Oct. 29, 2009

Flagstaff, AZ --- Idaho State University director of athletics Jeff Tingey is currently in Flagstaff, Arizona with injured freshman receiver Andrew Benavides and his family while Benavides is at Flagstaff Medical Center. The following is an update from Jeff on Andrew's recovery from a spinal cord injury suffered against Northern Arizona 11 seconds into the second half on Saturday, October 28.

This was received from Jeff late Wednesday night. "Today I saw Andy stand up on his own three times: once to go to the bathroom, once for physical therapy, and once to go get some dinner. He was up a few other times when I wasn't around."

"He is progressing very well. He does physical therapy at least twice a day. Those sessions are helping him a great deal. A few of the exercises he did in PT included: stretching with bands (while laying in bed), stretching while standing up, squats, calf raises, leg curls (with bands), let extensions, etc."

"His spirits are high and getting higher. He still will have to wear the hard-shell neck brace and will be required to wear it for another three months. This is required because the doctors can't find the exact point where the spinal cord bruising is. This way, the bruising will heal completely."

Jeff will remain in Flagstaff through Friday. It is unsure at this time when Andrew will be released from the hospital. As Jeff or Andrew's parents Tami and Randy release more information, ISU athletics will release it here. ISU Athletics continues to have Andrew in their prayers, and we thank them for allowing us to pass updates out to the many fans and friends who have been concerned over the past week.

AB Positive!

UPDATE at 1:59 pm (10/28/09) Fans can send well wishes to Andrew at the following address:

Flagstaff Medical Center
1200 Beaver Street
Room 3014
Flagstaff, AZ 86001

Also, Jeff informed me the Andrew walked 500 feet on his own without help or support, which is a great sign. He still had some balance issues, but he did all of it on his own.