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Derick Hall and his mom Stacy Gooden-Crandle
Credit: Courtesy Derick Hall
NEED TO KNOW
- Seattle Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall and his mother, Stacy Gooden-Crandle, are sharing Hall's scary birth story and explaining how he was a "little fighter" who beat the odds
- Hall was born without a heartbeat, and his mother was told he only had a one percent chance of survival for the first two weeks
- She says that she didn't want him to play football, but she had to support his dreams
In 2001, when then-26-year-old Stacy Gooden-Crandle was 28 weeks pregnant with her second child, her water suddenly broke and she was rushed to the hospital. Despite the doctors doing their best to delay labor, her son, Derick Hall, was born the night of March 19 at 11:23 p.m.
"He was not staying in that room," she recalled to PEOPLE. "He wanted to come out. But the doctors were definitely preparing me for the 'what ifs.'"
In fact, Hall, now 25 and a linebacker with the Seattle Seahawks, was born without a heartbeat.
"He was born dead," she said. "He had to be resuscitated, put on life support, and he stayed on life support for a while. It was really touch-and-go for a long time. They said he only had a one percent chance at survival for the first two weeks."
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Derick Hall in action for the Seahawks during Super Bowl 2026
Credit: Todd Rosenberg/Getty
She continued, "I was nervous, but I'm a faith-based woman, and I felt like if God brought me to it, he could bring me through it."
Gooden-Crandle kept praying for her "little fighter" and celebrated every little win. "We celebrated when he got off life support. We celebrated when they took out the feeding tube. We celebrated every single victory. He just had this innate ability to fight.," she said.
The mother-son duo have now joined the Huggies "Natural Born Fighters" campaign, which celebrates the toughest — and teeniest — babies, who, like Hall, spend the first few weeks to months of their lives in the NICU.
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Derick Hall when he was growing up
Credit: Courtesy Derick Hall
"I don't think a lot of people know what it takes to be the parent of a little fighter," Gooden-Crandle said. "The love and the care they need, and even when he growing up, it was still hard. Every winter we would go to the hospital because his lungs couldn't take the cold air."
Hall not only made it out of the hospital after a five-month stay, but he was also eventually able to play sports.
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"When I was a kid, I always wanted to go outside, and I couldn't, and I'd ask my mom, 'Why?'" Hall told PEOPLE of growing up with terrible asthma and underdeveloped lungs. "She'd be like, 'You just can't right now.' It was hard, but when my lungs caught up, and I finally got cleared to do extracurricular activities, it was the best, best day of my life."
Against his mom's wishes, Hall wanted to play football: "I started playing flag football, and from that point forward just fell in love with the game."
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Derick Hall and his mom Stacy Gooden-Crandle
Credit: Courtesy Derick Hall
Gooden-Crandle kept trying to steer him to safer activities, but in the end, she says she just had to support his dreams. Hall said he is endlessly grateful for her constant support.
"She's never missed a game, she's never missed an event, she's always been there, she'll always be here, and I think that's just special. Not everybody has a mother like my mother," he said.
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Derick Hall and his mom Stacy Gooden-Crandle
Credit: Courtesy Derick Hall
For her part, Gooden-Crandle couldn't be prouder of her son, who went from weighing 1.5 pounds to his current weight of 265 pounds. "His job is a dangerous job, but it's also a blessing because it shows families, like, look at where he started and look at how far he's come," she said.
When the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl on Feb. 8, the two hugged each other tightly after the game, and Gooden-Crandle just marveled at Hall's journey from NICU baby to world champion. "I had a moment with him where I just hugged him so tight, and I was just so thankful to have him. I told him, 'You did it, you did it!' He's like, 'No, we did it,'" she said.
The Seahawks drafted Hall in 2023 with the 37th overall pick. He is entering his fourth season in the league.
Read the original article on People
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