Eric LeGrand remembers the help he got from not only family, but also friends and strangers while in the hospital after the Oct. 16, 2010 football game that would change his life. .

"I was laying in my deathbed and I needed all the support I can get — and I have it because of the way that I live my life and the way I treat people," LeGrand told a roomful of rapt children Friday, while seated in his electric wheelchair.

LeGrand, a former Rutgers defensive tackle, became paralyzed after suffering a spinal cord injury during a game against Army. He was the keynote speaker Friday at the 3 R's Day (Respect, Reflect & Remember) at Fieldstone Middle School in Montvale.

LeGrand told the audience of more than 400 students and faculty members who packed the school's auditorium about his upbringing in Central Jersey, his youth spent playing several sports, his stays at Hackensack University Medical Center and the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, his acceptance of his paralysis, and how he has not let this situation be a setback.

He recalled an epiphany after a teenage girl with a brain tumor was brought into the hospital for emergency surgery. The girl died on the operating table.

"I remembered saying to myself, right then and there: You know what, I got to be thankful I'm still here," he said.

"Everything I have been doing the past three to four weeks, I'm still here, I'm still fighting, I'm still pushing. That girl, she doesn't have a second chance in life,'" LeGrand said.

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LeGrand had some advice for students on how to deal with bullies and not become one, based on his observations while growing up. He is a native of Avenel and a graduate of Colonia High School in Middlesex County.

"I try to tell people, instead of putting somebody down, why don't you help somebody and pick them up?" LeGrand said.

The biennial event at the Montvale school featured a variety of speakers telling their stories of overcoming great challenges and obstacles in their lives while having a positive impact on others.

LeGrand was paralyzed from the neck down, but has since regained movement in his shoulders and sensation throughout his body.

In a Q&A session after his talk, a student asked LeGrand to talk about the tackle play that led to his paralysis. LeGrand said he dreamed of completing the tackle.

"I want to finish that play because I wanted to say in my career that I finished every one of my plays," LeGrand said.

Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com