Standout Elk Grove softball player battles brain injury after car crash a week before graduation
ELK GROVE — A standout Franklin High School softball player has a long road to recovery after she got in a devastating car crash the week before graduation.
Micayla Arlotto was a three-year varsity letter and starter at Franklin High School in Elk Grove with a full-ride scholarship to play Division 1 softball at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; although it is the centerfielder's character that stands out most to people who know her.
"When the team is down, you can count on Micayla to rally the team," said Reverand Dr. Tammie Denyse, Micayla's aunt.
The softball team Micayla led is now rallying behind her as she battles a bad brain injury, cracked pelvis and other complications after family said she was hit by a reckless driver. Her teammates knew her as Cayla and showed up in crowds to the hospital to support her.
She was on her way to school when the car crash happened. Now, instead of spending graduation with her classmates, Cayla will be recovering in the hospital.
"The doctors told us it could be weeks or up to a month before she might wake up, before she'd start responding to commands or start talking," said Denyse.
Cayla's loved ones say that she is already healing ahead of the doctor's schedule, but she is missing out on all her senior year activities.
"It's a week we've talked about for a very long time, so to have her not experience that and be by my side is obviously really devastating," said Cayla's teammate Lindsay Hardey. However, I am just glad she is alive and she's on the road to recovery."
Hardey said her favorite memories with Cayla were those moments spent off the field, getting Taco Bell together after practice.
"Even before games we'd go, which probably wasn't the best thing to be eating before a softball game," said Hardey.
Cayla's head softball coach at Franklin High School, Jon Gudel, said if they ever retire jersey numbers, Cayla's would be the first.
"I got to coach her for three years, and I never heard her say anything negative," said Gudel. "Not about another team, not about a teammate, just always a positive kid."
Cayla had been selected to play in the upcoming prestigious Optimist All-Star game and had hit a home run during her final at-bat of her high school career.
"She is a very special person," said Gudel. "The heart and soul of not just our varsity team, but our entire program."
This is not Cayla's first big roadblock, as loved ones say that she also lost her dad to cancer during her sophomore year.
"She's tough," said Gudel. "She's a strong kid. There's no reason to doubt that she'll be back playing the game that she loves."
Cayla was also a scholar. She is finishing high school with 45 college credits from the AP courses she took. Her plan at Cal Poly SLO was to study animal science with the goal of becoming a veterinarian, but now her recovery is the priority.
It is not the journey anyone was prepared for, but Cayla's faith in God and loved ones are carrying her through to someday live out the dreams she worked so hard for.
"I said, 'Where's your pain?' And she said it's in her heart because of her sadness," said Denyse. "I believe that prayer and trusting God is what's sustaining Micayla today."
Her family has set up an online fundraiser as she continues to battle her injuries in the hospital, dreaming of the day she can hit the softball field again.
"She'll get there in God's time and she is going to trust that God knows best for her life," said Denyse. "Between all the people in her life, we are going to make sure she is successful."
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