Richard Brian

Green Valley senior Laquan Phillips, right, with friends Kendra Watson, red jacket, Josh Lomax, gray shirt, and Rachel Mack, gray shirt, watches the Gators’ boys basketball game against Basic Wednesday night. Phillips is now out of his wheelchair and using the walker seen at right.

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Thu, Jan 8, 2009 (3:36 p.m.)

LaQuan Phillips has ditched his wheelchair for a walker.

Phillips, the Green Valley High football player who became temporarily paralyzed from the neck down after bruising his spine while making a tackle in a game Sept. 5, is now walking with the assistance of a walker.

The senior no longer requires the wheelchair he was limited to for more than three months and is expected to begin using a cane by the end of the month.

"I don't have to look up at everybody anymore. I can see everyone eye-to-eye," Phillips said. "People aren't looking down at me anymore."

Doctors told Phillips he could be in a wheelchair for 18 months following the incident, but he is more than a year ahead of schedule in his recovery, said Delphine Lakes, his aunt and legal guardian.

"I'm not surprised because everybody prayed," she said. "If we can't put our trust in God, who can we put it in?"

Phillips' road to recovery included surgery to relieve swelling on his vertebrae and nearly two months of rehabilitation at Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California. He returned to school at the beginning of December and continues therapy at the HealthSouth Rehabilitation Center in Henderson three times a week.

Phillips said he has regained nearly all feeling in his arms and legs. He has had to re-teach himself how to walk.

"It's awkward at times and I'm not as balanced as I want to be," Phillips said. "But it's good to be out of the wheelchair. I can handle a lot of walking."

One of the best parts is being able to enjoy the activities associated with high school. He attended Green Valley's basketball game with Basic Wednesday night.

"Getting to hang out with my friends more is the best part," Phillips said.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@hbcpub.com.