GoFundMe For Bevill State Baseball Player Partially Paralyzed After Swimming Accident

FAYETTE, AL — A GoFundMe has been launched to cover medical expenses for a Jasper native and Bevill State Community College baseball player who suffered a spinal cord injury in a swimming accident over the weekend that left him partially paralyzed.

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Ayden Payne, 20, is a graduate of Jasper High School and played two years as an infielder for Bevill State, where he performed well enough to earn attention from college scouts and signed to continue his baseball career at Texas A&M University-Texarkana.

The GoFundMe was launched by LaDonna Kilgore on Sunday and has raised $11,755 from 134 donors toward its goal of $30,000. Click here to donate.

Kilgore said the accident occurred on Saturday when Payne and some friends went for a swim at one of their swimming pools.

Payne reportedly jumped in the pool and hit his head, before being pulled from the water and treated by paramedics. He was then airlifted to Huntsville Hospital, where medical images revealed that he fractured his C5 vertebrae — a bone in the spinal column of his neck.

Kilgore said the fracture also caused damage to his spinal cord and he is currently paralyzed from the chest down. She then said he had surgery on Sunday to stabilize the fracture and to protect the spinal cord from further damage.

She went on to say that the surgery went well and Payne is stable, as his family awaits plans for the next step — most likely a move to a facility for physical rehabilitation when this hospitalization is complete.

"For those of you who don’t know Ayden, he’s going to fight for this— he’s gritty, driven, and a hard worker," the GoFundMe says. "Today, Ayden is staring down a new and daunting challenge that will require even more of the same grit, drive, and hard-working mentality that brought him success on the baseball field."

Kilgore then pointed out that spinal cord injuries come with sizable costs, with treatment and recovery consuming tremendous amounts of time, as well as incredible emotional and financial resources of the family and loved ones of the person injured.

"While it’s hard to think about this when we just desperately want Ayden to be healed, the reality is there are needs to be met during a medical crisis," Kilgore said. "The family is already so grateful for the outpouring of support from the community. It will be needed in the days, weeks, and months to come."

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