WAUWATOSA, Wis. — A New Berlin dad is recovering after being hit in the face by a line drive while coaching softball. The hit sent Kevin Meunier to the emergency room and left his family with significant dental bills.
Kevin coaches his daughter’s fastpitch softball team in Franklin. He was working with a hitter two weeks ago when his daughter called her mom, Cami Meunier, frantic about what had just happened.
“She said, ‘Dad's teeth just all fell out. I don’t know what’s happening,’” said Cami.
Kevin had been having trouble seeing a left-handed hitter around the protective padding, so he stuck his head out to pitch.
“Before I could get my head behind the screen, I got hit in the face,” said Kevin. “I didn’t want to freak the girls out, so I just asked my daughter to get me some tissue and paper to stop the bleeding. Then I picked my teeth off the ground and drove home.”
Both Kevin and Cami are nurses, so they are used to dealing with emergencies. But Kevin said that looking back, he should have gone straight to the ER. Besides losing some of his teeth to the line drive, his bottom teeth went through his lip, and most of the bones in his face were broken.
“His fractures are from his orbital area all the way down to his jaw,” said Cami, pointing to the bruises that are now fading.
Kevin now needs a series of dental surgeries over the next nine months. On top of that, Cami was diagnosed with breast cancer this summer and is about to start radiation. But instead of focusing on the negative, both are choosing to see the positives from the experience. Kevin has even returned to coaching the team.
Watch: Family recovers after softball injury.
“This guy eats, sleeps, and breathes softball. It is a huge passion of his that he is going back,” said Cami. “A lot of things in our life could be much worse, but we are just pushing through.”
The softball team started a GoFundMe for Kevin since most of the dental work will not be covered by insurance. You can find ithere.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
