Football player injured during UGA game leaves hospital

ATLANTA — A football player paralyzed during a game last fall left the hospital Wednesday.

Southern University wide receiver Devon Gales suffered a severe spinal injury during a game in Athens in September. He was taken off the field on a stretcher and couldn’t feel anything on his body.

Last month, he told Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes that he felt his knee and the bottom of his feet for the first time. He was also able to move both of his hands and some fingers.

“I'm doing what I’m supposed to do to get back on my feet,” Gales said.

Gales now loves being on his feet during his physical therapy sessions, where he continues to make major progress.

Wednesday marked one of his biggest moments yet as he left the Shepherd Center to finally go home.

https://twitter.com/TyishaWSB/status/702610067925962752

For Gales, it was a bittersweet goodbye to a place he's been calling home for the last five months.

The Shepherd Center had a graduation ceremony for him to wish him well. His physical therapists said his will to walk again makes everyone around him smile.

“No complaints, always just works his butt off,” one therapist said.

Gales says he can’t wait to get back to Louisiana to be back with his family and teammates.

“I don't know how I will act when I see them, but I know I want to see them and tell them I’m doing great and I will walk again,” Gales said.

Gales will return to Atlanta in a few months to continue his therapy.

WSBTV