By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Like most football players, Washburn University junior Ty Weber has battled his share of injuries over his career.
Washburn tight end Ty Weber, who will wear No. 0 this fall, missed the Ichabods' first five games of the season while battling a rare illness. [File photo/TSN]
But nothing prepared the 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end and former Washburn Rural star for what he's been forced to deal with this fall, a condition that forced the Ichabod captain to miss Washburn's first five games of the season.
"I developed something called amyloidosis,'' Weber said. "To put it in laymen's terms, it's like your body loses proteins and eats away your muscles a little bit, and it just came from dehydration as well as probably something underlying, like an illness or what not.
"It's something that took me by shock. You're weren't expecting it at all. It was crazy, something I never experienced before because it was just cramps everywhere, all over my body. I've been through a lot of injuries before and that was by far the worst ever.''
The illness put Weber in the hospital before he began a frustratingly slow process to get back to 100 percent.
"I was there for probably a day and a half and stayed overnight and they probably pumped 10 bags of fluids into me to get me back to where I was before,'' Weber said.
The initual prognosis was that Weber, who developed his condition well into fall camp, might only miss a game or two but then he got the news that his return would be delayed.
"The trainers did a great job with my return to play program and I practiced and went and got a blood test and the blood test wasn't very positive,'' he said. "There were a lot of issues with my kidneys and liver and they wanted to give me a couple of options and said we could go through another four weeks and see if by that point I'd be able to play, and if I was I could play out the remainder of the season, so I decided to do that.
"My cutoff was (Pittsburg State last Saturday) because everything before that's when you have the option of a medical redshirt and at Pitt I got to play and probably played 12 snaps, which was awesome to be back out there. It was a great environment, just not the result we wanted obviously (a 34-10 loss).''
Weber has steadily gotten closer and closer to being back to full speed and expects to be 100 percent for Saturday's 2 p.m. Hall of Fame game against Central Missouri.
This fall's battle has made Weber appreciate the opportunity he's been given to play college football even more.
"I can't even emphasize how blessed I am and I give all the glory to God because he gave me the perspective of, 'This is your life without football,' and it totally just changed my perspective on leadership and the ability to play the game I love,'' Weber said. "Without him it wouldn't be possible for me.''
Ichabods set to host Mules
Washburn returns to Yager Stadium for the first time since Sept. 27 to host Central Missouri on Saturday at 2 p.m. as part of Washburn Athletics Hall of Fame Day.
Former Washburn Rural star JC Heim, a sophomore linebacker, leads the MIAA and the nation in tackles per game with 13.3 per contest and sophomore linebacker L.J. Minner Jr. is third in the MIAA with 10.2 tackles per game, ranking 14th in the NCAA D-II national rankings.
Chase Allen-Jackman's six touchdown receptions are second in the MIAA.
UCM quarterback Donovyn Omolo is second in the MIAA, passing for 279.2 yards per game with six touchdowns while completing 58 percent of his passes.
Garrett Hormann leads the Mules' defensive unit with 50 total tackles, which is fourth in the league.
The Mules are averaging 476.7 yards per game to lead the MIAA and their defense is ninth in the MIAA, allowing an average of 431.2 yards per contest.
The Ichabods will be back in Yager Stadium on Oct. 18, celebrating Homecoming against Fort Hays State in a 1 p.m. game.
