Melbourne forward Brody Mihocek revealed he thought he may never walk again shortly after injuring his neck in the King's Birthday clash against Collingwood.
Mihocek was tackled by former teammate Billy Frampton, landing on his neck and immediately signalling that something was wrong.
The Demons recruit will remain in a neck brace for the next six weeks, but has been ruled out of any return this season, as the priority remains on recovering from the scary incident.
"I'm feeling a lot better, and the support's been amazing, I've had a lot of very kind messages from a lot of people," Mihocek told the club's website.
"I'm still obviously coming to terms with the injury. I like to think it's just another football injury, but it is pretty unique.
"To think of what could have been, I'm pretty thankful to just be up and walking and talking.
"When the feeling wasn't there, obviously your thoughts go to – 'I'm not going to be able to walk for the rest of my life'.
"I think I played out scenarios in my head pretty quickly of what life would be like, and what life would be like with a family as well.
"It's funny how quickly you can think of things in those moments, but on the day, everyone was pretty calm, and I think I tried to stay calm as well for everyone around me.
"It would have been pretty traumatising for a few. I think I held myself together pretty well, though."
Mihocek is hoping to provide support to his new club after the "daunting" injury, who are vying for a return to finals under new coach Steven King.
"I'm in the brace for six weeks, and then I think after that, another six weeks of pretty minimal movement," Mihocek said.
"When you're a full-time athlete, and then you get that all taken away, it can be pretty daunting, but just little things I can do – I reckon I can start ticking off a few rehab things – getting back and trying to get involved with the team.
"The back half of the year gets pretty hard, so if I can be around and add a bit of support here and there, try and help the forward line as much as I can.
"Just to be around the club, it'll help with my mental state, and I know the guys appreciate what I can bring to the team as well, so I'll just be in and around the club and trying to do my best."
