Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand's progress since being paralyzed below the neck during in the Scarlet Knights' overtime win over Army in Oct. 17 has been slow but steady. In November, he was taken off a ventilator and began breathing on his own. By December, he had regained some sensation in his hands.The new year brings the best news yet – in his first interview since the injury, LeGrand said he's regained sensation throughout his body:
In the interview, scheduled to debut on ESPN on Friday, Jan. 7 during the 9 a.m. (ET) edition of SportsCenter, LeGrand told [Tom] Rinaldi that he has full sensation in his entire body and movement in his shoulders. Rinaldi spoke to LeGrand at the Kessler Institute in West Orange, N.J., where he is in rehabilitation.
In the feature, LeGrand said while lying on the field at the New Meadowlands, he had "the fear of death" and that he "could pass out and die here." He added he couldn’t do "a thumbs up" motion while on the stretcher when he was removed from the field because it felt like "1,000 pounds was on this thumb" when he tried to move it.
That's still a long way from coach Greg Schiano's goal of having LeGrand eventually walk on the field with the team again, but considering other players (notably Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett and Penn State defensive back Adam Taliaferro) have defied early fears that they'd never walk again, it is another step in the right direction. Schiano was definitely right about one part: Obviously, LeGrand is "a fighter."
You can still send LeGrand a get-well message here, or contribute to the Eric LeGrand Believe Fund here. I wish him godspeed in his continued recovery.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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