Seven months after a horrible injury crippled his arm, Clint Sellers is coming to grips with his new life.

The outside linebacker severely injured his shoulder on the opening kickoff of the Panthers first game of the 2006 season at Illinois.

His tackle on Illinois’ E.B. Halsey separated the brachial plexus bundle in his right shoulder, which connects the nerves in his arm to the spinal cord. The injury left his arm paralyzed.

“I think he’s turned his life around, a wake-up call in a lot of respects,” said Eastern defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni. “He’s a different guy then he was six months ago, even two months ago.”

Initially, Sellers struggled with such a life-changing injury.

“He was coming in twice a day for treatment,” said Eastern athletic trainer Jen Tymkew, who works exclusively with the football team. “I was there everyday for the ups and downs, the good days and the bad. I was a sounding board for him to let out his emotions.”

With such a catastrophic injury, Tymkew had to research Sellers’ injury, which she said is most common in car or motorcycle accidents, as much as possible so she could answer any questions he might have.

Sellers said Tymkew did more for him than take care of him medically.

“She went above and beyond her job,” Sellers said. “When I couldn’t be around people, when I couldn’t move, when people didn’t know how bad it was – she helped me progress more than anyone else.”

On Nov. 14 Sellers had a nerve transplant surgery performed by Dr. Susan Mackinnon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

Mackinnon, who performed the first nerve transplant surgery in 1988, took nerves from Sellers’ ribs to replace the destroyed nerves in his shoulder.

“It was nine-and-a-half hours of surgery,” Sellers said. “They cut me across my chest to my armpit and down to my elbow.”

The recovery process is incredibly slow, taking up to one year before any type of improvement can be seen. He said his arm feels the same now as it did after the injury.

While he waits, Sellers is living in Chicago with former Eastern quarterback Mike Donato’s older brother.

Sellers decided to leave campus to help deal with his injury but he is taking online classes through Eastern to finish his degree and working at careerbuilder.com as a sales representative.

“The whole Donato family has done a lot for me,” Sellers said. “I have a ton of respect for that family. If I need anything, I just have to let them know.”

Also helping him get through and adjust to life has been his girlfriend, Jacqueline Corres, a former member of Eastern’s Pink Panther dance squad.

“She’s been everything and more for me,” Sellers said. “Amazing is the least thing I can say.”

Bellantoni, who personally recruited Sellers out of North Iowa Community College, still keeps in touch with the former Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year but in the beginning he was worried about Sellers’ future.

Prior to the 2006 season, Sellers was named to the Buck Buchanan Award watch list for the top I-AA defensive players in the country. The NFL was not out of the question if Sellers had a senior year like the one he had as a junior.

Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback and Eastern alumnus Tony Romo, while watching last year’s spring game, said Sellers had a tremendous amount of talent and at the very least, an NFL team would take a look at the 6-foot, 227-pound linebacker in training camp.

With his dreams of football fame dashed, Bellantoni worried Sellers would fall apart without football to focus on but Sellers’ past only gave him a stronger bond with Bellantoni.

“He had his transgressions when he was here and I tried to help him out then,” Bellantoni said. “I think there is a comfort level now because of it.”

Sellers said his relationship with Bellantoni has been vital for him in getting through his injury and emotional difficulties, especially with the falling out he had with his family.

“Coach Roc has a special place in my heart,” Sellers said. “Any time I need to talk about serious matters, he’s been there for me. He’s my coach, always will be, and he’s a guy who can answer questions about life and work. He holds a different candle than anybody else.”

On Aug. 8 Sellers has an appointment with Mackinnon in St. Louis to determine if the surgery has been successful and if rehabilitation can begin.

Tymkew said Sellers will have to totally rebuild his arm and teach his brain how to move the muscles.

Even if the surgery is not a success, Bellantoni thinks Sellers has the strength to deal with it.

“It was really, really tough for a long time and still is,” Bellantoni said about the effects of the injury on Sellers. “But he is in a great place mentally; he’s happy, which is the biggest thing. I think he’s accepted it.”

Clint Sellers’ tackle on Illinois’ E.B. Halsey separated the brachial plexus bundle in his right shoulder, which connects the nerves in his arm to the spinal cord. The injury left his arm paralyzed. (Eric Hiltner / The Daily Eastern News)

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