Sectional top seeds:
Division I, Dayton 2: Centerville
D-II, Dayton: Franklin
D-II, Kenton Ridge: Tippecanoe
D-III, Dayton: Carlisle
D-III, Tipp City: Versailles
D-IV, Dayton: Arcanum
D-IV, Troy: Bethel
TIPP CITY — Ask Carter Langdon if he knows who donated the portion of the femur that now resides in his leg and he becomes quiet.
“They didn’t tell me,” Langdon said.
It’s a personal subject for the Tippecanoe junior pitcher and first baseman. That portion of the bone was donated from a cadaver. Langdon, as a high school sophomore, had become a recipient of a transplant.
After tearing his meniscus in eighth grade playing football, Langdon discovered he had chipped off a portion of his femur and it needed reattaching. The injury ended his football career and made baseball difficult, but the standout managed to hit .448 after a call up to varsity as a freshman designated hitter.
During conditioning as a sophomore, that portion of his femur began disintegrating. More surgery would replace a portion of his femur that was the size of a half-dollar.
It would also mean his baseball career was over.
“They told him his chance of playing baseball was probably five to 10 percent,” Tippecanoe coach Bruce Cahill said.
But through fortuitous circumstances (and a perfect procedure), Langdon is back on the mound and at first base for Tipp. He also has become a dominating pitcher.
With a 0.74 ERA, Langdon has become the ace of the staff, striking out 39 in 38 innings. He is 6-0 with four shutouts and two saves. Through late April he had given up one earned run.
In February 2011, Dr. Angelo Colosimo performed surgery on Langdon to replace the tip of his femur. Colosimo is director of the Division of Sports Medicine at the University of Cincinnati’s Department of Orthopedic Surgery.
Colosimo’s most famous patient is former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, whose knee ligaments Colosimo repaired following Palmer’s injury in the 2006 NFL playoffs.
Colosimo grafted the donated portion of bone onto the end of Langdon’s femur. The size was almost perfect due to the donor nearly matching Langdon’s size of 6 feet 5 and 180 pounds.
“Before the surgery, I thought I was done,” Langdon said. “I didn’t think I was ever going to play again. He said it was a rare surgery, that no one is supposed to come back and play. I was extremely lucky.”
Langdon was on crutches for four months. He rehabbed every day for six months. Last fall he was allowed to throw again. He didn’t run or hit until February when tryouts began. Despite nearly three years off, he is hitting .328 with 21 RBIs.
Langdon said he has received a few letters from colleges inquiring about his knee. Cahill hopes they take notice of his frame, which has room for him to bulk up and add speed to a fastball he throws in the low-80-mph range. There’s also his four-pitch repertoire he crafted with Tipp pitching coach Tim Johnson.
But what is most important is being back on the field.
“Everything I’ve been through, I realize now I just have to take in every moment I’m playing,” he said. “I never know when it could go out again. I might be done forever. Just appreciate every moment.”
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