HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — When Kenny Hall was nine years old, his father Ray set a timer: 2,000 days until his son, now a senior cornerback at Sparkman High School, commits to college.
In December 2021, Kenny signed with Navy, but the 2,000 days in between that moment and when the timer began have been filled with challenges, none more frightening than when Kenny, his mother Kendra, and Ray were in a car crash last February.
FOX54's Jonah Karp spoke to Kenny and his family about the accident, the aftermath, and what comes next.
Kendra: The car accident was February 13, 2021.
Kenny: Both of my parents and myself, I'm the only child, so basically my whole family was in the car.
Jonah: How clear in your mind is that day?
Kendra: Oh, um, vivid.
Kenny: I was looking at the tire of the 18 wheeler coming inches away from my face, and I was blessed that my father was able to pull me away before the 18-wheeler ran me over.
Kendra: The accident was horrific. Life-altering and life-changing. During the accident, my leg was trapped with the 18 wheeler and in between the car door, where the 18 wheeler was on the car and my leg was in between.
Kenny: Having an 18 wheeler trapped on your leg, for a long time you're going to be almost paralyzed. I had to help her get up. everywhere she went I assisted her. Carrying her to the bathroom, doing stuff like that. Just trying to help the best way I could to take any pain away.
Jonah: What does that mean having your son here for you?
Kendra: Oh, it means a lot. I couldn't do anything for myself. And it's a humbling experience to have your son have to help you to the restroom. and both my husband, even with his limitations, they both try their very best to support me in whatever way that they could.
Jonah: When was your father diagnosed with MS?
Kenny: March 14, 2016.
Jonah: What sort of emotions were you feeling that day?
Kendra: I was hurt. Hurt in the sense of knowing how it would impact him. And I knew that we had to be a support system for him to make sure that he had everything that he needed. and although there would be some limitations and issues, that he would know that he would have a support system.
Jonah: What kind of influence has your dad been throughout your football career?
Kenny: My dad, he has been an amazing influence. He's the one who introduced me to the game of football. He's been up late nights training, early mornings training. Even when the gym shut down with COVID, my father put together an in-house gym for me to still be able to work towards my craft.
Jonah: Take me back to the final game you played in a Senators uniform. What do you remember from that night?
Kenny: There's not much to remember, honestly. I only played four plays. It was against Thompson. I made a tackle. My shoulder popped out of place. It had been an issue for a very long time. The trainers, they pulled me from the season and requested a surgery to repair my labrum.
Jonah: Did you tear your labrum?
Kenny: Yeah, I had a complete tear.
Jonah: Did you have surgery already?
Kenny: Yes, sir. I had surgery on September 17. Right now, I'm expected to have a full recovery in March. It's a very slow process. I can't lift any weights. right now. I have marks for my push-ups. Each month I try to do more push-ups. Now I'm finally at 11. It's amazing.
Jonah: 11 push-ups in a row?
Kenny: Yeah. it's a very humbling process because I remember when I was little I could do 50 at a time. Now, I'm just struggling to get 11.
Jonah: When Kenny told you that he was committing to Navy, what was your reaction?
Kendra: I was shocked, happy and worried all at the same time.
Jonah: The worried thing is understandable. Why shocked?
Kendra: Since Kenny was little, we always told him, Ivy League is where we want you to go. And when those opportunities came, we were like okay, here it is. And he was even reserved in telling us.
Jonah: Were you nervous to tell your parents, Kenny?
Kenny: I wasn't nervous to tell my parents. i just wanted to be 100 percent with my decision before I came out to them.
Kendra: He's ready to get away, because, like any normal teenager at that age, he's ready to see what life has to offer out there. My dad was in the Marine Corps and his other grandfather was in the Army.
Jonah: How prepared are you for him to leave?
Kendra: I'm trying to get prepared. Kenny is our only child so we are a very close-knit family. As a mother you always want to protect your child. We'll follow him to the end of the earth so wherever he is, we will be.
Kenny leaves for the Naval Academy in the last week of June, and if there's one thing he'll absolutely miss, it's his mother's late-night shrimp quesadillas, which likely would not travel well in the mail.
So that means his mother Kendra and father Ray will likely be visiting Annapolis...a lot.
Kendra has now regained enough power in her right leg to walk with a cane. The accident is currently under litigation.
Ray will be 47-years-old on March 14, 2022...the six-year anniversary of his multiple sclerosis diagnosis.
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