- 31,964
- 1,056
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2007
Wisconsin DE JJ Watt turning pro.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: this_feature_currently_requires_accessing_site_using_safari
[h2]Rutgers' Eric LeGrand gives interview[/h2]
By Kieran Darcy
ESPNNewYork.com
Archive
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, 22, 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."
I don't know why but I never liked either of them, i always wanted to see D. Wilson on the field at all timesOriginally Posted by 5am6oody72
Darren Evans declared for the draft (big shock) I think Ryan Williams will probably also declare in the next couple days/this week.
Williams was the best of the three before he got injured this year. He hasn't been right all year, just when he was getting closer to 100% he tweaked it again.Originally Posted by jville819
I don't know why but I never liked either of them, i always wanted to see D. Wilson on the field at all timesOriginally Posted by 5am6oody72
Darren Evans declared for the draft (big shock) I think Ryan Williams will probably also declare in the next couple days/this week.
Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT
Andrew Luck: Dumbest person on the face of the earth
“I am proud of the dedication and commitment exhibited by the coaching staff and student-athletes who have represented the University of Michigan football program over the last three seasons. While I am disappointed to depart Ann Arbor before we were able to reach the level of success we had in our sights, I am confident that the players who remain have the potential to do great things and to return the Wolverines to greatness. I would like to thank our fans and our student body for their tremendous support. There is great passion for Michigan football and I have made lifelong friends through this experience.
Originally Posted by jville819
Is ESPN grooming Greg McElroy to become an analyst while dude is still in college? These guys
Originally Posted by Nowitness41Dirk
Dude is flushing millions upon millions of dollars down the toilet not coming out into the last scale-free draft...
But he went to Stanford for the sole purpose of having that degree, so more power to him I guess.
Originally Posted by EkinKlat
Isn't McElroy a RS soph though?
Oh. I forgot he sat 2 years before becoming a starterOriginally Posted by Durden7
Originally Posted by EkinKlat
Isn't McElroy a RS soph though?
Uhhhh. no.
Fear The Ibis wrote:
And he avoids going to that BS Panther franchise.
not sure he can avoid this.. i'll put good money on it, that the panthers will be in the running for #1 pick again next year