Madison’s Homecoming King wears a crown of courage

MADISON TOWNSHIP — Jeff Whisler was crowned Homecoming King on Friday at Madison High School, but his road to royalty was fraught with tragedy so traumatic just surviving it made his story a profile in courage.

Whisler, a senior, fractured his skull in a skateboarding accident last spring. He suffered multiple fractures to the base of his skull and was placed in a medically induced coma to allow his brain a chance to rest.

The incident took place while he was going downhill, lost control and fell backwards. His friends were quick to his side and called for help.

“He suffered a great trauma and removed a piece of his skull that was placed in his abdomen that will be used for future reattachment,” his mother Christina Clever said in a Facebook post after his surgery.

Whisler, who is not yet verbal, was crowned during the Homecoming assembly. It was his first appearance at the school since the incident.

“The kids were super excited to have him back,” principal Sean Conway said. “It was the most emotional moment since I’ve been at Madison.”

Homecoming advisors Jen Branstetter and Aubrey Klink said students from all walks of life were united in their support of Whisler.

“When his name was announced, the students stood and applauded, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” Branstetter said.

When the incident took place, the community, spearheaded by Madison students, started a GoFundMe campaign to defray the medical expenses. The original goal was $5,000 but more than $8,000 was raised by the end of the first night. The total was $17,000 as of Saturday morning.

Madison students wore green to raise awareness of the GoFundMe page and Whisler’s situation. The school also began selling t-shirts for the cause.

The story caught the attention of the Clear Fork soccer team, where Whisler occasionally refereed. The Colts posted a message of support on the group’s Facebook page: “He is such a sweet, loving boy who would do anything for anyone, so let’s show him some love from the Valley.”

Klink said Whisler’s return to school was an uplifting story amid trying times. “Signs of Welcome Back, Jeff” and “We Miss You” were on display at the school.

“He’s one of those kids that gets along with everybody,” Klink said. “One student told me he was just walking down the street and Jeff came up to him and said, ‘Do you want to play Monopoly with us?’ And the kid said he played Monopoly with him for three hours, and he didn’t really know him before that.

“That’s just the kind of kid he is.”

Friday night Whisler was at the football game wearing a smile as he was serenaded with applause from the crowd.

“It was a pretty special moment for all of us,” Branstetter said.

His friends wrote Whisler’s Homecoming bio as it was read Friday. Here’s what they said:

“Jeff is the son of Christina Clever and Levi Sanger. Jeff is a four-year member of the soccer team and a member of SkillsUSA. According to Jeff’s friends, he is really thoughtful, hard-working, always listens to everything you have to say, gets along with everyone, everyone knows him. He has a little bit of an Adidas obsession, and is a ladies’ man.

“They also said he is extremely intelligent and creative, and loves to pull things apart and put them back together. He also loves cars, computers, music and the stock market. He is super-proud of the fact that he built his own computer. Jeff also worked at Snow Trails, and loves to spend his time snowboarding and skateboarding.

“Jeff’s friends say that he would like to thank his skate group, Snow Trails’ co-workers, the soccer team, and the Madison community for always being there for him and supporting him. They said Jeff would also like to thank his little brothers, Lucas and “Bear” for being the best brothers. He enjoys sending videos of them and bragging about them to his friends.

“Finally, Jeff’s friends said that he would want to thank his mom and step dad for always being there for him, supporting him and pushing him to be his best.”