Hunter Grahl's journey leads him back to baseball

If the Sandusky Bay Conference named a Comeback Player of the Year in baseball, Margaretta senior Hunter Grahl would be a unanimous choice. Grahl was an honorable mention Bay Division outfielder in 2023, his freshman season, before sitting out his sophomore and junior years as he and his family endured a medical odyssey that included consultations with a dozen doctors at seven hospitals in a 19-month period. There were several procedures, some highs and plenty of lows — and ultimately a surgery that changed everything. "There were a lot of emotional moments," Hunter said. "It was hard on me and my family. A lot of doctors told us I had major problems and they'd send us to another doctor, and they'd send us to another doctor. We never thought it would be over. I have many dreams outside the baseball field as well, and I could see them going down the drain." Hunter began having right knee issues at age 3. He was first treated for a venous malformation in his right knee, but as he grew, so did the problems. "He was born with a bunch of different blood vessels that didn't have a home," said his father, Drew, who is the athletic director at Margaretta. "They floated around until they found a place to be. They settled in the soft tissue in his right leg. At the age of 3, he was having MRIs and had his first (sclerotherapy) procedure done at the Cleveland Clinic." His last treatment in Cleveland was in October 2022. He played football, basketball and baseball as a freshman and the family thought the dark days were gone. "He had a great (freshman baseball) season," Drew said. "We were hearing all the whispers: He was on the team for the wrong reasons, his dad was the AD. We'll never forget the first inning of his first game. He was in left field and made a diving catch to his right-hand side. It was like a dream come true. We thought we were through the woods." But Hunter was holding something back. He couldn't put weight on his right leg. "After that freshman year, he said to me after the awards banquet, 'I didn't load off my back foot all season long,' " Drew said. "I said, 'What are you talking about?' He said his leg was giving out all the time." Hunter didn't say anything during the season. "It would give out, but I kept it to myself because I was having so much fun," he said. "I was having a good season and didn't want to give it up. I had fun playing football and basketball that year, too." A visit with Dr. Kevin Bailey at Firelands Regional Medical Center in December of 2023 marked the beginning of a long, frustrating journey for the Grahls. Bailey — who Hunter now calls a good friend — performed arthroscopic surgery early in 2024 and Hunter got ready for baseball season. He didn't get far. On the Polar Bears' spring break trip to West Virginia, it was apparent that something needed to be addressed. "He couldn't run to first base," Drew said. "We knew we had a problem." The Grahls met with many doctors over the next several months. "That began a journey for us to try to figure out what was going on," Drew said. "We shared with the doctors about the venous malformations, but they didn't really think that that's what it was necessarily. "We went to countless places. The guy at the Cleveland Clinic that had done the previous procedures said he had done everything he could do. He sent us to some of his colleagues. They couldn't help us. We went to University Hospitals, we went to Detroit Mercy Hospital." Ohio State, Nationwide Children's and Johns Hopkins, too. Hunter had swelling in the knee and cysts or tumors were identified on MRIs. There also was cartilage damage, but the edema and cysts were of more concern. Doctors at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center discovered in May 2024 that the venous malformation had grown into Hunter's femur, which made his case so rare. More sclerotherapy sessions, during which medical alcohol was injected into benign tumors, and physical therapy provided some relief. But after a couple days of football practice in 2024, Hunter's knee began giving out again. A month later, a doctor in Detroit was the first to mention that the Grahls should consider going to Boston Children's Hospital because Hunter's case was so rare. "Everybody kept pointing to Boston, saying that was our best bet," Drew said. "They said they have the best doctors in the world for this." But to even get an audience at the prestigious hospital, the Grahls basically had to apply. "That was pain-staking. It was nothing short of a college project," Drew said. "We had a binder together. I made multiple trips to Columbus because he had MRIs and CAT scans. We had to send the discs for every MRI he had." Indeed, Hunter's medical history that the family shared with the Register is pages long and includes detailed notes from every medical appointment. Hunter's mother, Erica, searched for a patient's advocate but instead talked to a nurse in Boston who listened to her story. "She said, 'Honey, I'm gonna find a way,' " Erica said. "I said, 'My son is in so much pain and we want to help him.' " She did, and Hunter met with two doctors in Boston and underwent cryoablation and sclerotherapy surgery in February 2025, but the discomfort lingered. Hunter was at his low point. He had dreamed of serving in the military and was accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy's 2025 summer session, during which potential midshipmen get an up-close look at the campus. That dream ended, though, when the academy told Hunter he couldn't attend if he couldn't run. "I started crying right in front of my friends," he said. "I'm not a cryer, but with everything that had been taken away, it hurt. They say if you attend that your chances to go to the academy go up. When I got denied, I knew they weren't gonna like my medical history. At that time we didn't have an idea of how it was gonna get resolved." One last trip to Boston changed Hunter's future. Dr. Aristides Cruz, who was a college athlete who served in the Air Force as an orthopedic surgeon, took an interest in Hunter's case. "He wanted me to go into the military, too," Hunter said. "He was like, 'We're not gonna let this stop you from getting your dreams.' My dreams were his dreams, too, for me. You could feel it when we got there — the people knew what they were doing." Cruz performed surgery June 24, 2025. Hunter's right femur bone was cut open and venous malformations were scraped out. The void was filled with hip cells and a cadaver bone. "They mixed it all up and put it back in the void of the femur, kind of a cement-type of mixture, and put the femur back together," Drew said. "The real cherry on top was Dr. Cruz was very, very thorough and noticed when they were working on the femur that the cartilage in Hunter's knee had separated from the bone. As the tumor in his femur grew, it pushed the bone out and that ultimately separated the cartilage from the bone. He put four dissolving nails in the cartilage to tighten them back up to the bone. "That was the giving out, the pain, the water on the knee. That was huge that he discovered that and was the game-changer." That surgery was performed nearly 11 months ago. Much has changed for Hunter Grahl. He's back playing the game he loves and the ordeal he experienced has strengthened his family's faith. "I think it all happened for a reason," he said. "Now my entire family attends church weekly and we're really strong in our faith. I think that's the reason it happened. We didn't regularly attend church, but now we are and we're deep-rooted in our faith. I'm happy it happened because I want that relationship with God, but the hard times weren't fun." The Grahls now regularly attend Grace Community Church. "Hunter has shown everybody in the family how to have strength," Erica said. "When we were going through tough times, it was Hunter who got us out of it. He brought the positives and told us God has a purpose and there's a reason behind this." Hunter's military dreams also have picked up momentum. He received a Congressional nomination to the Merchant Marine Academy from Rep. Marcy Kaptur in January. With Hunter's medical status still unclear, he moved on and applied to Ohio State University and was accepted into its air transportation program. Hunter has not slowed down despite his medical setbacks. He is close to getting his private pilot's license. He also runs a successful trading card business and competes on Margaretta's clay shooting team. Despite not being able to play, he helped the football, basketball and baseball teams as a student assistant. Academically, he's No. 5 in his class and is a member of the National Honor Society. "I'd say I've been involved in more stuff after the injury," he said. "I'm flying, I have my own business. I'm in hard classes. I did all this to get in the academy and didn't get it. But God showed me there are other options and I did it for a reason." Hunter received an email April 16 notifying him that he was the recipient of a Naval ROTC scholarship, which can be used at Ohio State. He applied several months ago and had frankly written off his military chances. "A full ride is obviously a life-changing thing, but not only that, the bigger piece of this award is you get to serve your country," he said. "That's what I've wanted to do my whole life, commission as an officer. I thought it was taken away from me and here I have another opportunity. I'm really excited for my future. Hopefully I'm in a fighter jet landing on an aircraft carrier one day. That's my goal, but I'll do anything to be in the military." Hunter still needs to be medically cleared by the military to get the award, but his progress after his latest surgery makes that a promising possibility. Doctors, teachers and coaches are writing letters on Hunter's behalf. The Grahls have leaned on their family and staff at Margaretta through this ordeal. "There were a lot of teachers, coaches, administrators and our guidance counselor who helped him through a lot of emotional times," Erica said. "There were some that went way above and beyond and I can't thank them enough." Hunter can't thank his parents enough. "The sleepless nights they've had, just being parents, you never want anything to happen to your kid," he said. "They went way out of their way to get this done. Without my parents I wouldn't be playing baseball this year. I'm so thankful for them." Oh, back to baseball. Hunter is batting .327 this season and leads the Polar Bears in runs batted in. Margaretta is one victory away from its first conference championship since 1993. Hunter is the team's designated hitter, but has played in the field in a few games. His brother Gavin, a freshman, also is on the team. "As of last year, I never thought I'd get to play the field again," he said. "I had a doctor tell me I'd never play sports again. It's awesome to be back; I was worried I'd be too rusty to play. I love every second of it, especially playing for Coach (Ray) Neill and the fun group of guys we have. "I love all our coaches and just to be out there with the guys and feel like I'm doing something for the team. It's a lot of fun."