SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 29, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — An Alta High School football player is recovering in the intensive care unit at Primary Children’s Hospital after injuring his spinal cord during a game last week.
Jalen Sutton, 17, was injured during Alta’s junior varsity game Thursday afternoon at Stansbury High School, 5400 Aberdeen Lane, Stansbury Park.
Sutton, a senior, suffered a spinal cord injury involving the C4 and C5 vertebrae in his neck that required surgery, according to a GoFundMe page created by Cynthia Meier, the teen’s aunt.
“Initially, he lost feeling and function in his arms and everything below his chest area,” Meier states on the fundraising website.
“Three days after surgery, he has regained feeling in his abdomen, both arms, both hands and both feet, as well as some movement in his right arm. He is currently in the ICU and has had to be intubated while receiving his food via a feeding tube.”
Meier says Sutton is just 10 days into his senior year of high school and about three weeks away from his 18th birthday.
“The outpouring of support that our family has received has helped us stay strong through this traumatic event,” she states in the online fundraiser.
“As many of you can imagine, it will take a lot of patience, therapy and love to get him back stronger than ever. We want to ask for your support during Jalen’s continued recovery.”
Meier said all donations via GoFundMe will go Sutton’s parents to help cover his medical and rehabilitation costs.
