play their last year together. His teammates would listen to him talk and support in every way possible to help him though it. Our parents play a big part in his injury too. My mom would do everything for us and when I saw her face as I walked in the gym she was devastated to see him like this. My dad called the doctor as soon as it happened to see when they could get him in to see what really happened to him. The time and effort I see my parents put in to make sure Jax

on has everything he needs and what they could do for him is really special.

“Jaxon’s senior athletic season ended in an instant with a heartbreaking injury, but for me, the heartbreak lingered and crushed me. I felt the loss of every game he wouldn’t play, every moment he had earned and worked so hard for but wouldn’t get to live in his senior year. As a parent, you carry their dreams, goals, and accomplishments alongside them and when his was taken away this senior year, it felt like a piece of mine went with it. Jaxon is determined, strong, and resilient athlete, but this injury has taken a toll on him not only physically, but mentally and I needed to let the pain sink in with him letting him know the I know this hurt but I am here for you always. Jaxon has an extremely bright future ahead at Iona and this is not the end of his story, just a difficult chapter in it, and he going to come out of it stronger than you even realize right now.”-Todd Ermo

“Watching your child suffer an injury is never easy for a mom but an injury during his senior year had definitely been the hardest. Jaxon not being able to finish his high school athletic career at Norwalk High School devastated our whole family. We give hime love and support everyday and are on this journey with him. He is determined and strong and I remind him every day this is a small setback in a bright future. I couldn’t be more than proud of him watching he put so much effort on trying to get better everyday at physical therapy or just watching him strength at home. From this injury, I think me and my family learn the real meaning of always being there for each other and even when things get hard someone is always there for you. Jaxon can’t wait for the day he get back on the field but for now it will take time. I will always be grateful for Jaxon’s time playing at Norwalk High and I can’t wait to see what Iona is holding for him.”-Nicole Ermo

Jaxon is very strong and he will make it out of this injury just fine. He is waiting patiently until the day he is cleared and he can throw a pitch again. Again as Jaxon’s younger sister, I just want to say how proud I am of how hard he is working to over come this hard chapter in his life and seeing him do things that he couldn’t do a month ago is amazing. He will always be that one person I will always look up to no matter what and I can’t wait to see him meet his goal and play at Iona next year. We couldn’t be more proud of you Jaxon.