On the same day he received a significant award for courage, there’s some very encouraging news on Eric LeGrand‘s recovery front as well.
According to the Associated Press, LeGrand, who was paralyzed from the neck down during a game Oct. 16, has some sensation in his hands. The LeGrand family confirmed the development, although it should be noted there’s no other change in his status.
This is the second significant development in LeGrand’s recovery in less than a month; late in November, LeGrand was taken off a ventilator for the first time since suffering the injury to his spinal cord and is now breathing on his own.
On the honors front, the defensive tackle was named the winner of the 2010 Discover Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. Here’s the description of the award from the press release announcing LeGrand being recognized as this year’s recipient:
“We were deeply touched as a family to hear the news of Eric winning the Discover Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award,” the LeGrand family said in a statement. “Thank you to everyone at the Football Writers Association of America for selecting Eric. He continues every day to make positive steps and has attacked his rehabilitation with the same desire and passion as he did on the football field. We continue to ask everyone to keep Eric in your thoughts and prayers.”
Previous winners of the FWAA’s Courage Award are the University of Connecticut football team (2009), Tulsa’s Wilson Holloway (2008), Navy’s Zerbin Singleton (2007), Clemson’s Ray Ray McElrathbey (2006), the Tulane football team (2005), Memphis’ Haracio Colen (2004), San Jose State’s Neil Parry (2003) and Toledo’s William Bratton (2002).