Photo by: Rachael Roark

Jesse Martin, the DU hockey player who broke his neck during a game against North Dakota on Oct. 30, spoke last week of his recovery and how grateful he feels to be alive, regardless of whether he plays hockey again.

This was Martin’s first public appearance since his injury. He spoke at the TEDxDU XPress event at noon Thursday in Ruffatto Hall.

Joe Monteith, a student at the Daniels College of Business, also spoke at the event, which was themed “Overcoming Adversity.”

The event was moderated by Kim Gorgens, professor at the Graduate School of Professional Psychology and speaker at last May’s TEDxDU event.

The TEDxDU XPress event drew 125 students, faculty, staff and community members.

Jesse Martin, who broke his C2 vertebrae in three places, said he continues to be grateful for surviving his injury, and for beating the near-impossible odds that he would be able to walk again.

“Hockey wasn’t taken away from me,” said Martin. “My life was given to me.”

Martin said that only 2 percent of people who sustain his kind of injury survive. Of those who survive, 99 percent are quadriplegics. Doctors at a hospital in Minnesota, where Martin was treated for a few days before being flown to Craig Hospital in Denver, were in complete shock that he was even alive.

“Whether you want to call it luck, or faith, or whatever it is, it seems to be on my side,” Martin said.

He described the moments he spent down on the ice after the hit that broke his neck as some of the scariest of his life.

Martin said that during these moments he was laying on the ice after the hit, he did not think of the possibility that he would not be able to play hockey again. He thought of his family, having a family of his own someday, having a child and teaching his child to skate.

“You really want to be aware of what you have, because it can be taken away so quickly,” he said.

Martin said that three things got him through his recovery process while at Craig Hospital: a sense of humor, allowing other people to help him and having a perspective on life.

Martin kept a banter going with the nurses and with his family during his hospital stay to keep all of their spirits up.

He joked with his mother about the halo that was affixed to his head after a surgery.

“This halo comes with HD cable,” he told her. “So you don’t have to worry about it.”

Keeping a balanced perspective on the situation also helps him get through the recovery process.

Of the other patients with whom Martin did physical therapy every day at Craig Hospital, the hockey player was the only one who could walk. He was humbled, inspired and motivated by his fellow patients in physical therapy.

“When you look at the glass half full or half empty, I’m happy to have a glass,” he said.

Joe Monteith, a student at the Daniels College of Business, also spoke at the event.

Monteith taught himself to read and write, using only the dictionary, while in federal prison at the age of 24.

He then met DU transfer coordinator Ginny Egan, whoencouraged him to apply to DU. After three interviews, Monteith was admitted with a hefty scholarship.

He is the first felon to be accepted to DU in 12 years, he said.

Monteith is now the lead discipline tutor for the Learning Effectiveness Program. He is also the lead Microsoft teaching assistant at Daniels, and developed the current curriculum for that program.

He now lives by the principle that if “you treat people properly, you will get treated properly.”

Monteith is now dedicated to giving back to others.

“It’s about giving, it’s about caring,” said Monteith. “Life is a gift given to you.”