This week's hero brings us back to the very beginning of football season—a full circle moment.
It was a beautiful day in Kansas City and the first game of the 2023 NFL season was about upon us. Beams of light were piercing through the clouds around the stadium. At the time, the House of Hutch was brand new and we were still figuring out our mission and purpose. All we knew is that we wanted to use our platform to help and inspire others.
We had heard a story about a student from Divine Child—Mia, Aria, and Aidan's alma mater—who had suffered a traumatic neck and spinal cord injury over the summer and lost function in all four of his limbs. We were so moved by his story and wanted to bring awareness to him in some way. Aidan came up with the brilliant idea to write #OwenStrong on his game-day water jug as a way of dedicating the game to Owen in light of his situation.
Aidan said he loved having somebody to play for—something bigger than football. The Lions beat the Chiefs that day under the bright lights and Owen will forever be a part of that.
Flash forward to the Lions vs Buccaneers playoff game last weekend. We realized we had dedicated the first game of the season to Owen, but he had never been highlighted as an official hero because it was before our charitable foundation, House of Hutch Heroes, had been established. It was time for Owen, the boy who kicked off the season for us, to "officially" become one of our heroes.
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We were so happy to finally meet Owen after the win against the Buccaneers. He is such a force of positivity and inspiration for us. Aidan has carried Owen's strength with him throughout the Lions historic season. It really was a full circle moment for all of us.
Owen's story:
Owen is a student at Divine Child High School, currently in his junior year. On July 4th of 2023, Owen struck his head underwater while swimming during a family vacation near Louisville, KY. This caused a traumatic neck and spinal cord injury and the loss of function in all four limbs. Owen was pulled from the water quickly and flown by helicopter to the University of Louisville Hospital. In addition to his spinal cord injury, Owen developed a severe respiratory infection, was intubated, and needed numerous artificial breathing machines.
For over two months Owen fought for his life and the ability to breath on his own. Owen won that battle and has now moved on to a new one. As a result of his spinal cord injury, Owen is a quadriplegic and the possibility that this will be permanent is very real. Owen now faces a long and costly battle to rehabilitate and recover as much function as possible. After months of inpatient rehabilitation, Owen is home and in outpatient rehabilitation nearly every day.
Prior to his injury Owen was a three-sport athlete (football, wrestling, and baseball.) Owen was a captain of the DC Varsity Wrestling team and a captain of the JV baseball team. In addition to being a three-sport athlete, Owen was an excellent student and set to start advanced placement classes during his junior year. Owen has two siblings, a younger brother and sister. Owen’s mother is a nurse and his father is a police officer. Owen is well loved by so many friends and family, especially his girlfriend Adrianna and her family, as well as the entire Divine Child Community, who have been an amazing source of support throughout this very tough time.
Please pray for Owen & consider donating to his GoFundMe (linked at the top), which was started to help raise funds for the high cost of basic living needs, treatment, and extensive rehabilitation that are associated with such a traumatic injury.
Thank you all so much for your support and don't forget to Breathe in God.
-Team Hutch