Tyson Gentry (Official Thread)

[jwinslow]

CoachTressel.com

5/6

Video: Tyson and family say thanks for all the buckeye fan support!

 

[Heater]

Below is a letter from Tyson Gentry and his Family following the fundraiser.

To our extended family of supporters for Tyson:

Attempting to put thoughts and words together to express our gratitude for all that people have done for Tyson will undoubtedly fall short of the mark. However, we will try. In the thirteen months since Tyson?s injury, we have been so humbled by the human spirit that it has left us speechless. We have never tried to question why God chose our son to travel this path and we have never doubted in His strength and guidance to see us through these times. Faith and hope have taken care of that.

The Buckeye Nation on the other hand has provided a unique strength that reinforces our belief in God and mankind. You have accomplished this through your ongoing thoughts, prayers, gifts and love that only true believers can provide. Believe me when I say that our tears of emotion are expended as a result of the kindness you have shown for someone that many of you have never even met.

 

[Buckskin86]

Injured Buckeye Gentry brings positive message
By KURT SNYDER
Newark Advocate

NEWARK -- Tyson Gentry never has passed blame about his situation, and it is not in his personality to lose hope for the future.

"I never questioned, 'Why me?'" Gentry said. "The only thing that ever was in my mind is how easily it happened because it wasn't a big hit. But right from the get-go, I had positive family reinforcement."

Times Recorder - www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com - Zanesville, OH

 

[BB73]

I think this statement from the previous article is worth noting.

Gentry now lifts weights and even can play a modified game of catch as a part of his therapy.

 

[PlanetFrnd]

I dont think we can praise Tyson enough - what amazing character in the face of unthinkable adversity. It's people like Tyson Gentry that make me a crazy, rabid (sometimes annoying) Buckeye fan and so damn proud to be part of the (extended) Buckeye family.

 

[osugrad21]

Morning Journal

A fraternity of tears
JASON LLOYD, Morning Journal Writer
09/13/2007




COLUMBUS -- When he first heard what had happened to Kevin Everett, Ohio State's Kurt Coleman shivered and felt goose bumps. Suddenly, some of those old memories came rolling back, if only for a moment.


Coleman knows what it's like to be part of such a traumatic experience, just like Everett, the Bills backup tight end who suffered a severe spinal cord injury on Sunday. More accurately, Coleman knows what it feels like to be Domenik Hixon, the former Akron receiver and current Broncos return man who collided with Everett on Sunday in Buffalo.

Hixon got up. Everett didn't

Cont...

 

[matcar]

Morning Journal

A fraternity of tears
JASON LLOYD, Morning Journal Writer
09/13/2007




COLUMBUS -- When he first heard what had happened to Kevin Everett, Ohio State's Kurt Coleman shivered and felt goose bumps. Suddenly, some of those old memories came rolling back, if only for a moment.


Coleman knows what it's like to be part of such a traumatic experience, just like Everett, the Bills backup tight end who suffered a severe spinal cord injury on Sunday. More accurately, Coleman knows what it feels like to be Domenik Hixon, the former Akron receiver and current Broncos return man who collided with Everett on Sunday in Buffalo.

Hixon got up. Everett didn't

Cont...

Mr Gentry is an amazing young man. You read things like this and think how strong people and families can be.

 

[Dryden]

Transcript From Coach Tressel Weekly Press Conference - Ohio State Buckeyes Official Athletics Site - OhioStateBuckeyes.com

From Tuesday's Presser:

REPORTER: Can you talk about Tyson Gentry's improved health and how you can draw inspiration on that?

COACH TRESSEL: He's with us all the time. Someone said he was up in the game room playing ping-pong yesterday, which is pretty cool. The fact that he wants to be with our guys is an inspiration of its own. There was a young guy that came over and spent some time with him on -- I think it was Sunday night, the coach over at Westerville whose son was injured, and he brought his son over to spend some time with Tyson and it was a neat thing, so Tyson's trying to do whatever he can do with his particular situation and he has been an inspiration.

 

[Buckskin86]

Canton company donates machine for paralyzed Buckeye
Thursday, December 13, 2007
BY Todd Porter
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

CANTON No one at Fitness Quest headquarters has ever met Tyson Gentry. No one had to meet the paralyzed former Ohio State punter and wide receiver.

All they had to do was hear that Gentry needed one of their products, and now he has one sitting in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Gentry was paralyzed during a 2006 spring practice when he caught a ball and the right side of his head hit the ground, snapping his neck and breaking the C-4 vertebrae. A donation from the Canton company?s community fund is making therapy a little easier.

?We?re thrilled we?re, in a small way, a part of this kid?s road to recovery,? Fitness Quest marketing director Stephen Spinner said. ?What Tyson Gentry has to deal with and go through on a daily basis is much more than any of us have to.?

The product that Gentry uses is the BioForce, a strength-training machine that uses resistance force instead of weights. It allows Gentry to change the amount of weight he is lifting simply by moving a resistor.

An e-mail nearing urban legend proportion that is circulating the Internet has given Gentry?s story a life of its own. That version has Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel buying Gentry a $6,000 machine. Never happened. It also has the machine in Gentry?s apartment. Again, Gentry said, not true.

?Pretty much everything in that e-mail that?s going around isn?t true. The only thing that?s true is I?m from Perkins,? Gentry said. ?I don?t know where it came from or why, but it?s a little irritating.?

cantonrep.com

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Upward bound: Paralyzed OSU football player finds hope in vertical therapy

Sunday, December 23, 2007 3:44 AM
By Todd Jones


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

ERIC ALBRECHT | DISPATCH
Tyson Gentry undergoes therapy suspended over a treadmill at OSU as his father, Bob Gentry, watches. Working his legs are therapists Lesley Fisher, left, and Jerrod Rosenbaum.

ERIC ALBRECHT | DISPATCH
Ashley Gentry has been her brother Tyson's dedicated caretaker since his accident. Their dog is named Pike.

JAMIE SABAU | FOR THE DISPATCH
Former Penn State cornerback Adam Taliaferro, who injured his spine in a game against Ohio State in 2000, chats with Gentry on the sidelines during the 2006 OSU-Penn State game.

ERIC ALBRECHT | DISPATCH
Tyson Gentry waits as Lesley Fisher, left, and Malia Koppin prepare a harness for his rehabilitation therapy at OSU's Dodd Hall.



Time has made the wheelchair seem part of him. He's aware of its bulky size, and how the motorized companion has morphed his identity. Sit in that wheelchair for 20 months, as Tyson Gentry has, and not only do others see you in a different way, but even your fundamental perspective of the world changes.
You get used to looking up while speaking to others.
So when therapists pull Gentry out of his chair, place him in a harness and hold him upright on a treadmill with cables and arms, a sense of wonder fills the room.

Continued.....

 

[Buckskin86]

Hope for the future
OSU's Tyler Gentry feels condition makes him stronger
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
BY Todd Porter
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

COLUMBUS Tyson Gentry woke up this morning like he has every morning for the last year a half.

He couldn?t walk. He couldn?t feel his feet or bend at his waist. The former Ohio State football player couldn?t dress himself.

But don?t dare feel sorry for Gentry. The one-time Ohio State walk-on wide receiver and punter never has asked why such a tragic accident happened to him.

On Christmas morning, Gentry doesn?t care for the latest video game system, nor an Ipod. He doesn?t need CDs, DVDs or clothes. What does Gentry, who made the ultimate sacrifice for a sport he loves so much, want?

?Just to be home and spend time with my family,? Gentry said. ?That?s the biggest thing. Just spending time with them.?

Recently, sensation has returned to his body. He is working for a miracle, and believes with enough hard work he will walk again.

?It?s not full sensation,? Gentry said. ?I don?t have complete feeling, but I can feel touch all over. It?s been a slow progression from the very beginning. In the hospital, I had slight sensation in my left leg and a little bit down my arms to about my biceps. It?s progressed from there.

?I?m very thankful for that. It tells me that things are still connected, and it?s still there. It?s just a matter of not getting through completely. It gives me hope for the future.?

Gentry knows Tressel has always been there and will always be there for him.

?He plays the father role very well,? Gentry said. ?We all know he will do whatever he can to make sure we?re in a good position to advance ourselves in a career on or off the field.?

Gentry recalled some of the first words of encouragement Tressel spoke to him. They are words he tries to live by.

?The biggest things ... he said was there have been a lot of people in my shoes before this, and there will be a lot of people here in the future, and they?ll look to me for support,? Gentry said. ?Even though a bad thing has happened, there is a good chance I can walk away from it. He said, ?If you don?t, it?s not the end of the world, but there are going to be people who depend on you for a lot of support.? ?

cantonrep.com

 

[Best Buckeye]

OSU's Gentry just 1 of many Christmas miracles

A conversation with Tyson Gentry will warm your heart on a chilly Christmas morning.

He is the Ohio State football player from Sandusky who went out for a pass during spring practice in 2006 and hasn't walked since. It was one of those freak things. He bobbled the ball, turned to collect it while falling down, and landed awkwardly. The whistle blew and everybody got up. Well, not everybody.

Tyson suffered a broken vertebra. Surgeries and countless hours of therapy followed. It would be nice to tell you that he has regained movement; that his life is returning to normal. It would be nice to tell you a Christmas story for the ages.

 

[smith403]

OSU's Gentry just 1 of many Christmas miracles

A conversation with Tyson Gentry will warm your heart on a chilly Christmas morning.

He is the Ohio State football player from Sandusky who went out for a pass during spring practice in 2006 and hasn't walked since. It was one of those freak things. He bobbled the ball, turned to collect it while falling down, and landed awkwardly. The whistle blew and everybody got up. Well, not everybody.

Tyson suffered a broken vertebra. Surgeries and countless hours of therapy followed. It would be nice to tell you that he has regained movement; that his life is returning to normal. It would be nice to tell you a Christmas story for the ages.

Would be nice if more people had his outlook...some people complain about a hangnail...

 

[shetuck]

AP: Injured Buckeyes player making progress and still part of team

Injured Buckeyes player making progress and still part of team

The Associated Press
Saturday, January 5, 2008

NEW ORLEANS: A few feet away from where the Ohio State Buckeyes are going through their paces in preparation for Monday night's national championship game against LSU, Tyson Gentry sits in his wheelchair in the sun, pondering his future and how it was forever changed by one simple slip.

Gentry was a skinny but athletic walk-on punter and wide receiver in the spring of 2006 when he went out on a pass play during practice, slipped as the ball arrived, and landed awkwardly.

He suffered a broken vertebra in his neck and a damaged spinal cord, and has been unable to walk since.

"I'm doing well. I'm trying to stay warm," he said with a grin as he attempted to burrow deeper into a light jacket while watching Ohio State's practice on Friday at Tulane University. "The wind kind of gets to me and just tightens my body up."

Gentry remains a part of the Buckeyes. He attends many team functions, goes to practice every day, and is still listed on Ohio State's roster for the championship game.

cont'd...

 

[Steve19]

One just has the feeling that this young man will not only walk again but will be a real success in life. Well done, Tyson.