The ATSNJ is proud to announce that this year's Keynote Lecture at the Annual Conference on March 2nd will feature former Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand, Rutgers Team Physician Dr. Robert Monaco, and Rutgers Athletic Trainer, David McCune.
In October 2010, Rutgers University football star, Eric LeGrand, sustained a spinal cord injury at his C3 and C4 vertebrae during a fourth quarter play at MetLife Stadium. 
While the initial prognosis was grim, Eric demonstrated his titan strength by shattering all expectations for his recovery and rehabilitation. However, recovery was not enough.
With close to six million Americans living with some form of paralysis, including 1.3 million spinal cord injuries, Eric harnessed the national spotlight he attracted from his injury to give back to the community and inspire those living with and impacted by paralysis to bELieve.
Team LeGrand was launched in September 2013 as a fundraising arm for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation to carry forward the legacy of the late Christopher Reeve.
In a matter of months, Team LeGrand rallied hundreds of members with its mission: To help individuals living with spinal cord injury and their families by supporting quality of life initiatives and emerging therapies that will get us to the end zone -- cures for SCI.
Eric not only carries the torch of Team LeGrand’s mission, he leads by example. As a participant of the Reeve Foundation's NeuroRecovery Network (NRN), Eric partakes in a rigorous rehabilitation regime, including locomotor training, to re-teach his body how to walk and improve his quality of life. Since beginning therapy, he has reported movement in his shoulders and improvements to his overall health.
From becoming an author, to a much sought after motivational speaker, Eric has given a voice to the paralysis community to mobilize support for critical initiatives, policies and cutting-edge research.
He has been recognized by Sports Illustrated with “The Best Moment of 2011” and the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the ESPY Awards. In May 2014, Eric graduated from Rutgers University where he was an honored speaker at the commencement ceremony. When addressing his fellow graduates, he reminded them that “anything is possible,” and the importance of establishing a legacy of giving.
Eric LeGrand has shown the world that obstacles can be transformed into opportunities. He will continue to drive the Team LeGrand mission forward until he delivers on Christopher Reeve’s dream of a world with empty wheelchairs. To Eric, it is not matter of if he walks again, but rather, when.
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This ATSNJ Keynote Lecture will feature Mr. LeGrand, Dr Monaco, and Mr. McCune's descriptions of the that fateful day and the road to recovery for Mr. LeGrand. For more information and to register for the ATSNJ Annual Conference, please visit the ATSNJ REGISTRATION SITE.
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