INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton started to feel pressure build in his neck on the team's plane ride home after its last preseason game against the Detroit Lions.
That night, he lost all feeling in the left side of his body. The numbness prevented him from sleeping. Tossing and turning for hours at a time, Hilton began contemplating his future.
It would quickly lead to surgery to repair a disc blocking a nerve in his neck and the pain he felt in the following days nearly forced Hilton to hang up his cleats for good.
“The first two days out of surgery, I didn’t think I’d be back, man, to be honest with you," Hilton said.