It has been more than a year since Logan Cannon was tragically injured in a diving incident at Blackwater River which damaged a portion of his spinal cord causing paralysis. Since then, the 19-year-old continues to defy the odds and take on new challenges.
“(Doctors) told me that I would not be able to move my arms, I would have a feeding tube, I would have trachea to some degree − basically for the rest of my life,” Cannon said. “In less than a year, I have gotten over those (prognosis).”
Although Cannon still needs assistance from a nurse and his family at his home, he continues to show progress in his regular physical therapy visits to the West Florida Rehabilitation Clinic in Pensacola.
From being able to hold and use a cell phone, brushing his teeth on his own to being able to sit upright and balance himself for a certain amount of time, Logan’s mother Kim said her son continues to recover.
“Basically every day he is able to do something new,” she said. “Now, he has got to where he will lean forward and be able to catch himself and not fall over.”
Being restricted to a specialized wheelchair also does not keep Logan from leading a normal teenage social lifestyle. In his down time, Logan said he still occasionally goes out to see movies with friends, along with attending Pensacola Blue Wahoos baseball games. Recently, Cannon and his family were able to travel to Gainesville in order to see his favorite college baseball team, the University of Florida Gators play at home. During his visit, Logan was able to meet the coaches, players and visit the team’s dug out, all thanks to the Kalos Foundation.
While he continues to show signs of recovery, Logan has also been sharing his story through speaking with small groups, like at his church, Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola and a small class of students at Bennett C. Russell Elementary School. Logan said other schools want to schedule a future meeting with Logan.
“A lot of people have reached out to me and want me to tell my story to bigger school classes,” he said.
In the fall, Logan will begin his college tenure at the University of West Florida seeking to earn a degree in history with a minor is becoming a sports coach.
“I’m excited, because it will be something different,” he said.
Prior to the incident, Logan was active in the Pace High School NJROTC program, initially seeking to pursue a career in the military. While attending UWF, Logan plans to continue his tenure with the college’s ROTC program.
Logan is also finding opportunities to break free from wheel chair restrictions by taking scuba diving classes with MBT Divers in Pensacola. He is part of a specialized adaptive scuba diving class geared towards benefiting those with paralysis.
So far, Logan is scuba diving in area pools. Kim said being part of the scuba team also benefits with Logan’s therapy.
“It’s just something new, something (I can)affiliate with other people,” he said.
Logan also plans to pick up Crossfit training, which like the ROTC, Logan was very active in before the incident happened. He plans to start training in a adaptive form of Crossfit at Anytime Fitness.
“I need to start eating right and exercising,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Although his paralysis dealt Logan a difficult hardship, it has not slowed him down from being a typical 19-year-old.
“As a 18-year-old, I would stay out as much as possible,” he said. “I didn’t want to stay at home.”
Whether it is the support of family, friends, church or staff at Pace High School, Logan and his family are very thankful for all for the support they have received from the community since the unfortunate incident.
“I am truly blessed with the people I have surrounded myself with,” Logan said.
Kim said everyone is impressed with Logan’s mindset of moving forward and not looking back.
“He just doesn’t give up, he just keeps going,” she said.
As far as what the future holds, Logan hopes to one day to be able to be on his own.
“I don’t want to stay at home all of my life and require and lean on my mom to do everything for me,” he said. “I want to go out and be on my own and be as independent as I can.”
“I’m still looking forward to that next challenge.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pace teen continues to defy odds despite spinal cord injury