Former Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand is thanking his mom for helping him become the man he is today.
The former defensive tackle thanked his mother for dedicating her life to him following his paralyzing 2010 injury in a public letter published Wednesday on TheMighty.com.
“You’ve dedicated your life to helping me be great and be the man that I am today, and I cannot thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me,” he says to his mother, Karen LeGrand.
Eric LeGrand was paralyzed from the neck down while making a tackle on a kickoff in a game against Army.
In his heartfelt letter, he thanks his mother for quitting her job to devote her time to taking care of him. He recounts how she slept on a tiny cot at the Kessler Institute in West Orange, New Jersey, for five months while he was in treatment. He describes how she dealt with his nurses, made sure his medical supplies were delivered on time, and took him to therapy sessions and speaking engagements.
He also remembers how she drove him to a bar and waited up for him until 3 a.m. so he could be with his friends and enjoy life as a 20-year-old.
“Without you, I don’t know what I would do because you make life so much easier,” Eric LeGrand tells his mom.
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Eric LeGrand was initially given a 0-to-5 percent chance of regaining neurological function following the injury. He is now making strides in the road to recovery – in April he tweeted a video showing him bending forward while sitting in his wheelchair.
The inspirational 25-year-old ends the letter by saying that even though they argue “about 35 times a day,” he knows she’s looking out for him and he couldn’t ask for anything more.
“Thank you for everything you do for me, Mama Dukes. I love you,” he says.
