GLENDIVE — Troy Hugs knew something was wrong.
“I laid down, couldn’t move, couldn’t get up, so I was starting to get a little worried,” he recounted.
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Q2's Athlete of the Week, who grew up in Crow Agency and is a state champion graduate from Gallatin, was feeling miserable in his dorm room. He initially thought he had a cold and attempted to sweat it out during a month of basketball practice. However, his condition escalated to a life-threatening level without him realizing it.
“I woke up that morning and couldn’t breathe at all. I was in pain. I was in a lot of pain,” the Dawson Community College freshman guard said.
DCC head coach Joe Peterson recalled Hugs sending him a troubling message. “He actually texted me on the way to the hospital saying, ‘Coach, I have a lump in my throat and it’s making it hard for me to breathe and swallow,’” Peterson said.
As Hugs drove himself to the emergency room, he called his mother, Adree. “It was actually my 42nd birthday. It happened so fast. It was one phone call. Next thing you know, he’s at the E.R.,” she said.
When Peterson arrived at the hospital, the situation became clearer. “When I got there, he already had tubes all over him. I realized, this is a much bigger deal than I thought,” he said, adding that nurses informed him, “We’ve got to get him to Billings as soon as possible – otherwise he’s not going to live.”
Sadie Miller, a registered nurse at Glendive Medical Center, was at Hugs' side. “He wasn’t able to do things that you should be able to do, like swallow your own saliva,” Miller said.
From the emergency room, Hugs Facetimed his mother, who reassured him about his condition. “My mom told me I was going to be on a ventilator, and said I was going to be all right and … I was out for a couple days,” he said.
Miller recalled Hugs being scared and explained to him that they needed to “put a tube in your throat” and place him on a breathing machine because his throat was closing.
Peterson and his wife stayed by Hugs' side at the hospital. “We prayed for him. There were a couple times he kind of woke up and tried to pull the tubes out of his mouth,” Peterson said.
It was soon determined that Hugs was suffering from an overgrown abscess in his throat. With urgency, he was flown by emergency helicopter out of Glendive on Oct. 29.
Adree described the moment she arrived at the Billings hospital. “I remember walking down that hallway and seeing him so helpless,” she said.
After regaining consciousness, Adree said Hugs required five people to hold him down as he came out of anesthesia. She later posted on Facebook, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the prayers and all the people who reached out to us. It hurts my heart to see my child helpless, but he had the best care and the best prayers from everyone. We had a rough night, but we are on the road to recovery!”
When Hugs awoke, he was instantly focused on basketball. “The first thing I did was say, ‘What day is it? It's Thursday, and I said, Bucs play today. That was the first thing that was on my mind,” he said with a smile.
His teammates went on to win that season-opening tournament while Hugs was recovering, sending him a photo with an impromptu sign in support. “It’s pretty cool that we were able to kind of win that tournament for him and play for him,” Manhattan native and Mon-Dak Conference MVP Seth Amunrud said.
Instead of taking a semester off, Hugs returned to school and passed all 16 credits last semester. He is now back on the court, despite facing additional injuries.
Before Sunday’s 93-89 regional championship win over Williston State College, Hugs' mother and nurse Miller met in person and embraced for the first time. “And they did a phenomenal job with him,” Adree said.
“It was a long road back learning to eat again and to be able to breathe properly,” Peterson said. “I honestly thought he would redshirt this year.”
Instead, Hugs is playing limited minutes and now within one win of helping DCC (29-3) reach the national tournament for just the second time in 67 years.
“It makes me look at life differently because one morning I’m in tip-top shape and doing what I love with my teammates, playing ball, and the next thing I know, everything can change your life,” Hugs said through tears.
Now, Hugs' big picture is clearer than ever. “Never giving up on what I do and just keep chasing my dreams,” he said.
