Both teams came to the center of the football field when 15-year-old Connor Maupin went down.  Connor, a freshman football player at Moeller high school had been seriously injured during the game against St. Ignatius.  The players from both sides came together to pray. 

Connor had suffered a serious head injury—he was unconscious, unresponsive, and unable to move. 

As Connor was beginning his slow road to recovery at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, his older brother Army National Guard Sgt. Michael “Ben” Maupin, who was serving in Iraq, was anxious to be by his little brother’s side.  “It was almost surreal, not knowing what Ben was dealing with regarding Connor’s injury,” said the boys’ mother Leah Maupin. “I can’t imagine the stress Ben went through.  It’s hard to deal with this stuff when you are away.” 

That’s when the Red Cross stepped in.  In times of an emergency, the American Red Cross facilitates the return home of deployed overseas military members through the Hero Care Network. If an emergency requires leave for a service member, the Red Cross will verify the emergency to the appropriate military commander. Eligibility for emergency leave will ultimately be determined by each service member’s commander.

“I felt like it happened quick,” said Mrs. Maupin. “I spoke with the Red Cross, and Connor’s neurosurgeon at Children’s Hospital got on the phone as well.”  Once verified, big brother Ben was on his way home.  Ben left Iraq on his birthday and arrived at the hospital in Cincinnati to be at his little brother’s bedside… and in time to celebrate his mom’s birthday three days later. 

“I’m just in awe with how it played out and so thankful for the Red Cross,” Mrs. Maupin said.  “We have a heart now for the Red Cross at a level that we never had before.”

Over the last year, the American Red Cross assisted over 87,000 families with emergency situations, and nearly 136,000 families received critical community services.  Two thousand fifty-four of those community services were provided to military members, veterans, and their families in the Greater Cincinnati Tri-state chapter.  Across the region of Central and Southern Ohio, 6,663 case services were provided.

To access these services through the Hero Care Network, visit redcross.org/saf, download the Hero Care app by texting GETHEROCARE to 90999, or call a Hero Care specialist at 877-272-7337.  The Red Cross Hero Care Network is free and available 24/7.

According to Mrs. Maupin, “There’s definitely a peace and comfort that surpasses everything when you are all together.”