Community prays for paralyzed football player
Mom counting on a miracle for Fort Bend teen injured in game
On Friday night at a Fort Bend County high school, an unlikely assortment of guests gathered in a gym to pray for an injured teenage football player.
Players in red jerseys, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, and U.S. Rep. Pete Olson were all there for one reason: Jordyn Hawkins.
“In our community, we don’t forget anyone,” said Turner during the prayer rally. “We rally with them. We stand by them because in your moment of challenge, in your moment of trial, you do not go through it alone.”
Jordyn, a running back for Fort Bend’s Stephen F. Austin High School, was left paralyzed from the shoulders down after tackling a quarterback during a junior varsity game last month.
Now his mom, Deandrea Wade, is resting on her faith and counting on a miracle to see her son healed.
“I want to see him walk,” said Wade, 42. “I want to see him run. I want to see him dance again.”
As she watched the injury unfold on Sept. 12, Wade expected her 15-year-old son to get up. Instead, he was rushed to the emergency room. Wade soon learned Jordyn had suffered a spinal cord injury.
In the immediate aftermath, Jordyn said, he was focused on the impact on his football career. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to play anymore,” Jordyn said by phone from TIRR Memorial Hermann. “I told my coach, ‘This is it. This is my last game,’ because I couldn’t feel anything.”
The community is rallying around Jordyn and praying he
will beat the odds. His wellwishers assembled for a prayer rally Sept. 27 at the Stephen F. Austin High School gym. Jordyn said those around him have helped him maintain a positive outlook.
“Without them, I wouldn’t be having the same mindset I have right now,” he said. “They tell me all types of good things that ‘I’m going to walk, that I’m going to get back out of here.’ ”
Jordyn has been playing football since he was 5, his mother said.
After transferring from Marshall High School, the sophomore quickly became a popular classmate at Stephen F. Austin High. Wade said her son never meets a stranger and always brightens a room with his smile.
His 18-year-old cousin, Kendal Septs, a varsity football player at Stephen F. Austin High School, said Jordyn is a cheerful person who others enjoy being around.
Even now, as Septs visits him in the hospital, Jordyn still has a playful spirit.
“Whenever I go see him, we always laugh and make jokes, like nothing’s wrong,” said Septs at the rally. “He’s trying to keep his mind off of how bad things are, and just focusing on how good it’s going to be in the future.”
Each year, roughly 17,730 new spinal cord injury cases occur in the United States, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. In recent years, only about 8 percent of those injuries have been sports-related, according to the data.
Matthew Davis, clinical medical director of the spinal cord injury program at TIRR Memorial Herman, said Jordyn is receiving three daily hours of physical and occupational therapy Monday through Friday. He also is participating in group therapy to build up his strength.
Davis said it’s too early to know how long Jordyn would undergo treatment for his injury or what his outcome would be.
“Ultimately, with any of these kinds of injuries there are no guarantees,” said Davis. “It is a very serious kind of injury to have. It just requires a lot of conscientious medical follow-up and a lot of hard work on the part of patients and families.”
During the rally, Turner described how he happened to be at Memorial Hermann Hospital on the same day Jordyn was admitted. Turner was visiting a police officer who had been shot and ran into the youth’s family and friends. They all began praying for the police officer and for Jordyn.
Prayers echoed through the gym.
Wade, wearing a shirt that said “Everybody Loves Jordyn,” instructed parents and kids at the rally to embrace and exchange words of love. Her life, she said, changed in an instant
“Choose your battles, because right now I wish I could fuss at Jordyn about his room being dirty,”said Wade. “I wish I could tell him ‘Don’t eat my leftover Pappadeaux’s that I left in the refrigerator.’”
Jordyn is gradually showing signs of improvement. He is able to move both of his arms and has sensation in his legs and feet.
“I’m not waiting until he walks to praise God,” said Wade. “I’m seeing the miracle as it unfolds.”
Jordyn would love to have the oppurtumity to play football again, but he has a much more immediate objective.
“My first goal is to walk out of here,” said Jordyn.