Rutgers junior defensive tackle Eric LeGrand suffered a spinal-cord injury during their game against Army on Saturday. From ESPN:

The injury occurred with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game, just after Rutgers had scored a touchdown to tie the game at 17. LeGrand was attempting to make a tackle on the ensuing kickoff, and was involved in a violent collision with Army’s Malcolm Brown. LeGrand lay motionless on the field for several minutes before being carted off.

See video here (hard to watch). He had emergency surgery and reports are that he is paralyzed from the neck down. I have not heard any word on whether it’s a “complete” or “incomplete” injury. People with an incomplete injury have some sensation below the injury level and a good chance of gaining more back over time. In this case, paralysis could be due to trauma, swelling, etc… A complete injury (which I have) means that there is absolutely no feeling or movement below the injury level and the communication between the brain and the spinal cord is permanently cut off.

A spinal cord injury is not easy for anyone to deal with, but I think it’s got to be a particularly hard adjustment for someone so active and athletic. Going from being a star athlete, known and depended on for your physical ability, to not being able to do the simplest task is surely devastating. I can’t help being reminded here of Daniel James, the 23 year old professional rugby player in the UK who was so devastated after being paralyzed in a rugby accident in 2008 that he had his family take him to Switzerland for a legal assisted suicide. Awful.

I’ll certainly hope that LeGrand’s his injury is incomplete and that he will be able to regain some, if not all, feeling and function. But, if not, I also pray that he will be healthy and open and willing to see that life with a disability is NOT without value, hope, meaning or purpose and, perhaps more importantly, that he will be surrounded by positive people who don’t just focus on what the injury takes away, but affirm his life and show him what he still is still possible, what he still has to live for.

Prayer: Jesus, you have given Eric a share in your cross, give him patience and strength.