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{shortcode-be29865d8a9c7908fa05930b7f2d42574eaa573c}t was the first game of Alabama all-state defensive back Ben Abercrombie’s Harvard football career — a season opener in September 2017 against Rhode Island. Two minutes into the second quarter, he went for a routine tackle on the sidelines. Then, everything went still.

“I kind of knew when I was laying on the ground,” Abercrombie said. “It was just different than any other hit I’d ever had.”

His teammates huddled around for several minutes as medical personnel tended to him. Moments later, he was placed on a stretcher and rushed to a nearby hospital, undergoing an immediate cervical surgery.

The injury — a spinal cord trauma at the C3-C4 vertebrae — left him paralyzed from the neck down. Doctors told him he would likely never walk or breathe on his own again.

But Abercrombie didn’t listen to the predictions, spending years in physical therapy in order to make incremental recoveries. “I kept telling myself and everybody else that I was going to be back up by the summer. Obviously, it’s been a lot longer than that,” he said.

This May, nearly eight years after that game, Abercrombie will celebrate another feat at Harvard’s Commencement, graduating with his degree in Economics.

“Ben’s path to Commencement has been unlike any other student’s in Harvard history,” wrote Bob Glatz, executive director of the Varsity Club. “And I doubt anyone has ever worked harder for their Harvard diploma.”

“It’s been a really long, long road,” Abercrombie said. “It’s just kind of surreal that it’s finally coming to an end.”

The road has been anything but typical. Day-to-day life involves respiratory therapy, rehabilitation exercises, and technology-assisted mobility. Abercrombie has regained slight movement in his hands, uses a diaphragmatic pacer that assists with breathing through 18 pulses per minute, and trains with a functional electrical stimulation bike to stimulate muscle function. His progress since 2017 has reflected consistent dedication.

Every Friday since 2019, Abercrombie makes the 50 mile round trip to Journey Forward, a nonprofit organization in Canton, Mass. dedicated to rehabilitating people with spinal cord injuries. There, Abercrombie is hooked up to a harness called a locomotor — functioning as a supportive exoskeleton — that allows him to practice standing. With the staff’s assistance, Abercrombie then uses the body weight support to relearn how to walk on a treadmill.

Through it all, Abercrombie says the support systems around him — both in Cambridge and back home in Alabama — have made the difference.

“The support from back home’s been great,” he said. “Up here, support’s been incredible — with all the fundraisers and all the just general things that the faculty and staff does.”

One of the most enduring examples of that support is El Jefe’s Taqueria, a popular Harvard Square eatery beloved by undergraduates. Since Abercrombie’s injury, El Jefe’s has hosted an annual “Ben Abercrombie Day” to raise funds for his medical transport, physical therapy, and equipment needs.

This year marked the seventh edition of the fundraiser as Abercrombie prepares to graduate.

“What Ben has accomplished over his years at Harvard is nothing short of extraordinary in so many ways,” wrote John Schall, owner of El Jefe’s.

Among those who witnessed his journey closely are Faculty Deans Kiran Gajwani and Stephen Chong of Winthrop House, where Abercrombie has lived with his parents since 2019 in a specially modified suite. They described him as a constant source of inspiration.

“It has been a joy, honor, and inspiration to get to know Ben over the last five years we’ve been in Winthrop House,” they wrote. “Nearly everything is more challenging and takes more time for Ben — but you would never know it from his attitude and character.”

Gajwani and Chong described Abercrombie as a student who, despite every obstacle, threw himself into his studies with passion and positivity.

“He genuinely enjoys his classes,” they wrote. “He loves learning about history and finance, he loves courses with interesting readings; he has a sweetness and appreciation for everything.”

Abercrombie’s presence has remained a fixture in the Harvard football program. His former teammates honored him by establishing the “Badger Award,” given each year to the player who best exemplifies his tenacity and spirit.

For Harvard football coach Andrew Aurich, Abercrombie’s journey is the definition of resilience.

“He’s the greatest example of mental toughness that I could show to the players,” Aurich said. “Because you want to talk about having to focus when you have all this stuff happening in your life — and now he’s doing his rehab, he’s going to school, and he’s going to graduate from Harvard. That’s a lot to overcome.”

Aurich said he sees Abercrombie as a lasting figure within the program. “He’ll be a guy that we'll be able to talk about for a very long time here as a great example to the guys of what our culture is all about.”

Shortly after his injury, the Harvard Varsity Club established the Abercrombie Fund — a community-supported endowment that continues to help his family manage the ongoing costs of medical care and travel.

And at the heart of the path were his parents, Marty and Sherri Abercrombie. In 2019, Abercrombie returned to Harvard, moving into the modified suite in Winthrop with his parents, who left Alabama to help support him.

“My parents sacrifice a lot for me now that I’m injured,” Abercrombie said. “They sacrificed a lot for me before, but now it’s just I couldn’t do anything without them really.”

“Just them coming up and staying in a small dorm room for the majority of the year since 2019 shows how much they care for me,” he added.

Now, with graduation on the horizon, Abercrombie is preparing for his next chapter.

“I’ve always wanted to go into financial management after college,” he said. “I’ve been blessed with getting a job at Wells Fargo, for wealth management.”

Abercrombie will return to Alabama after Commencement to begin that role and continue rehabilitation. “I’m just really thankful for just everybody just being behind me,” he said.

“I know it's a long road. I know eventually I'll be up again,” he said.

When asked if he had any advice for others facing hardship, Abercrombie’s answer came without pause.

“Hard work always pays off,” he said. “No matter how hard it is, if you keep pushing, you’ll eventually get through it.”

—Staff writer Praveen Kumar can be reached at praveen.kumar@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Saketh Sundar can be reached at saketh.sundar@thecrimson.com.