On April 1, 2018, Horsey started to experience pain in his side that escalated to him going in and out of consciousness.
Two weeks later, Horsey was undergoing open-heart surgery.
“The first day I woke up from the surgery. I was in a walker. I told myself, when I’m fully recovered, when I'm full go, I'm gonna give this everything I got cause you never know when it can be taken away,” says Horsey.
Doctors diagnosed Horsey with endocarditis, a dangerous infection of the heart valve
“I literally had to start from ground zero. After my surgery I had the lungs of somebody who had never even played a sport in my life,” says Horsey.
After surgery he could only lift five pounds and a slow walk was like running a mile.
After weeks of cardiac rehabilitation, determination, and full support from teammates, he made a full recovery and was able to join the Wildcats on the field that fall of his freshman year.
“When I step on the field with somebody I feel like there’s not many guys that’s gonna persevere like I'm gone preserve, that’s gone fight like I'm gone fight cause I've been fighting my you know what off just to get here,” says Horsey.
Getting back on the field wasn’t the end of his fight. Horsey teamed up with the American Heart Association to teach hands-only CPR.
“I know I’m not the only one who’s been through this and I know I'm not the only who is going to go through this. So if we can spread awareness and teach just basic heart health, I feel like I've done my job and I've committed to the goal of helping save lives,
UK Cardiac Rehabilitation program director Jacob Stone said Horsey is proof that a cardiac emergency can happen to anyone.
"Since 2014, UK has taken over 800 outside arrest cases, so I know there are a tremendous number of people in our area that have out of hospital arrest every year,” said Stone.
Experts say hands-only CPR is easy to but is an important skill.
“350,000 people go into out of hospital cardiac arrest every year. 70% of those occur in your home so most likely you’ll be working to save someone’s life that you love,” says American Heart Association development director Lisa Edwards. “By doing hands-only CPR you can double and even triple someone’s chances of survival.”
Looking back at his journey, Horsey says the biggest lesson he learned was patience.
“When you’re in the middle of it, it’s hard to see that light at the end of the tunnel,” says Horsey. “I just want to be the reminder that no matter what you’re going through just keep fighting, keep pushing. I went from on that surgery table to running out on that field with the starters.
Horsey is the 2020 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the year.
Horsey says he has not had any complications since his surgery. He does get electrocardiograms (EKG) completed twice a year.