Paralyzed Stony Point athlete talks about his recovery

September 2, is the day Jasiel Favors will never forget.

“I had my head down and I kind of went head to head with another player,” he said.

The Stony Point High School football player laid on the field after the collision and couldn't move. The once spry teenager is paralyzed from the neck down.

“Having people take care of you is different,” he said.

Since then, Favors has been going through rehab twice a week. He says every now and then, he gets some feeling in his hands.

“A little bit of movement but not much but it's coming,” he said.

But the 17-year old is not letting his condition get his spirits down. Here he is pictured with Houston Texans player JJ watt. He still enjoys what many teenagers enjoy, one of them being shoe shopping for his favorite brand.

“Jordans,” he said jokingly.

Ultimately, Favors says his loving family and friends keep him going.

“When he calls his friends they come, family, they work his nerves, but the household hasn't changed,” Debra Favors, Favors’ mother, said.

“I love him because he always taught me to be tough and stuff,” Kerantan Wilson, his niece, said.

“They don't feel sorry for me. They give me tough love. I can't always be sad,” Favors said.

The game of football goes beyond tackles, touchdowns and catches for Jasiel.  For him it means being courageous during life's toughest battles.

“That's what being an athlete is about,” not giving up,” he said.

“I believe one day in a couple years or 6 months, he can walk out this chair with just a limp,” his mother said.

That game the night of the accident was against Harker Heights. Favors played on the JV team. Since the accident, he has been home schooled. He plans to return to class at Stony Point in the fall.