ODESSA, Texas — Sitting in the sunny living room of his east Odessa home, Joe Beene is a striking contradiction. His glowing tan skin and brilliant white smile are a picture of youthful health. His words are positive and often spoken in jest.
The 23-year-old Odessan has been paralyzed from the neck down since a Nov. 8, 2000, accident on the football field. Permian High School’s Number 11 broke his neck on the last day of practice of his senior year.
Gary Griffin, former assistant football coach at Permian, was there the day of the accident.
“I was about 10 feet from him when the accident happened,” Griffin said. “I’ve never seen him without a smile on his face.”
Five-and-a-half years after the accident, Beene could be angry or bitter, his mother, Dianne Beene, said. Instead, he is anything but hardened.
“He could have sat back and felt sorry for himself,” Dianne Beene said. “He gives lots of joy, lots of laughter for this family. He doesn’t complain. I’m so blessed.”
Joe Beene leads a full life. He attends classes five days a week at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin where he is a junior majoring in business. An assistant takes notes for him during class.
At home, he turns the pages of books and types one letter at a time on his laptop computer using a mouthpiece.
When he’s not studying for class, Beene studies the Bible to prepare to go into the ministry, he said.
“Right now I’m learning two things — business and the Bible,” he said. “How to walk in faith, trust in God, minister to other people.”
Three times per week Beene goes to Odessa Physical Therapy where he is exercised on a standing table and rides an electro-stimulation bicycle. “I ride a bike 10.9 miles,” he said. “That keeps me in shape.”
The bike works by detecting the signals from electrolytic cells in his legs, Dianne Beene said.
“The electrodes still fire — his muscles are strong,” she said. “He gets a cardio workout and that improves his circulation.”
Dianne Beene said she stays in close contact with a spinal cord specialist in Dallas and with several specialists at the Spinal Cord Injury Program at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo.
“We take an annual trip up to St. Louis to visit the doctors there,” she said. “Right now there’s so much promise for recovery.”
Dianne Beene said the family doesn’t support stem-cell research but is interested in innovations in using a person’s own cells for rejuvenation.
Joe Beene said he fervently believes that God will heal his body.
Beene uses an abdominal diaphragm pacer to breathe during the day. At night he breathes with a Ventilator. Nurses rotate around-the-clock to care for him, Dianne Beene said.
When he’s relaxing at home, Joe Beene likes to sit by a 40,000 gallon pond in the Beenes’ back yard.
The pond was a gift from Pradon Construction & Trucking in 2001 when the owner discovered Joe Beene loves to fish, Dianne Beene said.
In cool weather, he likes to sit in a backyard greenhouse.
“I like being outside,” Joe Beene said. “I don’t care where.”
He often speaks at schools, churches and to community groups.
“Last week I wrote two speeches,” Beene said. “I pray about it and God gives me the words. The generation that’s in high school, they deal with more than any generation ever has. There’s more peer pressure in every area. They need a role model. I try to be an example for Jesus. Something real and tangible.”
Mark Riley, senior pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church where Beene is a member, calls Beene rock solid in his faith.
“Joe has been so positive. I’ve never heard a negative word come out of his mouth from the beginning of this thing,” Riley said. “I’m sure he has his dark days because he’s a human being, but he’s as strong as ever.”
Riley said Odessans have rallied around Beene to support him and to help pay for medical expenses.
“I think Joe just kind of captured people’s hearts with growing up here and being a part of the community,” Riley said.
Gary Gaines, athletic director for ECISD, said Beene is special to the community partly because of his optimism.
“It’s just his attitude. I think Odessa has really opened up their hearts and wallets to Joe,” Gaines said.
I send my prayers to you and your son. I’m going through the same thing. My bestfriend was shot and now he’s paralyzed from the neck down. It’s hard for us, watching him go through the pain.I’m glad that I came across this website. My prayers go out to you and your son. I will be in touch, I would like to get more info on your specialist and find out what type of rehabilitation he’s receiving. Where my friend is they don’t do to much, to me its like they have no faith in him. If possible I hope someone, maybe even your son can give us some advice on how to walk with god trust in him and go about getting help. My friend is 25yrs. old he has a 1yr. old son whom he loves so much and prays to be able to hold him someday. Thank you for taking the time out to even allow me to place a comment. Again, thank you and god bless you and your family.