Etheridge: I’m just blessed to be able to walk again
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Three days ago, Zac Etheridge laid face down on the Jordan-Hare Stadium turf, unable to feel anything below his neck.
Today, he mustered up the courage and strength to talk to us reporters about the horrifically scary neck injury he sustained against Ole Miss.
Talk about a class act.
Etheridge tore a number of ligaments and cracked the fifth vertebra protecting his spine. He’s wearing a protective harness on his neck, something that’ll be strapped to him for the next three-four months, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“It’s tough to sleep,“ Etheridge said. “It’s just something I have to deal with just to have a chance and try to continue my career.“
When Etheridge slammed his head into Antonio Coleman’s right shoulder pad in the first quarter Saturday against Ole Miss, he lost all feeling throughout his body. The only thing he could move were his toes.
It wasn’t until after 10 minutes on the ground and being moved to a stretcher did Etheridge know he had movement throughout his body.
“When I got on the stretcher, they were just like, ‘Move your hands and just let everyone know you’re fine,‘“ Etheridge said. “That’s when I was able to put a thumbs up and that’s when I knew that all the prayers that went up, God answered those that time.“
He heard the response of everyone at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“I heard all 87,000 that was in there,“ he said. “That just lets you know we have a great fanbase. I think all those guys that prayed for me and continued to pray for a speedy recovery.“
Etheridge has yet to have any surgery and he’s unsure if there are any in his future. He’d like to play football again, but realizes that there are much more important hurdles he must clear before returning to the field.
“It scared me a lot,“ he said. “You never know when your last play will be. You never know what’s going to happen in life. If I would have known that play was going to happen, I wouldn’t have been on the field.
“I’ll be fine even if I’m not able to play football again. I will still be around Auburn. I will still be an Auburn man.“
(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)
