ATHENS, Ga. --- Shane Beamer was in a bedroom at his family's lake house on a morning in May when he heard the sounds of somebody falling and his two young daughters crying.

Advertisement

The South Carolina assistant football coach ran to the living room where Cheryl Beamer, wife of Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, had tripped while holding her 5-week-old granddaughter, Olivia -- the second child of Shane and Emily Beamer.

"I knew I was going to fall, but I thought if I put my hand out, her little head is going to hit the wall or the floor," said Cheryl, who believes she tripped over the family dog. "I just fell flat on the floor and cradled her up into my shoulder. Of course, Frank and all of his coaches have been giving me a hard time saying that I protected the football and that they were proud of me. Luckily, she did not get hurt."

Cheryl, 62, wasn't as fortunate. She broke six ribs, sustained a broken femur in one leg, a stress fracture in the other leg and broke a bone in her shoulder.

An ambulance took Cheryl from the home on Lake Oconee to Athens Regional Medical Center, where she remained for more than a week.

The Gamecocks and the Georgia Bulldogs are SEC East rivals, but in the family's time of need, none of that mattered.

Keith Gray, an assistant strength coach at Georgia who played at Virginia Tech, was one of the first to call Shane to offer anything he needed.

Georgia receivers coach Tony Ball came by with his family to visit the hospital.

Shane called Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo the day of the fall to ask about the doctors.

The first visitors at the hospital other than family, Shane said, were Georgia coach Mark Richt and his wife, Katharyn.

"It was no surprise knowing what kind of people he and Mrs. Richt are," Shane said. "It was so classy." Cheryl said her injuries are healing, though she still has rods in both legs, which leaves her achy at times.

"I told somebody nobody will want to travel with us because Frank's had knee replacement and now I have a rod in both legs," she said. "Now it will take forever to go through security."