A stand-out athlete was sidelined after a serious injury. But her opponents put rivalries aside to help get her back on the volleyball court.
Volleyball was Dru Hemmann’s whole world.
“It was everything,” said the 14-year old from Perryville, Missouri. “I was practicing every day, all day, all the time. It’s basically my life.”
But everything changed after Hemmann was involved in a bad ATV accident this spring that left her with a devastating leg injury. Despite multiple surgeries hoping to correct the problem, doctors eventually had to amputate her leg above the knee.
She was determined to return to the court as soon as possible.
“Dru has never wavered on her goals and dreams of being a great volleyball player,” said Perryville High School volleyball coach, Dave Mirly. ”I’m not going to… get in the way of that!”
Now using a prosthetic leg, Hemman is back in the game. And competing high school teams are coming out to support her.
“She’s just an inspiration to everyone in sports,” said Holly Welker, a senior at Jefferson High School. “And I just want to see her do well.”
Welker, and several other players on Jefferson’s volleyball team decided to help raise money for Hemman, who wants to purchase an additional prosthetic leg designed for sports. Right now, she’s using a non-sport specific prosthetic. The Jefferson High Blue Jays spent the entire week fundraising at the high school and in the community.
“We stood outside every morning before school and collected from all the parents at parent pick up,” said another senior volleyball player, Macy Hill. “We just asked for donations. Everyone was super giving.”
“This was our way of supporting her and showing our respect for what she’s doing,” added senior, Katelyn Runzi.
The Blue Jays raised $1,500 for Dru, even though they’ve never even met her.
Jefferson High decided to surprise her during Thursday night’s game against Perryville. Dru was home sick, but her teammates accepted the donation on her behalf.
In a phone interview, Dru called the donation “awesome.”
“I just think its great sportsmanship,” she said. “They don’t think of me as disabled. They just think of me as a fellow volleyball athlete.”
Jefferson High senior, Macy Hill, agreed.
“I just want her to feel really supported by all of us. It’s just athlete to athlete. If we were in the position, we’d want people to support us too,” she said.
Dru said other schools in southeastern Missouri have also raised money for her new athletic prosthetic leg.
