Once a patient, Jayden McDonald to feature in Illinois Shrine Game

McDonald recovered from a broken femur to earn a college football scholarship

Jack Butler | Jun 20, 2025

Prosser's Jayden McDonald at the Illinois Shrine Game practice. / Illinois Shrine Game

On June 21, Chicago Prosser's Jayden McDonald will play in the Illinois Shrine Game, an all-star football game to benefit Shriner’s Children’s Hospital. For most kids participating, it’s an opportunity to play against other top high school football players for a cause.

As a former patient himself, Jayden was that cause.

He had a complete break of his femur in a football camp before high school. Jayden received surgery—three screws in his femur—but was told he might not be able to play football again. But after successful rehabilitation, he went on to earn a college football scholarship.

“Being parents, we’re scared. We’re nervous,” Jayden’s mother Jacky said. “We’re freaking out on the inside, but on the outside we have to be brave. We have to be strong for our child.”

Jayden’s surgery was in Tennessee, where the football camp was, but he and his family looked for the right place to continue his rehabilitation.

“I’m not just going to go to any doctor, I’m going to find the best doctor for him because this is something that he loves," Jacky said. "This is his future.”

After surgery, they came to Shriner’s Children's Chicago.

“The Shriner’s doctor told me I’d be able to get back on the field and just focus on my [physical therapy],” Jayden said.

He put in the time and effort needed, although it was never easy.

“It’s not a setback. It’s a comeback,” Jacky would say.

Jayden finally got on the field, and he eventually earned a scholarship to play at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin and major in sports management and administration.

“It’s all the grind you have to do,” Jayden said. “I wouldn’t change my journey with nobody else's because it made me. It’s the reason why I fight for what I believe in and what I want to be.”

Myckena Guerrero contributed to this article.

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