Louisville man who suffered brain injury surprised with free trip to the Super Bowl

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A 23-year-old who suffered a brain injury last year was surprised with a once in a lifetime opportunity.

He's getting an all-expense-paid trip to the Super Bowl thanks to the foundation Goose Flights.

"They told us that we needed to make a decision, that he wasn't probably going to make it," Leslee Winstead said.

Winstead's son, Cayden Winstead, fell at a friend's house and suffered a traumatic brain injury on Feb. 12, 2022.

"We both thought Cayden would never want this," Leslee Winstead said.

He was without oxygen for 8-12 hours. 

"This is something that he has to live for and we're not giving up on him, and this is not the last of Cayden," Leslee Winstead said.

They were right. Eleven months later, with the help of doctors at Kindred Hospital, Cayden has found the strength to make it through.

"He's standing with help," Leslee Winstead said. "He's walking with help. He still needs a lot of assistance but he does have an anoxic brain injury. They told us he would never see again and he has shown them wrong. His vision is starting to improve and come back and he fights so hard every single day."

That fight is what brought them here.

Goose Flights is a foundation in honor of the late NFL Super Bowl champ Tony Siragusa.

Goose's kids started the foundation after he died in June. Cayden Winstead is the first person they have surprised with a once-in-a-lifetime private chartered flight and full-access trip to the Super Bowl, in honor of their dad.

"We were surprised by a big guy, a big personality, a bit larger than life, everything you could ever say, so it was really hard for us but this gives us a way to live through him and do everything that he would still be doing if he were here," Ava Siragusa, founder of Goose Flights, said.

Cayden was in shock and couldn't quite find the words for his surprise.

Now, on Feb. 12, 2023, the anniversary of his fall, he will be in the stands in Arizona cheering at the Super Bowl.

"It's the most special thing to know that all of his hard work and all of his dedication and all of his dreams are starting to come true and that he's really going to get some pay-off for his hard work that he's put forward and it's going to be something so special for him that he'll remember for the rest of his life," Leslee Winstead said.

The Winsteads are Dallas Cowboy fans, so they're hoping they'll be able to cheer on their team at the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl will air on WDRB Sunday, Feb. 12.

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