Beaufort teen hurt in fall on Fripp Island heads to Los Angeles for NCAA championship
.jpg "Anderson Jones, a Beaufort teen who suffered a spinal cord injury after a bad fall from a Fripp Island roof, smiles with his parents, Lesley and Jeremy Jones before their trip to Los Angeles with Dream on 3, an organization geared towards helping young people achieve their athletic dreams.")
A Beaufort teen recovering from a spinal cord injury after falling from a Fripp Island roof over the summer will attend the NCAA Championship in Los Angeles with the help of a dream-granting organization, according to a press release.
Anderson Jones, a 17-year-old Beaufort High School basketball player, and his family arrived in Los Angeles Friday with the help of Dream on 3, an organization dedicated to granting the “sports-themed dreams” of kids and young adults with life-altering medical conditions, mental health challenges and intellectual disabilities.
Anderson and his family will spend four days in Los Angeles attending pre-game events and getting a glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes in the world of college football, according to a press release.
In addition to a tour of the SoFi Stadium, and VIP tickets to concerts featuring artists like Pitbull and The Jonas Brothers, Anderson and his family will also be invited to the Allstate Championship Tailgate and official game press conference.
In June, Anderson fell from the roof of a Fripp Island home under construction where he had been hanging out with several friends after a day at the beach, according to previous reporting from the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. The friends rushed him in a golf cart to one of their homes where a parent then called 911 around 12:35 a.m.
The fall, officials said in the press release, caused severe trauma to his brain and left him paralyzed from the waist down. Anderson was taken to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston with severe head and spine injuries. In July, Anderson went to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, for rehab and physical therapy.
“Despite his condition, Jones worked hard to regain brain function during his time at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia this past summer,” officials said in the press release.
The “fierce and fiery” teen, as described by a spokesperson for the family on a GoFundMe page, fought hard toward recovery for six months at the center, hoping for a miracle to “help him defeat the odds and walk again.”
“And while we continue to pray for such, we also wish for Anderson to have the courage and strength to accept and optimize the path of recovery that Shepherd Rehab Center offers,” the spokesperson said. “We believe in our boy.”
The purpose of the trip, said Dream On 3 cofounder, Brandon Lindsey, is to give Anderson the opportunity to enjoy being a teenager again.
“These Dream Experiences are designed to provide joy, hope and encouragement to our Dream Kids,” Anderson said in a press release. “However, the true impact of the program includes every person that has been inspired by Anderson’s story, as we get to watch his dream come true together.”
Lesley Jones, Anderson’s mother, could not immediately be reached for comment.
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This story was originally published January 8, 2023 at 10:26 AM.
