T-L Photo/RICK THORP BEALLSVILLE’S Joey Davis goes through warmups prior to last week’s game against Bridgeport. Davis is scheduled to undergo surgery to remove a tumor. The tumor was discovered after a football injury. While the operation will bring an end to his basketball season, Davis is expected to be cleared to return for all sports in the near future.

BEALLSVILLE – Joey Davis is hoping today is the beginning of the end.

An end to the pain, an end to the what-ifs, an end to the countless trips to the doctors.

The Beallsville High School sophomore just wants to play sports – without interruption. And he hopes, with today’s surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, that his path to recovery will begin.

“I was a little worried when they first told me about it,” he said. “I’m happy to get it removed and get back to sports.”

“It” is a tumor that’s located on his left side near his kidney and his aortic vein. And while doctors believe it’s benign, they want to remove it just to be sure. That, plus it’s not little.

“I’m glad he’s getting it removed,” Joey’s mom, Valerie, said. “It’s painful sometimes and it’s six centimeters. We don’t want it to get any bigger.

“I feel good about it. He’s had surgery before, so I know he can handle it.”

Valerie Davis was on pins and needles, though, this past October when her son lay almost motionless on the turf at Beallsville’s football field. As the Blue Devils played Shadyside, Joey made a tackle that, while it didn’t look like it at the time, turned out being a blessing.

“I stiffed arm a player and my head went back,” Joey Davis recalled. “I just felt a pain shoot up through my arms, but I tried to play through it.”

The Tigers threw the ball to Davis’ side on the next play, scoring another touchdown and increasing their sizable lead.

“As I walked to the sideline the pain started getting worse,” Joey said. “It felt like pins and needles really bad. I just felt awful.”

Trainers were summoned as Joey removed his jersey and pads and laid on a bleacher. Soon, everyone knew things with him weren’t normal.

“I got 14 IVs that night,” he said.

An ambulance was driven on to the field. Later, an air ambulance that had been there a few hours earlier delivering the game ball, returned. After a long period of getting the young player hooked up and strapped to a gurney, he was loaded aboard the chopper and taken to Wheeling. From there, he was driven to Pittsburgh due to poor weather.

“I was just hoping the pain would end,” Joey remembered.

In the end, the tumor was discovered, something that both player and mother believe wouldn’t have happened without the hit.

“It was truly a blessing,” Valerie said.“Absolutely. He had broken his wrist in travel ball and that was his first game back. He was embarrassed and he didn’t want people to know he was hurt.”

But he was. Bad. What at first was thought to be an issue with his neck or spine turned out being an internal injury, one that doctors didn’t diagnose quickly.

“At first,” Valerie said, “they thought it was a hematoma.”

As it turned out, Joey had had the tumor for sometime. Valerie thought the pain her son was enduring was a kidney issue.

“I would tell him to drink more water and cranberry juice,” she said. “And, here, I probably should’ve looked up what he was dealing with earlier.”

While Davis feels bad about not pushing her son in the right direction medically at that time, she’s happy with the care her son has received at Nationwide. In fact, once the family made the trip to Columbus, she said the staff there has been extremely proactive.

“We went there a couple of weeks ago and saw a specialist about a week ago and they said (the tumor) had to come out,” Valerie said. “She didn’t want him waiting and it getting bigger.”

Through the trips to Pittsburgh, and later Columbus, Joey started playing basketball.

Mostly a JV performer, Davis earned a spot on the varsity roster, too. Head coach Rick Jarrett said Davis has been a tremendous role model to the rest of the team on how to handle adversity.

“He wrestled last year and said he wanted to play basketball this year,” Jarrett said. “He said, ‘I’m not very good.’ But he’s improved tremendously. He’s real polite and a good kid to have around.”

Jarrett told him to take practices off when he has appointments in Columbus, but Davis wouldn’t have it. One day, he came rushing in following an afternoon appointment.

“I just had to hurry up and get back,” Davis smiled.

While scoring just two points this winter, Davis’ impact has been felt past the scorebook. Jarrett said his fun-loving attitude has made his teammates forget about his struggles.

“He’s just had a positive attitude, knowing he’s going to have surgery and all,” Jarrett said. “He just brings a positive atmosphere to the team.”

Valerie Davis said there’s a very small chance her son’s tumor could have some malignancy in it. Testing after surgery will bear that out.

Davis will be hospitalized anywhere from three to five days. Then, he’ll recover and get ready for baseball season, which he should be able to take part in.

“My teammates have been awesome,” Joey said. “A lot of people pray for me. My teammates have my back. They push me to do better and they treat me like a brother.”

If all goes as planned, the tumor will be gone, the pain will be gone and Joey will be able to his the diamond running in March.

Pushing through the pain has been difficult, at times, Joey said. But his desire to compete drives him.

“Just like my ambition for sports, I push through it no matter what.”