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ATLANTA (WGCL) — Football is one of America’s favorite past times, but even with protective gear, the tackling sport has a record of career-ending and life threatening spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries.
CBS46 anchor Karyn Greer met a young high school player whose last tackle has forever changed his life.
Things were going great for the starting tight end and corner, until August 3rd, when his last tackle almost cost him his life.
“I’d love to be able to move my arms again.” Jefferey Cox wakes up every day, grateful to be alive. “I wake up, do a bath, start therapy.”
The Tennessee native has been at the Shepherd Center for two weeks. His walls are decorated to remind him of his high school friends, and his days as a starting tight end and corner on the Houston County High School Varsity Team.
“When I hit the kid, I locked up and couldn’t move. Everything went black,” Jefferey says.
His mother, Alicia Parker, was there the day her son was injured.
“It was a scrimmage. He went to make a tackle, the play before that he made a great tackle, you could hear it in the stands, everyone was cheering. The next play he went to make the exact same play, same tackle, everything. They all got up. Jefferey didn’t get up.”
Alicia spends everyday by her son’s side. She is grateful for his progress. She remembers the pain and anguish of seeing him motionless on the football field. If she could turn back the hands of time, she says she would never have allowed Jeffrey to play varsity football.
“When he was in 8th grade he took a hard hit. And so him and I argued the next year and he didn’t play. But he begged me to play his senior year. So we went ahead and let him play his senior year. God has a plan for my baby. He’s very resilient.”
Doctor Anna Elmers is a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at the Shepard Center. She says she is seeing more and more sports injuries in teenagers.
“He’s lucky to have survived the injury. He’s on a ventilator. He’s dependent on it for breathing,” Elmers explains.
What’s next for Jefferey? He is set to be released from Shepard next month, and he hopes to be off this device that is breathing life into his lungs, so that he can take those breaths all by himself.
The family has a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for home renovations and a vehicle for Jefferey.
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