Escaped Nazis can live into their 90s in Argentina, but children can leave us in one tragic instant.
When we ask ourselves how and why such things occur, we inevitably find no wisdom of our own. Instead, the question itself shifts our attention toward God, and in that shifting of attention, we find the only possible answer to something otherwise unfathomable.
According to the Alabama news site AL.com, 16-year-old Caden Tellier, quarterback of the John T. Morgan Academy football team in Selma, Alabama, passed away after suffering a traumatic brain injury during his team’s game against Southern Academy on Friday night.
Caden’s parents announced their son’s death on Saturday.
“Our boy, Caden Tellier has met Jesus face to face. We appreciate all of your prayers, and we covet them for the hard days ahead. Everyone who knows Caden has known kindness, generosity and love, and true to his nature, he is giving of himself one more time. Lives have been touched by the way he lived, and now lives will be saved through his passing. We will walk out these next few days alongside him in his earthly body knowing that his spirit is rejoicing in heaven,” they wrote.
Caden, according to Morgan Academy head of school Dr. Bryan Oliver, was an organ donor.
Michael McLendon, executive director of the Alabama Independent School Association, indicated that Caden suffered the injury while making a tackle during the third quarter, per ABC.
“As a small school, Morgan Academy feels this tragedy even more deeply,” McClendon said. “We ask that our entire AISA family and the people of Alabama join us in prayer for peace and comfort for Caden’s family and the Morgan Academy community as they navigate this difficult time.”
Needless to say, Caden’s death must have come as a shock to everyone involved.
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After all, according to the Selma Times-Journal, the two teams finished the game, which resulted in a Morgan victory.
In fact, Caden threw for one touchdown and ran for another prior to his tragic injury.
“A scary moment occurred in the third quarter when Tellier went down with an injury. The game was delayed while they treated him and then was taken to the hospital by ambulance from the field. His condition wasn’t immediately known as of press time,” the Times-Journal reported.
Oliver’s statement informing the community of Caden’s passing appeared Saturday night on Facebook.
“He was a student, a friend, an athlete and most important a Christ follower,” Oliver wrote.
“There are no words to describe how we feel as a school and community. We will come together and support Jamie, Arsella and Lyla with our whole hearts. We offer our deepest sympathy to the Tellier’s extended family as well,” he added.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe for the family had raised $82,298 of its $100,000 goal as of Monday morning.
At times like this, a community’s reaction can both deepen the sense of loss and fill us with hope.
For instance, Saturday on the social media platform X, a University of Alabama alumna named Hannah Stephens shared a 2018 post from Jamie Tellier, Caden’s father.
The post featured two now-heartbreaking photographs of a very young Caden sporting the jersey of then-Buffalo Bills quarterback A.J. McCarron. In 2011-12, McCarron quarterbacked the Alabama Crimson Tide to back-to-back national championships.
“@10AJMcCarron guess who’s @buffalobills jersey my son Caden wanted for his birthday? Hope you have a great season! Go Bills #BillsMafia,” Jamie Tellier wrote on May 12, 2018.
Stephens, who describes herself as a “Daughter of Jesus Christ,” posted the original message and tagged McCarron.
“Hey @10AJMcCarron, Caden Tellier, the Morgan Academy QB in Alabama who tragically passed away today after suffering a TBI during last night’s game against Southern Academy was a big fan of yours. Maybe reach out to the family? #RollTide,” Stephens wrote.
Hey @10AJMcCarron, Caden Tellier, the Morgan Academy QB in Alabama who tragically passed away today after suffering a TBI during last night’s game against Southern Academy was a big fan of yours. Maybe reach out to the family? #RollTide https://t.co/jaxpis7JO3
— Hannah Stephens (@TheUASignGirl) August 25, 2024
In the end, of course, we have only one true answer to the ultimate question.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose,” Paul the Apostle wrote (Romans 8:28).
As evidenced by the reactions of Stephens, Oliver, McClendon, the GoFundMe donors and of course the Tellier family, God has indeed made all things work together for good through Caden.
