Troy athlete talks about his recovery from injury and how it changed his life

TROY, Ohio (WKEF) – Football is back and for many high school athletes, these could be their last years playing the sport at this level of competition. Sports can have a huge impact on the type of person someone becomes.

For a former Troy High School athlete, an injury changed the trajectory of his life.

Quinn Gariety is now beginning his freshman year of college, but during his penultimate year at Troy High School in October 2022, a life-changing event changed his outlook forever.

“It taught me not to take anything for granted in life. You never know when things can be snatched from nowhere,” Quinn said.

The whistle blew, the game began, and then, the next moment, Quinn was on the ground.

“I didn't really know what had happened at first. The shock was huge. I heard the crack but didn't know what it was and tried to turn around and stretch out my leg but it was just dangling everywhere,” Quinn said.

Quinn was driven off the field and taken to a local hospital.

His mother, Laura Gariety, was at the game. She said she knew it would be bad if he didn't get up right away.

“My mind was racing, so I drove to the hospital. He came in the ambulance and it was just scary. Up to that point he hadn't suffered any significant injuries,” Laura said.

It turned out that Quinn had broken his fibula and tibia and was taken to Dayton Children's Hospital for surgery the next morning.

Laura said those first moments were incredibly hard.

“It’s horrible and you just feel very helpless,” said Laura.

Quinn has played sports his entire life, starting with baseball, then hockey in elementary school and then football in high school.

After the injury, it was difficult for him to even walk again. After his first operation, he suffered a setback.

“It felt like I was hitting a brick wall. I'm not used to working hard and trying to get better, and it just doesn't get better right away,” Quinn said.

Quinn had to undergo two more operations and his recovery took over a year.

He said that with the support of his family, friends, teammates and coaches, he was able to get back on the ice for Senior Night of Hockey in 2024.

The injury led him down a path he never expected.

“This whole experience made me realize that even though I'm not a physical therapist, it would be really cool to be a physical therapy assistant because I could work with other people who are going through the same thing I am and help them,” Quinn said.