Morissaint making progress in rehab
Sophomore suffered severe injury in opener
Since Blanche Ely sophomore Wilbens Morissaint suffered a severe neck/ back injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down on Aug. 24, he has received a tremendous outpouring of community support and his positive attitude has propelled him to progress in rehab.
After Morissaint injured his spinal cord covering a kickoff in the Tigers’ season opener at home against Stranahan, the GoFundMe page for Morissaint set up by Jasmine Brutus, a teammate’s mother, shortly thereafter is roughly $1,000 away from its $25,000 goal as of Thursday afternoon.
As Morissaint rehabs in Atlanta’s Shepherd Center, where he was flown out to after spending the first week and a half since the injury, he has been able to breathe on his own ahead of schedule. On Thursday, Morissaint showed slight movement in his arm. His older sister, Sergine Morissaint, said doctors were surprised at how quickly he was able to reach the two milestones in his recovery.
She has been amazed at how the South Florida community has stepped up to help the family. She has heard from county commissioners and the school district. Miami Dolphins staff, including former tight end Troy Drayton, have visited.
“You never know that your community has your back until something like this happens,” said Sergine Morissaint, who was the one to first sign her little brother up for football. “It makes us feel like we’re not alone and that people actually
care. Because, not only do they donate, people actually call and make sure that he’s doing well and they still ask how they can help.”
Wilbens Morissaint, who fractured his C4 and C5 vertebrae and had a neurosurgeon screw the bones back together with a titanium plate, according to Sergine, has maintained a positive attitude.
“He has not cried one time,” Sergine said. “All he keeps saying is, ‘I’m going to be okay. I’m just ready to get better so I can get back on the field.’ He has this positivity that’s just amazing.”
Added Ely coach Clifford Wimberly Jr.: “He’s in very high spirits. It’s very encouraging just to be around him.”
Wilbens Morissaint, who plays cornerback in addition to contributing on special teams, spends much of his time in the hospital bed watching football on TV, striving to return to the gridiron. He is set on a goal of playing in the end-of-theseason Soul Bowl against Dillard on Nov. 3 — or if he can’t play, at least to be on the sideline for it.
“It’s definitely a situation that has brought the team closer together as far as bonding together,” Wimberly said. “Guys have really learned to take advantage of every opportunity.”
While the GoFundMe page has nearly reached its current goal, Sergine Morissaint now realizes costs will be significantly higher than originally anticipated. The equipment alone — a machine that lifts him off the bed and onto his wheelchair, the chair itself, a bed — could reach $100,000, and that doesn’t include constant therapy and vehicle and home accommodations to fit Wilbens’ needs.
Ely (1-2) plays at Deerfield Beach on Saturday night in the annual McDougle Bowl, where the high schools of brothers and former college and NFL players Jerome (Ely) and Stockar McDougle (Deerfield) face off.