A Minnesota teenager paralyzed from injuries suffered during a football game this month was finally taken off a respirator, and his first words were “roll tide.”
Ethan Glynn was paralyzed from the shoulders down due to a spinal cord injury sustained during a tackle at a Bloomington Jefferson High School football game on Sept. 2. However, now he is breathing on his own for the first time since being admitted to the hospital, the Star Tribune reported.
The 15-year-old freshman had been communicating with an electronic device until taken off the respirator on Monday.
“Never have we been so excited to hear the words ‘roll tide,'” the latest update on the boy’s condition read. “Today they removed (Ethan) from the vent and those were the first words out of his mouth.
“The smile and twinkle in his eyes is priceless,” the status added.
The student’s parents sat and watched an Alabama football game with the boy over the weekend and noted that “He still has a long journey, but this week is off to a great start!”
“Ethan continues to amaze everyone with his grit and determination,” the family wrote.
Family friend John Frein did not necessarily blame the opposing team for the injury.
“He got low, and the other guy got low,” said Frein. “It was just a weird angle. It looked harmless. … The stars aligned just right for that to happen.”
Glynn underwent a 7-1/2-hour surgery to repair and remove broken vertebrae in his neck. Doctors said the surgery went well, but the results will not be known for some time.
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