It doesn’t take long after meeting Justin Thomas that you realize this isn’t your typical high school junior. Once you hear his story, you understand just how true that is.
He’s smart, with a daily schedule of nothing but advanced level classes. He’s athletic, starring in two sports at Northwood. He works just as hard at home as he does in the classroom and on the athletic field. And he’s as polite as he is modest.
Justin Thomas is living his best life.
Or so it seems.
Life for Thomas has been anything but typical.
Nine years ago, he lost his right hand in a machinery accident.
Last year, he could have lost his life due to a mysterious case of myocarditis that put him in hospital care for weeks.
And yet there he is every Friday night, chasing down opposing players as one of the leading tacklers on the Falcons’ defense.
So it’s only normal to wonder how Thomas has dealt with two life-altering circumstances.
“Actually, there’s three,” Thomas says. “When I was five years old, my house caught fire. I was the only one inside.”
***
He introduces himself as Justin Thomas, but everybody knows him as “Champ,” a nickname his father gave him when he was young that has become increasingly appropriate as time goes along.
Thomas is so highly regarded that he is one of the team captains for the Falcons as a junior. That’s usually a role reserved for seniors.
“To be honest, if he had been able to play last year,” says Northwood coach Austin Brown, “he probably would have been a captain as a sophomore.”
Make no mistake — he is Northwood, through and through. Thomas was a ball boy for the Falcons when he was a kid. His father Hosie is the school’s director of security.
Justin is among the leading tacklers for the Falcons, who are 3-0 this season and headed into a huge opening game in District 1-4A Friday when they take on defending champion North DeSoto.
Thomas has been clocked this season at running 21.7 miles per hour on the football field. To put that in perspective, only three players in college football have been clocked at a faster speed so far in the 2024 season.
“He’s just a great human being,” Brown says, “and we enjoy having him.”
And to think how close – and how many times – they almost didn’t.
***
He is the seventh of eight children in the Thomas family and they have always lived in the country. One night when Justin was five years old, Hosie and his other son left the house to go chase down some hogs who had broken out of the pen.
In the meantime, his wife had gone to go pick up one of their daughters whose car had broken down.
That’s when a fire broke out in the home.
“I never knew anybody left the house because I was asleep,” Thomas says. “Nothing really woke me up; I just did. There was smoke everywhere. I saw the fire and just ran out of the door, ran up the street and knocked on the neighbor’s door.”
The house in Blanchard was completely destroyed.
“Every time I think about that night, I realize there was no other reason that woke me up,” Thomas says, “other than God.”
***
Ten years ago, Hosie Taylor had a butcher shop on Greenwood Road and seven-year-old Champ was quite excited to get his first chance to process a deer. He’d seen it done before and knew what to do. He especially knew how important it was to wear cutting gloves.
“I had just taken a picture of him about to process his first one,” Hosie says. “He was so happy.”
“It was Halloween and it was the first time I was going to be able to go trick-or-treating,” Justin says. “We were finishing a deer and he told me I couldn’t go until we finished. I was so excited.”
But during the process, his right glove got caught in the throat of the meat grinder. Justin didn’t actually notice it at first, but when he pulled his hand back, it severed.
Hosie, who had served overseas, immediately “went back to my medic training,” he says. “The ambulance was taking too long, so I put him in my truck because I knew time was of the essence and rushed him to the hospital.”
He was going to have to learn to live with one hand, but Champ was determined to begin the process of getting back to normal as soon as possible. However, there were some obstacles to overcome.
“Being young, there weren’t too many things I did where it made a difference, other than writing and picking things up,” he says. “It was a quick process. I just had to learn how to write with my left hand. It wasn’t that hard.”
One of the things he has often been asked about is “phantom hand,” a rather typical experience for people who have lost a limb and gives the feeling that the missing limb is still there. There can be sensations such as tingling or pain where the limb was, or sometimes there is the feeling that the limb is moving.
“A lot of people ask me if I’ve had that experience,” he says. “But I never have.”
But there was yet another experience awaiting Champ Thomas that would take on even more dramatic consequences.
If that even seems possible.
***
The Thomas family was at Living Word Christian Fellowship for Sunday worship in 2023 when Champ had just finished his prayers as the service was about to begin. When Hosie looked up, he saw his son walking out and he knew something was wrong.
“He just kept saying his chest hurt,” Hosie says.
Champ’s parents took him to the hospital for testing but he wasn’t getting any better. “The doctor told me they couldn’t do anything for him there, so they sent him to Ochsner,” Hosie says. “Once we got there, they put him in the pediatric ward and started giving him all sorts of fluids.”
Finally they got a diagnosis, but not exactly once the family wanted.
Myocarditis.
That’s an inflammation of the heart muscle, which can reduce the heart’s ability to pump blood and is often caused by a viral infection.
But not in this instance.
In the case of Justin Thomas, it was caused by a simple tick bite. No one knew when the bite actually happened, but for a teenage boy who spends a lot of time outdoors, there’s no shortage of opportunities.
Champ stayed in the hospital for a week, but he wasn’t getting better and started having hot flashes. “They kept trying to get him regulated but just couldn’t do it,” Hosie says.
A decision was made to medevac Justin to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, where he stayed for two weeks. Almost immediately, Thomas began to show improvement. “From the moment I got there, things began to feel better,” Champ says. “The doctor there was amazing and made sure I was taken care of.”
“It was so grueling for him to go through that,” Hosie says. “Before we went to New Orleans, the doctor did come in and tell us that if it did work out, it was pretty much over for him to do anything (with sports).”
“The only time I could get any relief was when I was asleep, but I kept asking if I could go to practice,” Justin says.
But no one was going to allow that to happen as his sophomore year approached. A simple hit to his chest could have literally caused his heart to explode.
“It broke my heart to have to miss even one practice,” Champ says. “I just wanted to be out there playing. I was just out there trying to do the things I knew how to do. I just wanted to be a motivation and an inspiration. Somebody who could help them persevere through the hard times.”
***
On May 4, the Northwood Falcons 4×100 relay team won the state championship with a time of 42.29. Running in the second leg of the relay team was Justin Thomas, who had been cleared to participate in activities only a few months earlier.
Champ was indeed a champion.
Since then, he has picked up where he left off with his football career. He says he really didn’t take a moment to let it all sink in.
“This whole year has been a blessing,” he says. “Just being in the game is my ‘moment.’ I’m here and I get to make a difference in this program.”
As for playing football with only one hand, that’s just part of the life he’s had for almost 10 years. And it does lend itself to some interesting moments. “When the captains went out before one game, we went to shake hands and I put my nub out there,” Thomas says. “The other guy kind of jumped back and didn’t know what to do.”
His teammates do.
“Guys joke with me all the time,” he says “If I drop a ball in practice, they’ll say ‘Use two hands!’ and things like that. I joke about it too.”
Jokes or not, there’s been a support system that has always been a big part of the formation of Justin Thomas.
“It’s just the community I grew up in,” he says. “Ever since I lost my hand, the people around me have always been so helpful and understanding. People have always made sure I’m OK. Having all of these things happen to me, I realize how blessed I really am with the family I have and this community and support I get compared to other people.”
Indeed, Justin “Champ” Thomas has lived a life that is unlike almost any other. There’s no doubt his experiences have made an impact. Nor is there any doubt that he understands their significance in ways far beyond athletics.
“The one that’s affected me the most is my hand, but the one that’s made me realize how blessed I am is my heart,” he says. “When I realize how close I am with my teammates and coaches and how it could have all been gone just like that. A lot of people get in those situations and don’t come back. God truly has blessed me.”
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com
