Thankful for Friendship: A Lesson in Adversity and Forgiveness

On April 14, 2006, two young Americans took part in a friendly game of football. Kurt Coleman, age 17, and Tyson Gentry, age 20, both belonged to Ohio University's football team, playing on opposing sides. Coleman had just joined the team, and neither knew much about the other.

Football is an intensely physical sport: at one moment, Coleman tackled Gentry in an attempt to cause him to drop the ball. The tackle itself wasn’t particularly brutal, but the consequences were devastating: Gentry fell and immediately lost all feeling in his body. An X-ray later revealed the cause — a fracture of the fourth cervical vertebra in his neck. Once an active athlete, Gentry was abruptly left paralyzed. The grim diagnosis quickly followed: Gentry would never walk again.

Meanwhile, Coleman was suffering from emotional paralysis. "I realized I was responsible for what happened to him, and I was overwhelmed with guilt. I play hard, but I never wanted to hurt anyone," he recalls. For two weeks, Coleman couldn’t bring himself to visit Gentry in the hospital. But eventually, he found the courage to go.

"I’m so sorry for everything that happened to you," he told Gentry. Gentry was quick to assure him that it wasn’t his fault. "His words shifted my perspective. He let me know he was going to fight, which allowed me to come to terms with the fact that I was the person who caused him this pain. I’m not sure I could have reacted as Tyson did, and for that, I am incredibly grateful to have him in my life," says Coleman.

The hospital meeting wasn’t the end of their acquaintance — it was just the beginning. The two became best of friends. "This experience bonded us forever," says Gentry.

Tyson Gentry with his teammates in Ohio

Gentry decided to tackle his adversity head-on. A week after the injury, he regained sensation in his shoulders and upper arms, and he was determined to pour all his effort into his grueling rehabilitation to maximize what mobility he had left. "I had many bad days," he admits, "days when I just lay in bed and cried, feeling sorry for myself. It’s part of the grieving process." But he remained tenacious about spotting the silver linings. "Next to me was a patient from a skiing accident who couldn’t speak. I could talk, laugh, eat — I felt I had nothing to complain about." Coleman was with him every step of the way, visiting often and participating in the exhausting physiotherapy sessions.

Despite the paralysis, the university chose to keep Gentry as part of the football team and even awarded him a full scholarship. In 2008, a little over two years after the injury, the head coach invited Gentry to speak to the team before a crucial game. His speech left everyone speechless.

"It was a moving and completely selfless speech," recalls Kurt Coleman, "He talked about how much we’re like a family and how important we all are to him. He finished by saying that without his injury, he wouldn’t be who he is today, and then he thanked me! He thanked me for putting him in this position."

As surreal as it sounds, Gentry stands by his words. "It made me who I am today," he says with conviction. "Many people don’t realize that the challenges we face shape who we become. I wouldn’t change a single thing about my years at Ohio University. Why alter something that made you a better person?"

Nowadays, Tyson Gentry is looking forward to becoming a father. He met his healthy wife-to-be in a university course they took together. He completed a Master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling and founded a philanthropic organization that supports individuals with spinal cord injuries.

And, of course, he and Kurt Coleman remain friends. Coleman is still an active football player, and they stay in constant contact. Coleman was stunned when Gentry told him they were naming their soon-to-be-born son "Adam Cole," in honor of Coleman. "We wanted to pay tribute to Kurt," Gentry explains, "We’re grateful he’s part of our story, and we wouldn’t be here today without him."

Coleman, now married with two daughters, says he’s looking forward to family vacations with the Gentrys. He’s already shared with Gentry the joys of fatherhood: "I think he was worried about some aspects of being a dad, but I told him not to worry. From what I know of him, he’ll be an amazing father."

"I hope his son inherits every single one of his father’s traits," concludes Kurt Coleman.