The Wyatt family of Medina has been selected as the 2022 national recipient of the “National High School Spirit of Sport Award” by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
The award was created by the NFHS to recognize those individuals who exemplify the ideals of the spirit of sport that represent the core mission of education-based athletics.
Brett Wyatt, 14, was a middle school basketball player for South Gibson Middle School when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in January 2021.
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His mother Carla was a teacher and the South Gibson High girls basketball coach at the time and later stepped down from the role. His father, Chris, is a teacher and coach at South Gibson Middle School and his older brother, Bond, is a member of the South Gibson High School boys basketball team.
After Brett’s parents were told on multiple occasions that he likely wouldn’t survive, they created a GoFundMe and social media hashtag #BraveLikeBrett and began documenting his progress.
Local communities got wind of the hashtag and began helping anyway they could. Assistant coaches started coaching the girls team and West Tennessee schools such as Milan High School began donating some of their basketball gate money to the family to help the family with expenses as they traveled back and forth from the hospital.
Bond turned out to be a match for a bone marrow transplant despite siblings only have a 25% chance of being a match. Not only was Bond a match he also has the same blood type as Brett.
Bond missed out on many activities such as camps, summer trips, practice and the beginning of his senior year so he could self-isolate for the transplant. Something Bond had to do twice, due to Brett suffering a pair of relapses before the surgery.
“I just felt it,” Bond said. “I went in there (Brett’s hospital room) and I saw him and I was super sad and worried and then right before I had to go back home because I had school, I just felt peace.
“I’m glad I could do it. I don’t see it as much as being a hero. I just did the bare minimum — probably what anyone would do to help someone in their family. Especially, someone as close as their little brother.”
The surgery took place on Aug. 13 and was a success, Brett was allowed to return to his home in December and he is steadily improving.
The surgery has made the pair closer and they’ve used not only the transplant but the sport they both play as something that will unify them together for the rest of their lives.
“He is such a good player now and I feel like anything I do I am trying to imitate him,” Brett said. “I think that almost every time he has beaten me (in one-on-one) but recently I had a little growth sport so I may be able to take him on.”