Updated 11:30 p.m. ET: Per the Associated Press, Devon Walker underwent spine stabilizing surgery on Sunday. Dr. Greg Stewart said Walker is in stable condition and will remain in intensive care over the next few days.
“These kind of injuries take 24, 48, sometimes 72 hours to fully declare themselves,” Stewart said before the surgery. “We don’t know what the long-term implications and outcomes are going to be.”
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Most of us will never know or understand what has been going through the mind of Tulane defensive back Devon Walker, who sustained a fractured spine during Saturday’s game against Tulsa.
Walker, a senior, is set for surgery in the coming days. Doctors will not speculate on the extent of his injury, but Walker is currently in stable condition.
There is, however, one person who understands Walker’s situation: former Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand. A collision in a 2010 game against Army left LeGrand paralyzed from the neck down. Since then, his story and rehabilitation has been an inspiration to the college football world.
“Right now, he is in shock,” LeGrand said of Walker to the USA Today. “He has no idea what is going to happen to his body or how his life is going to change. Basically everything that is unknown is so scary. It’s one of the scariest things in life because you have no idea where your life is about to take you.”
LeGrand added that the best thing Walker can do is stay positive and surround himself with positive people. LeGrand also plans to reach out to both Walker and his Green Wave teammates at some point in the near future. Things are still somber at Tulane. Per WVUE in New Orleans, Tulane has cancelled its football practice for today.
But to have that voice that understands what Walker is feeling will no doubt help him in his road to recovery.
