The first words James \u201cWoody\u201d Beckham remembers shouting were: \u201cpour ice on my neck.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew instantly I had a spinal cord injury,\u201d said Beckham, recalling the injury that happened this past January when he was a student at Florida Atlantic University playing in a rugby game versus the University of Miami.<\/p>\n
Beckham, 23, was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital. He spent two and a half months there, suffering a broken neck and a spinal cord injury. After undergoing spinal fusion surgery, he was moved to Jackson Rehabilitation Hospital.<\/p>\n
Today, Beckham\u00a0 is a student at the Wolfson Campus, majoring in accounting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIdeally my goals are to get a full-time job that I love, graduate with a bachelor\u2019s, walk and hopefully have a relationship. Just regular goals,\u201d Beckham said. \u201cFor a normal person they are regular, but its a little bit more challenging for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beckham has no control of\u00a0 his hands or fingers, causing him to wear assistive gears to help him perform everyday tasks such as eating and writing. He does physical therapy in Coconut Grove three days a week.<\/p>\n
In addition, Beckham has a hook on the back of his iPhone so he can use it. He is able to tap his phone with his knuckles and because of the gadget\u2019s touch screen sensitivity he can answer and make phone calls.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is such a small simple thing, but it gets him right back to society just because [he] is on his iPhone,\u201d said Bill Beckham, Woody\u2019s father. \u201cIt\u2019s a way back into his life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beckham began taking classes at the College during the summer. He is currently taking introduction to microcomputers and an accounting course at night.<\/p>\n
\u201cWoody had to give up on his prior studies of ocean engineering, as he was told he was going to need his hands for his math and science courses,\u201d Woody\u2019s father said. \u201cSo he fell back on being an accounting major. He\u2019s very intelligent.\u201d<\/p>\n
The College\u2019s ACCESS department, a program that assists students with disabilities to reach their goals, offered some help during Bekham\u2019s first semester on campus. The program provided him with a note taker for his statistics class.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to finish my degree for myself and be as smart as possible because that will help me out,\u201dBeckham said. \u201cMy mind is my biggest asset.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his therapy at rehab, Beckham was motivated by David Mills, a close family friend, who wanted to start a community service project to help reduce the population of venomous lionfish in the Bahamas. They turned the idea into a fishing tournament to raise money for Jackson Rehabilitation Hospital, where does occupational therapy.<\/p>\n
The 2011 Lionfish Bash fishing tournament killed more than 300 lionfish in South Bimini, Bahamas and raised $20,000 for the rehab center.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to raise the money for the rehab center so they can upgrade their equipment and recreational activities offered to patients,\u201d Beckham said.<\/p>\n
Beckham still loves the ocean, it is what drew him to his previous major, ocean engineering. But now, he has new aspirations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a dream to start my own business and have a product that is influential to help people with disabilities,\u201d Beckham said.<\/p>\n
David Mills, is confident his friend will reach his goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWoody is epic for so many reasons, look at what he\u2019s done in his life since the accident,\u201d Mills said. \u201cHe\u2019s still Woody, inspirational and a boss.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The first words James \u201cWoody\u201d Beckham remembers shouting were: \u201cpour ice on my neck.\u201d \u201cI knew instantly I had a spinal cord injury,\u201d said Beckham, recalling the injury that happened this past January when he was a student at Florida Atlantic University playing in a rugby game versus the University of Miami. Beckham, 23, was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":321,"featured_media":6626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6625","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"\n