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Critically injured Cobb soccer player gets one day pro contract

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A one-time standout on her high school and college soccer teams is now fighting to come back from a devastating head injury, and she’s getting some help from a professional soccer team.

Erin Holt was hit by a drunk driver on Halloween night 2013. She suffered a life-threatening head injury.

Erin’s father, Ben Holt, told Channel 2’s Diana Davis about that night last fall when he got a call from the neurosurgeon. He said the doctor told him Erin’s brain stem was badly damaged.

“I knew enough about that area of the brain and I did not expect her to live for 48 hours,” he told Davis.

Before the accident, Erin was a standout on her soccer teams at both Walton High School and Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah. Her dad says it was a thrill to watch her play.

“It was always exciting 'cause she could break away and you know get a one-on-one situation with a goalie,” Ben Holt said.

After the accident, Erin was spent one month in a coma. Months later, with help, she can now walk a few steps.

Saturday night she’ll get to walk on the field with Atlanta’s women’s professional soccer team, the Atlanta Silverbacks.

The team is honoring Erin with a fundraising tribute and a one-night honorary contract. Her dad says Erin is looking forward to it.

“What do you think about tomorrow night going out on the soccer field? It’s going to be a lot of fun right?,” Ben Holt asked his daughter.

Erin shook her head yes. Her family says her comprehension is excellent, but she continues to have paralysis on her left side. So far she speaks just a few words, but her dad says no one knows how far she may come.

“We're hopeful and optimistic that it will heal eventually,” said Ben Holt. “Now, will she be 100 percent? Probably not. We're shooting for 75 percent right now.”

Erin’s family hopes she will at the very least be able to care for her basic needs; perhaps walk or stand on her own and maybe even earn a living.

The evening with the Silverback team will be tribute to her hard work, but it will also be a fundraiser. Erin’s insurance pays only a fraction of the costs for her physical therapy and other expenses. She faces a lifetime of astronomical bills. Her dad has added it up and says it may approach $5 million.

Erin signs her contract Saturday night at 6:30, then she'll be with the Silverbacks for the entire game. Half of the proceeds will go to help with her medical expenses. There will also be a donation booth at the Silverbacks’ stadium near the intersection of I-285 and I-85.

If you want to wish Erin well or contribute, click here to visit her fundraising page here.