A Quiet Strength: Bryelon Willis Returned To Sports After Life-Threatening Illness

by Janice Penix

In just a few short weeks, Bryelon Willis will begin his freshman year at the University of the Ozarks.

The 2025 Oark High School graduate led the Hornet basketball and track teams during his senior season, and is now ready to pursue a career coaching the sports he loves.

But 12 months ago, Willis wasn’t sure he would live to see his last year of high school. Following surgery on his back in May 2024, the teenager developed an infection that landed him in the ICU at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, in serious medical trouble.

“I had back surgery in May, and everything was going good,” Willis said. “I went for a checkup and got a good report. Then, my body just got really messed up. I was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis, which turned into an antibody negative case. My brain was shutting down.”

Willis said he started to feel that things were not right with his body after the follow-up appointment for his back surgery.

“After the checkup, I was home, but I just couldn’t sleep,” he said. “After about 36 hours or so, I finally slept, but when I got up, my parents said I was just acting all ‘out of it,’ like a little kid. So they took me to Johnson Regional, and they said it was beyond their capabilities and I needed to go to Children’s. So we drove to Little Rock and went to the ER there, and that’s pretty much all I remember.”

He remained at ACH for nearly two months, unconscious much of the time as the infection attacked his body. He underwent a procedure called apheresis to replace bad blood and plasma.

Willis said his healing and recovery is a miracle he attributes to God and to the support of his parents, Jamie and Kesha Willis, as well as other family members, teachers, teammates and friends.

“I have to give thanks to God for getting me through it,” Willis said. “There’s no way I would have made it without Him. My parents were there the whole time. The first thing I can remember, when my brain started to clear, was seeing my mom and dad sitting on the couch in my hospital room.”

His rehabilitation also involved relearning many of the skills and tasks his brain lost during his illness.

“It was like being a little kid again,” Willis said. “During my recovery, my friends and teammates and coaches were all supportive and there for me and my family. Having support in anything helps a lot, and I know it made a difference for me.”

Back On The Court

Willis said his basketball coach, Kipp Upton, was instrumental in his rehabilitation and his return to the court.

“I was in the hospital for seven or eight weeks, so it was hard to get back into sports this year,” he said. “Coach Upton worked with me the whole time, I don’t know if I would have made it without him. He would take time out of his day, to rebound for me as I was getting my shot back. We’d spend a whole hour in the gym just shooting.”

Upton said Willis was dedicated to rebuilding his strength and ability.

“It was definitely a scary thing,” Upton said. “On our end, he just started from scratch again, slowly, and worked his way back. He did a really good job getting from where he started to where he finished.”

Going back to basketball required Willis to overcome his anxiety about setbacks.

“I’m going to be a basketball coach, so I believe if you’re going to do something, do it with everything you’ve got,” he said. “I wanted to go back and play, but I didn’t think I would have all my strength back before the season. And my biggest fear was something happening during a game. You’re always afraid of injuries, but it was really a fear for us after that. I was blessed though, not to have had any injuries.”  The full story appears in the July 23 edition of The Graphic, found online and in businesses throughout Johnson and Franklin counties.