Denver Broncos cornerback De’Vante Bausby had to be taken off the field on a backboard during the second quarter of his team’s game against the Chargers on Sunday after a helmet-to-helmet collision with his teammate, Alexander Johnson, as the two both went for a tackle. Bausby went to a trauma center after the injury, and he’s since been placed on injured reserve, but as he told reporters on Tuesday, the damage could have been so much worse.
Bausby, a 26-year-old undrafted free agent who fought his way into a role with the Broncos after very brief stints across the NFL and in the AAF, revealed that he was fully paralyzed for 30 minutes after the hit, and partially paralyzed for a couple of hours. Here’s what he said:
Asked if he was nervous or afraid after the collision, Bausby said: “Little bit. … I was never unconscious. I just couldn’t move, but I was still talking and everything. The doc, the neurologist said I was going to be fine and I just trusted that, and after about 30 minutes I was able to wiggle my toes and after a couple hours I was able to regain full mobility, so I was straight, I was fine. … They said I was paralyzed for 30 minutes; after 30 minutes I could wiggle my toes and after two hours I could move everything else.’’
Bausby was discharged before the Broncos flew back to Denver, and he seems remarkably calm about the whole ordeal:
“Right now, we’re just going to take it real slow, gain my strength back and all that mess,” Bausby said before the decision to place him on IR. “I don’t have a timetable, but hopefully pretty soon. My plan is to come back and play [this season], though.’’
Take your time, dude.
[ESPN]
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