Apr. 28—BYRON — Last fall, Jordan Heimer dislocated his elbow during a football game against Hill-Murray.
Heimer, a junior linebacker/running back for Byron High School, was sidelined for three games with his injury. Those were the first football games he ever missed. He returned to the field Week 7 to face the Bears' archrival, Stewartville.
During that game, his older brother, Carson, the Bears' starting running back and a future Minnesota State University, Mankato safety, tore the Lisfranc ligament in his right foot, which is essential for weight-bearing, walking and running.
After his second run, Carson felt pain in his foot, but played the remainder of the game, running on adrenaline. The Bears won 29-26, but it would be his final game. At first, he thought it might be a sprained ankle or an aggravated tendon. An MRI later revealed the torn ligament.
The star brother-duo only shared the field for three games during Carson's final high school football season.
"Lots of (physical therapy) between the two of them," their mom, Lisa Heimer, said. "It was kind of crushing."
As prep sports become more intense and competitive and injuries are common, the recovery process is both physically and mentally taxing to players who are still, by definition, kids. But these injuries can affect not only them, but those closest to them, especially their parents, siblings and teammates.
Carson and Jordan are the youngest of four sons to Lisa and Corey Heimer, Southland High School graduates and former college athletes.
Shortly after Byron fell to Kasson-Mantorville 31-28 in the Section 1, Class 4A championship game, and ended the season 9-1, missing out on the program's third straight state appearance, Carson had surgery on his foot and began physical therapy. At the same time, Jordan transitioned to basketball season with the Bears.
In many ways, Carson's injury and recovery allowed the family to bond in ways they maybe wouldn't have otherwise. At first, Jordan was Carson's driver. Lisa said her sons are very self-sufficient and don't like asking for assistance, but she helped with small tasks such as putting Carson's backpack in the car before she left for work.
This wasn't the first time the family dealt with an injured Carson. The senior missed part of track and field last spring with a pelvis injury, but was fully healed by the time football season came around.
It was difficult for Carson — the 2025 Post Bulletin All-Area Football Player of the Year — to stay on the sidelines when he knew he could make an impact on the field.
"When you're watching from the sideline, you do notice everything, and it's hard to not get mad sometimes, or keep the cool," Carson said. "It is genuinely hard to watch, and just still have a positive attitude about it. But it's still fun to watch, and it's good to see them go out and play."
Carson wasn't alone, as nearly 10 of his fellow seniors were in a similar situation with season-ending injuries requiring surgery. It helped the Heimers to have those other Byron families to lean on.
"It was definitely nice to have people to be on the sidelines with and cheer with," Carson said. "They were going through the same thing as me. ... It sucks I'll never be able to get to play with those exact teammates again, but I'm just thankful that I do have the opportunity to continue playing."
The entire situation was quite difficult and bittersweet for Lisa and Corey, as one might imagine. Senior night was particularly tough.
"From a parent perspective, it was nice to have Jordan out there playing rather than both of them on the sideline with injuries, and it was an opportunity for other kids on the team to kind of step up and have an impact as well," Corey said. "They both have had a good perspective and understand that things like that are going to happen in life. ... But again I think they would have liked to play together a little bit more this year."
It put Jordan in a unique position, too. The youngest Heimer thrives on defense. In fact, he prefers it. He knew he'd step into the RB1 role as a senior after his brother graduates, but Carson's injury pushed Jordan into that position earlier than anticipated.
"I definitely wanted him to be back so I didn't have to play as much on the offensive side, because I still had, honestly, some elbow problems, and I was just a little out of shape, so that made it tough," said Jordan, who is using the spring season to take college visits and see where he might want to play at the next level.
The experience gave Jordan hope for next football season, too.