A Fort Bend County teen suffered from a spinal injury and was rendered paralyzed after tackling the opposition quarterback during a football game on Sept. 12, according to multiple reports.
Jordyn Hawkins, a 15-year-old was playing for Austin High School Bulldogs in a junior varsity football game when he tackled the opposition quarterback—but did not get up following that, his mother, Deandrea Wade said, according to KTRK.
Hawkins’s mother was there watching the game and cheering for him, KHOU 11 reported. Hawkins’s team was playing against Katy’s Seven Lakes High School when he suffered the spinal cord injury. According to KHOU 11, the Fort Bend Independent School District could not at the time determine how badly Hawkins was injured.
KHOU 11 reported that the Fort Bend dispatcher was told during the 911 call that Hawkins said he could not feel his legs. The news outlet also reported that Hawkins was taken to a trauma center with no feeling below his lower neck area.
“Just in the blink of an eye, literally, in front of my eyes, our lives have changed,” Wade said regarding her son’s injury. Following the injury, Hawkins spent a week in the intensive care unit at Memorial Hermann then transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann, a rehabilitation center in the Texas Medical Center the news outlet reported.
Wade said that her son remains in good spirits and is very appreciative and thankful for all the support from people following his injury.
In a video given to KTRK, Hawkins is seen in a hospital bed with a smile on his face telling everyone that he is thankful for their support.
“Hi, everyone. I’m Jordyn. I wanted to thank everyone for their well wishes and support. Please continue to pray for my full recovery as I prepare to walk out of here,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins was paralyzed from the shoulders down, his mother said according to KTRK. He still has some feeling in his arms and legs, the news outlet reported.
After spending a week in the intensive care unit, he was transferred to the TIRR, a rehabilitation center, where he spends his days in the gym undergoing recovery therapy. Wade said that she is hopeful her son will recover from the paralysis, the news outlet reported. In the meantime, she is asking for prayers from the public to help her son get better.
Wade organized a prayer rally and encouraged her son’s teammates, friends, classmates, as well as others to attend, in hopes that they would help her son’s journey to recovery. Even though Hawkins is all smiles, he cannot do it alone.
Hawkins’s mother cited her belief in God as one of the pillars of her hopeful stance.
“It is difficult, but with my faith, I believe that God is going to bring us through,” Wade said. “God has given us so many victories. Every day—we have a victory. So that’s what I am standing on—My belief in God.”
