Ethan Pritchard is back on his feet and walking again – 10 months after surviving a gunshot wound to the head.
In a video shared on Facebook by Montrail T. Harris, Pritchard can be seen walking without a walker at a family gathering, days after his 19th birthday. In the video, Pritchard takes a short stride from table to table at the event, briefly using nearby chairs as assistance, and his face is bright with a wide smile.
“God did it!!! Walk in victory, nephew,” Harris wrote on Facebook.
Pritchard spent over a month in the intensive care unit at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital after being shot in the head in August while taking his aunt and a 3-year-old cousin home from a family dinner.
He spent months recovering both at TMH and Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville, and was released in November. He has continued to rehab through physical therapy and has set a goal of returning to the football field.
Pritchard has been able to walk with assistance from a walker and was around the FSU football program and facility in the spring semester. His recovery has been documented on social media by the family on the “Ethan Pritchard epstrongfsu #35 Family Update Page” Facebook page and “EPritchard-EPSTRONG FSU #35” TikTok page.
FSU’s Ethan Pritchard a product of Seminole High School
Pritchard, a four-star linebacker, signed with FSU out of Seminole High School in Sanford, northeast of Orlando. He has spent much of his recovery and rehab in Central Florida.
Last April he received the Doc Fauls Rise Above Adversity Award at the Golden Nole Awards, an annual ceremony recognizing FSU student-athletes, and was greeted by a thunderous applause from those attending the event.
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football’s Ethan Pritchard walks again 10 months after shooting
Reporting by Liam Rooney, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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By Liam Rooney, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
