A 17-year-old from Alexandria faces a long recovery after a devasting injury on the ice earlier this season.

Jackson Drum slid into the boards head-first during a game on Jan. 24 in Vancouver. He broke his neck and stopped breathing on the ice.

Doctors were able to fuse his spine together but told him he might lose feeling below his neck.

Jackson played hockey for his high school in Alexandria before earning a spot on the roster at Idaho’s Coeur D’Alene Hockey Academy.

Today, he is recovering at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Ga., which specializes in spinal cord injuries. He just started physical therapy and is thankfully seeing some unexpected progress; the feeling is starting to return to parts of his body.

“As the swelling has gone down, he can now feel his body. A lot of it feels fuzzy like his legs are asleep. This week, we have had finger movements on his left hand, his left wrist, and a little bit of his left elbow,” said his mom, Erica Drum.

“My hope is he will heal. Just everyone, keep praying for him,” she said.

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