College football player with brain injury reaches another milestone in recovery

Tennessee State University football player Christion Abercrombie, who suffered a brain injury in a September game against Vanderbilty, completed an inpatient program at Atlanta’s Shepherd Center on Friday, about a month ahead of schedule, officials said. He was surrounded by relatives, including mother Staci Abercrombie (right).

Tennessee State University football player Christion Abercrombie, who suffered a brain injury in a September game against Vanderbilty, completed an inpatient program at Atlanta’s Shepherd Center on Friday, about a month ahead of schedule, officials said. He was surrounded by relatives, including mother Staci Abercrombie (right).

Injured college football player Christion Abercrombie has completed a rehab program early and is ready for the next step in his treatment of a brain injury.

Officials at the Shepherd Center in Buckhead held a ceremony Friday for Abercrombie, a Tennessee State University linebacker who played at Westlake High School in south Fulton County.

He plans to go home for a few days and will return Wednesday to go to Shepherd Pathways, an outpatient day program in Decatur, Shepherd Center spokeswoman Jane Sanders told AJC.com.

“He is finishing (the inpatient rehab program) about a month ahead of what we anticipated,” Sanders said.

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She said his doctor attributed the early completion to Abercrombie being “such a great athlete and having tremendous family support.

“We do not know at this point how long he will be (in the outpatient program) or when he will finish at Shepherd Center altogether,” Sanders said.

Abercrombie was critically injured in a Sept. 29 game against Vanderbilt. He was rushed to nearby Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery for a neurological injury. He was moved to Shepherd on Oct. 17.

He was able to return home for a few hours last weekend and watched football, his mother said at the time in a Twitter post.

“I’m so amazed and thankful for the miracle that God allowed in my son,” Staci Abercrombie said.

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