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Rutgers player Eric LeGrand paralyzed from neck down

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Rutgers' Eric LeGrand gives interview



By Kieran Darcy
ESPNNewYork.com
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NEW YORK -- Eric LeGrand, the Rutgers defensive tackle who was paralyzed from the neck down in a game against Army on Oct. 16, says he has regained full sensation in his entire body and movement in his shoulders.
LeGrand, 20, revealed the news in an exclusive first interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi, which will debut during the 9 a.m. ET edition of "SportsCenter" on Friday.
The 6-foot-2, 275-pound junior fractured his C-3 and C-4 vertebrae while making a tackle on a kickoff return and admitted in the interview that he feared for his life immediately after suffering the injury.
"Fear of death, that's the biggest fear that I got because I couldn't breathe the way I was breathing and I couldn't move," LeGrand said. "Laying out on the ground, motionless, not being able to breathe was the hardest part in thinking, can I die here?"
After nine hours of emergency surgery to stabilize LeGrand's spine, doctors initially gave him a 0-5 percent chance of regaining neurologic function. LeGrand's mother, Karen, said that she never gave him that information.
"I didn't want to hear that two percent of the people with this injury can walk, or five percent regain this, or -- I didn't want to hear about percentages because my son, in all honesty, is not a percentage," Karen said. "My son is my son. ... And nobody knows him, nobody knows the will that he has, nobody knows the faith that we have."
Six days after surgery, LeGrand first moved his shoulders. In early November, he was taken off a ventilator and was breathing on his own. He was transferred to the Kessler Institute in West Orange, N.J., to continue his rehabilitation.
In mid-December, LeGrand had another breakthrough. For the first time since the injury, he had sensation in his hands.
"I always rub his hands as he's laying there," Karen said, "and I think he said, 'I feel that. I think I feel that.' I'm like, what are you talking about? He's like, 'I think I feel something -- you rubbing my hands. I can feel my hands.'"
"As my mom, she placed her hand on me, I was like, 'Wow! I felt that.' And that was just a big shock and it was just like, 'Wow! It's coming back. It's coming back.'"
LeGrand remains at the Kessler Institute, and still faces a long and difficult road ahead, in terms of his rehabilitation. But he is brimming with optimism.
"I believe that I will walk one day," LeGrand said. "I believe it. God has a plan for me and I know it's not to be sitting here all the time. I know he has something planned better for me."
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http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/ncf/news/story?id=5995681

awesome news
 
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Hells yes, feeling and some limited movement is a great sign for him. Here's hoping that he keeps getting further fine 2 point senation and even some movement back in his upper torso. Keep plugging away kid, we're pulling for you.
 
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Damn straight. As a father of (2) teenage boys, well, sh!t, as of 1/9, they're BOTH legally adults :(
Anyways, as a dad, I got a tear in my eye reading that ESPiN story...actually the first ESPiN story since the Sugar Bowl that didn't make me want to puke...

Fugging LeGrand, dude, we are pulling SO HARD for ya, you should feel a vibe!

I wish NOTHING but the best for him and his family, continued improvement, and I'd *LOVE* to see him lead the team out on the field in 2011 or 2012, even
if not playing, and just leading them out!

That is a really crappy thing to happen to a person at basically the beginning of their life.

Go get 'em, Eric! Keep fighting, scratching, clawing, and we'll know you'll get it DONE!
 
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Update:


PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP)—Even from a wheelchair, Eric LeGrand is contributing to Rutgers this season.


Ten months after LeGrand suffered a serious spinal injury making a special teams tackle against Army, the defensive tackle was at the team’s media day Sunday.
“I’ve been able to stand for up to 40 minutes, and per hour about an average of 30 to 35 minutes,” the defensive tackle said. “I’m getting ready to sign up for locomotive (treadmill) training to re-train my legs to start walking again.”




LeGrand plans to be on the sidelines of every home game this season and as many road games as possible and his teammates hope to feed off his presence.
“I didn’t get a chance to be as close to him as I would have liked, but for a lot of those guys he was really close with, it will be extra motivation knowing he’s there,” sophomore quarterback Chas Dodd said. “They want to do it for him and put on a show for him.”


LeGrand’s progress has been updated through Twitter, where he has over 18,000 followers, and on national TV appearances. Defensive tackle Scott Vallone says LeGrand has become a role model for the Scarlet Knights and the nation.


“He epitomizes what any person would want to be like, by having so much adversity and being able to come back,” Vallone said. “He’s always kept a positive attitude. It’s great to see that. It inspires all of us.”


LeGrand welcomes the chance to help, but won’t put himself on a pedestal.


“I hope to be (inspirational), but it’s hard for me to say that,” LeGrand said. “Those are my teammates. You don’t really say to your teammates `I’m your inspiration.’
“Those are my brothers right there. We go to war together. I would give up anything to be out there with them fighting.”


LeGrand said there is not one question he hasn’t been asked about his injury, from what he remembered of the devastating hit to how long it will take for him to walk. He patiently provides the best answers he can.


He notes there is no timetable for such an injury, as it depends on how each person’s how body and mind react. LeGrand is now able to slightly lift his right arm, and has sensation through his body.


“It feels great to have that, but when it comes back all the way, that will be even greater,” he said. “I’m just thankful everything is happening so fast.”
Through it all, LeGrand’s mother, Karen, has been his biggest supporter, but has treated him no differently.


“She’s going to be Mom, just like she was before,” he said. “We feed off each other’s energy and I stay positive. We argue like 5-year-old kids. She says `Do this!’ I say `I don’t want to do this.’ She’s been my inspiration.”


Just as he inspires his teammates.


“Before he got hurt he was the same guy as he is now,” receiver Mohammed Sanu said. “So just to have him around, and just to see that same personality that’s in him, it drives me every day.”
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http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-rutgers-mediaday


awesome
 
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Eric LeGrand to lead Rutgers onto field vs. WVU

6 hours, 32 minutes ago










PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP)—Paralyzed Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand will lead the Scarlet Knights on to the field for Saturday’s game against No. 25 West Virginia.


It will mark the first time LeGrand will be joining the team coming out of the tunnel at High Point Solutions Stadium since he was hurt making a tackle against Army in a game at the Meadowlands last season.



LeGrand, who serves as an analyst on the Rutgers Radio Network, will be on during his normal spots on the pre- and postgame show, as well as halftime. He is also scheduled to be on the ABC broadcast.


In addition to his role on the Rutgers Radio Network, LeGrand has done studio television work at SNY and CBS.
 
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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Paralyzed defensive tackle Eric LeGrand has been signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.


LeGrand broke two vertebrae and suffered a serious spinal cord injury on Oct. 16, 2010 during a kickoff return against Army. His coach at Rutgers then, Greg Schiano, now is coach of the Bucs.


LeGrand became an inspiration to the Scarlet Knights, eventually being able to stand upright with the help of a metal frame. He resumed his studies via video conferences for the 2011 spring semester, and on Oct. 29, 2011, led the team onto the field before a game. He also has done some broadcast work for the school.


Schiano called the signing a "small gesture ... to recognize his character, spirit and perseverance."


LeGrand is on pace to graduate from Rutgers in the fall.
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http://news.yahoo.com/bucs-sign-paralyzed-dt-legrand-135256377--spt.html
 
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