Rutgers Football Player Paralyzed

This is terribly sad, and unfortunately happens far too often. This past Saturday, Rutgers special teams player Eric LaGrand broke his neck making a tackle during the Scarlet Knight's game against Army. He collided with a player, and slumped immediately to the ground, motionless. I can and can't imagine what was going through his mind at that moment. As I lay face down in the Atlantic, waiting patiently for someone to flip my ass over, I had no idea what had happened to me. Something serious obviously had happened, as I couldn't move anything, arms, legs, nothing, but I wouldn't find out how serious for days, even weeks later. Coming to understand the permanence of such an injury takes even longer, if at all.

Watching ESPN this morning, I saw and heard many touching tributes to Eric; his team has 'Believe' stickered on their helmets, and Rutgers' opponent today, Pitt, is making a banner that many in the student body will sign. He has received 24,000 emails over the past week. I only hope that this intense wave of support can buoy him in the hard times ahead. As has been reported, he had surgery at the C3/C4 level, and his condition has not changed much over the past 7 days. They say the first 72 hours after injury are the most crucial; you want to see signs of improvement during that window. Shit, we were still trying to understand the doctor's accent during my '72 hour window'. It's been said Eric is a great guy with a strong family and community around him; in that, he is lucky, just as I am - about the family and community part, at least :).

I'm not too sure I would like all my medical updates making the front page of ESPN.com, either. My website was good enough for me. And there is hope for Eric, to which former NFL player Kevin Everett is a walking testament. Eric, we pray for you, and a swift recovery, both in body and spirit.