BallHyped confirmed his discharge with a staff member at the hospital this evening. His condition was not made public, but Padilla let his social circle know just how excited he was to get back to Oxnard (even though he admitted the pizza is better in SLO — then again, everything tastes better compared to hospital food!).
“I’m going home today! #Fuckyeah #excited,” Padilla Tweeted on Tuesday afternoon, his 19th day in the hospital.
As reported by BallHyped.com on Sept. 19, the senior safety underwent emergency brain surgery the weekend after the game, but was upgraded from critical condition shortly thereafter and has been making a slow but steady recovery.
That Sept. 16 game was also infamously known thanks in part to our post about the SLO High cheerleader who was run over by a Tigers football player in pregame, a video that went viral online but also shed additional light on and encouraged support of Padilla’s situation.
The Oxnard Yellow Jackets have been playing with “A.P. 25” stickers on their helmets since and dedicated their next win over Buena, 42-35, to the 6-1, 175-pound safety.
“He looks the same. He acts the same. He laughs the same,” Oxnard High coach Mark Beckham told the Ventura County Star. “He’s going to walk away from that, and he’s going to live a great life.”
Padilla is home resting with his family in Oxnard, and it sounds like he’s looking forward to returning to school next semester. He’s also looking forward to cheering on his Yellow Jackets again soon.
“Juss saw the FAMBAM!” Padilla Tweeted Tuesday night. “Felt so good to be around the team. Almost brought tears to my eyes! Love you guys.”
As noted previously, an Adrian Padilla Benefit Account has been set up at Santa Barbara Bank and Trust for donations to help cover the family’s medical expenses.
The BallHyped Team wishes Padilla a speedy recovery.
- BHyped
