Scott Brumfield knows there's no guarantee he'll walk again, but the Cincinnati Bengals offensive guard is so confident about making a full recovery from his spinal cord injury that he said he plans to play more football.
"I understand it's definitely a dangerous situation," the former BYU player told The Cincinnati Post. "I feel fortunate that it's not any worse. I understand there could be problems, but I can't worry about that. I'm just looking at getting back."Brumfield was upbeat while speaking from his hospital room at the University of Maryland Medical Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. It was his first interview since suffering a cervical spinal cord concussion during the Bengals' 24-21 win Sunday over the Baltimore Ravens.
"I'm feeling pretty good," Brumfield said. "It's a scary situation, and it's a weird situation. But right now coming back from this is not a question in my mind. I'm going to battle through this and be 100 percent again. It's the only attitude I can take."
Brumfield, upgraded to fair condition Monday from serious but stable condition Sunday night, has total use of his upper body but still doesn't have full movement in his legs. He can move his toes and ankles and can extend his left knee a little.
"Hopefully my lower body will get as good as my upper body," Brumfield said. "I have trust in the Lord. I can't stand. I haven't tried to stand, and I don't want to try for a couple of days. But I have all the confidence in the world that within a week I'll be able to do some things."
Brumfield, a four-year NFL veteran from Spanish Fork, said he can't recall how his injury occurred. Nor does he remember anything about the game Sunday.
"The last thing I recall is being in the hotel Saturday night," he said.
The injury happened with 1:07 left in the third quarter when Brumfield (6-feet-8, 320 pounds) collided head first with teammate Tony McGee, a tight end, while the two were blocking on a Bengals running play from the Baltimore 9-yard line at Memorial Stadium.
Brumfield, 26, said he hasn't seen a television replay of his injury, and he doesn't want to see one. He was told the details of the play Monday when Baltimore defensive tackle Tim Goad visited him at the hospital.
"Tim Goad told me I was blocking down on him," Brumfield said. "He tried to force the pile, and I drove him past the pile. That's when the collision (with McGee) happened. It was definitely scary from what people tell me about it.
"But it's something that could happen anytime. It was nobody's fault. It was just two players going hard. It was just a collision, and you see that happen all of the time."
Brumfield said he began regaining coherency while undergoing a magnetic resonance imaging test Sunday night at the hospital. But even then, he wasn't certain where he was.
Joining Brumfield in his room were his wife, Jodi, and Bengals offensive line coach Paul Alexander, who remained in Baltimore overnight while the team returned to Cincinnati.
"Paul Alexander filled me in on the game," Brumfield said. "I was happy to see that we won. That's the key thing."
But Brumfield was unable to fall asleep throughout the night. His mind was racing too much about the severity of his injury and the possibility of being paralyzed.
"It was a long night," Brumfield said. "I thought of a lot of things. My mind was wandering. When something happens, you have a few negative thoughts. What if it's the worst? There's a little anxiety. I had to make a game strategy of what I needed to do, what I want to do and how I'm going to do it."
Brumfield's mother, Carol, joined her son at the hospital early Monday after taking an all-night flight from her Utah home to Baltimore.
"My family is doing good," Brumfield said. "They were definitely worried when it happened. But now they know what's going on and understand the situation. They're being supportive."
Brumfield received support Monday from more than his family. He said his hospital room resembled "a little floral shop." And Bengals president and general manager Mike Brown telephoned Brumfield from Cincinnati.
"He let me know that the team was with me the whole way," Brumfield said. "It made me feel good. All the players, coaches and management have been real supportive."
Coach Bruce Coslet also called Brumfield. Many of his teammates did the same, including two of his best friends, center Darrick Brilz and left tackle Joe Walter. And the team voted to award Brumfield with a game ball from Sunday's victory.
David Modell, the Ravens executive vice president and assistant to the president, visited Brumfield. So did Baltimore players such as Goad and wide receiver Floyd Turner. And Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda telephoned Brumfield.
Brumfield's phone hardly stopped ringing. His coaches from Spanish Fork High School; Dixie Junior College in St. George; and Brigham Young University all called. So did several friends, including his agent, Harold Lewis, and former Bengals lineman Ken Moyer.
"That puts fuel in my fire knowing that guys are concerned," Brumfield said. "It helps to motivate me, and it keeps my attitude up."
While maintaining a positive attitude Monday, Brumfield also occasionally thought about past NFL players such as Dennis Byrd and Mike Utley who were paralyzed because of on-field injuries.
"You definitely think of other players and what happened to them," Brumfield said. "You use them as models for your rehabilitation."