Life was turned upside down for Fort Myers basketball player Karsten Schafer when doctors told him he may never play hoops again. But those words ignited a fire inside him, determined to get back to the court.
Schafer said he had excruciating back pain during his freshman year that wouldn't go away.
"Eventually, one day, I'm like, 'it hurts so bad,'" said Schafer. "So we went in for an MRI, and they found out that I had a tumor on my L5 vertebrae consuming, I think it was 70 to 80% of it. They had told me like there's a chance you're not walking again."
The tumor was not cancerous, but was on the verge of a fracture in his spine.
"I couldn't get out of bed, I couldn't walk, I couldn't do anything," Schafer added. "I was bedridden for months."
Schafer underwent three procedures. At first, doctors tried freezing the tumor to shrink it, which didn't work. The last one was a 15-hour L5 vertebrae removal surgery.
"I'm in the hospital I think for like 19 days," he said. "After that I go home, I'm relearning how to walk. I'm at [physical therapy] three to four days a week. My parents getting me out of bed, my parents washing me. My parents changing me. It was a really, like, humbling moment."
Karsten was sidelined from his favorite thing. But he was right there cheering on the Green Wave the whole time.
"I'd be on the bench cheering," said Schafer. "So I actually ended up learning all the cheers. I know every single one of them.
He knew...he had to get back to the hardwood. The thought of never playing basketball again was not an option in his mind.
"The second I got cleared in June, I just started working," he said.
"He'd wake up at 5:30, shoot from 6 to 1, go play and then take a nap, eat lunch, go back again for another 4 to 5 hours," said Karsten's mom, Stephanie Schafer.
Finally, for the first time in two years, he suited back up and took the court in Fort Myers' varsity home opener against Immokalee.
"The second I checked in, it just felt so good," said Karsten Schafer. "Everything I've been doing and working my butt off has led up to this moment. So I was just so grateful."
Schafer lit up from behind the arc, draining five three-pointers.
"I was just excited for that first three," said Karsten's dad, Kevin Schafer. "Once that happened and then to be able to see him make five tonight, we were very proud of him."
Along with his family cheering in the stands, was Schafer's doctor who performed all three of his surgeries.
The odds were stacked against him. But he's getting another shot...and he won't miss it.
"Everyone's saying like, poor me for going through it," said Schafer. "But I really believe that he put me through it so I could help others. Like it is truly God's plan. His is greater than ours."