Songs for Woody: One students comes back after debilitating injury

By: Jeffrey Pierre and Alexandra Mosquera / FIUSM Staff

He’s come a long way so far; more than most, actually.

Looking back at the past few years, from the accident, to the recovery, to life now in a wheelchair, James “Woody” Beckham, a finance major, has fought battles most 26 year olds — or people in general —  haven’t. Come Saturday, Sept. 27, Beckham can add another achievement to his story.

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REGAINING MOBILITY: James “Woody” Beckham has come a long way since his accident in 2011. He drives a 2013 Dodge Minivan to school and social activities.

If all goes as planned, Woodystock 2014 will be the second benefit concert that Beckham helped to organize. Woodystock is a music festival that Beckham, through the Woody Foundation, runs to raise money, awareness and lend financial support to local organization helping to rehabilitate and cure paralysis, an embodiment of what the organization stands for.

Woodystock and the foundation’s inception came after a paralyzing injury Beckham sustained during the first game of Florida Atlantic University’s 2011 spring rugby season. Beckham, playing the lock position for FAU at the time, recalls the game on January 29 being a blowout — 34 to 0 against their local rivals at the University of Miami.

During the middle of the second half, the atmosphere on the field changed. Something was wrong and Beckham knew it the moment he hit the grass.

“I couldn’t really breathe or talk. My neck felt like it was in a pretzel,” said Beckham, recounting the moments after bad tackle led him to taking a knee to the head. “I immediately knew I had a spinal cord injury.”

His father and aunt at the game rushed on to the field and 15 minutes later, he was rolled onto a stretcher to an ambulance headed to Jackson Memorial’s Ryder Trauma Center.

“I was laying on my back on this table, and they were basically twisting these screws onto my skull,” he recounts. He blacked out shortly after that, and woke up days later, still drugged up on painkillers, in the Intensive Care Unit recovering and coping with that fact that he may never walk again.

During the start of his recovery process, Beckham’s spirits were low — he was going to rehab six times a week and had to relearn almost every aspect of living. Those closest to Beckham at the time, however, describe him as a fighter.

In his time at Jackson, he saw that the hospital’s resources and devices for people with paralysis were limited, old or broken.

“They had these things called electrical stimulation devices that were really important for my recovery,” Beckham said. “I can’t tell my brain to move my finger muscles, but if I connect to these electronic [stimulators], it fires them up.”

The electrical muscle stimulation procedure, which uses electrical currents to stimulate muscle movement, can prevent muscular atrophy in people with limited motor functions.

Only a month after leaving the hospital, Beckham and his supportive family put their heads together to lay what would be the groundwork for the Woody Foundation.

“My godfather and his son came to me and were like, ‘We want to start a fundraiser. What do you think we should do for people?’ and I said ‘We should definitely buy new equipment for Jackson Rehabilitation Hospital.’”

In July 2011, six months after the accident, the Woody Foundation launched with its first event — The Lionfish Bash, a lionfish and spearfishing tournament — and raised over $20,000. All proceeds went to Jackson, and since then, the foundation has repeated the event annually. So far, they’ve donated about $80,000 according to Beckham.

The foundation has grown to support local organizations with donations as well.

Since 2011, apart from Woodystock and the Lionfish Bash, the foundation organizes two separate signature events: The Woody Golf Classic and Lobsterfest. The proceeds of each event go to a specific organization, each working to cure paralysis.

In such a short time after the accident, Beckham was already taking charge. Elvis Anderson, a family friend and foundation volunteer, says he wasn’t surprised Beckham was thinking of helping others during a testing time.

“He’s an upbeat, positive person,” Anderson said. “Instead of dwelling on the negative I think he took this as an opportunity to help others.”

Anderson also says, the Woody Foundation “is a foundation with a bigger cause behind it,” because Beckham and the foundation’s staff aren’t just raising money, they’re pushing others paralyzed in a wheelchair to regain their independence.

Beckham remembers the daunting task of relearning how to eat and move around, and with limited use of his hands, he’s put together a resource called the Woody Pack, a free backpack filled with devices designed for people with similar challenges.

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The Woody Pack contains supplies and tools that can assist people with limited motor functions, including a cell phone hand clip that Beckham uses everyday.

The Woody Pack includes a special fork and spoon, a card, cup, key and phone holder.

“Over the years, I’ve found devices that helped me regain my independence,” said Beckham. “That’s everything from holding my cell phone to learning how to feed myself again.”

Beckham has made headway since the accident — he’s enrolled here at FIU, he drives an adapted 2013 Dodge Minivan and regularly attends football games at the University of Miami.

“It is possible for people [in similar situations] to get better,” Beckham said.

He wants to give others hope, and most importantly, not let the accident define the rest of his life.

“I’ve seen myself come a long way personally, and I just want to share that hope and freedom,” Beckham said.

The second annual WoodyStock will take place on Sept. 27 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Peacock Park in Coconut Grove. The festival is free, and people looking to donate to the Woody Foundation can do so through donations bins.

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