Glauber: Kiwanuka thankful for handling of neck injury

It wasn't until he saw Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand suffer a paralyzing neck injury on Saturday at New Meadowlands Stadium, and then watched Lions linebacker Zack Follett lie motionless with a neck injury on the same field the next day, that Mathias Kiwanuka realized just how close he might have been to a similar fate.

The Giants defensive end, who has been out since Week 4 with a herniated disc in his neck, understands how lucky he truly is. He knows it just as easily could have been him.

"When I really sat down and thought that maybe I was a hit away from being paralyzed or never playing again, it makes me thankful we have a medical staff that understood the severity of the situation," he said Thursday. "The first time that I went in there with a complaint, they legitimately saved my career, and possibly could have saved my limbs and my life."

Kiwanuka visited another spine specialist Monday - Robert Watkins of Los Angeles, the doctor who helped treat recently retired linebacker Antonio Pierce - and the opinion was the same as from the doctors he had seen previously: More rest is needed to see if the condition will correct itself and allow Kiwanuka to return this season.

"All we can do is give it some time and go from there," said Kiwanuka, who has visited six specialists to examine his neck. "It's a matter of waiting. [The doctors] are very optimistic that it will heal on its own, but it's just going to take time for that to happen."

I asked Kiwanuka if, in his heart of hearts, he believes he can return before the year is over, and he was adamant. "Absolutely, absolutely," he said. But he also acknowledged it will be weeks, not days, before that time will come.

Or even if that time will come.

Kiwanuka divulged that he may have a condition called spinal stenosis - a narrowing of the spinal canal that can place pressure on the spinal cord or nerves. Many football players have the condition and play with it, although some have been forced to retire because of it. Kiwanuka didn't sound as if he's close to being forced to leave the game, especially because there is no pain now associated with his condition.

"It's frustrating, but the doctors are saying that makes it a little more likely that the situation will heal on its own,'' he said. "It's uplifting and it makes me feel a little better about the situation."

Kiwanuka also is heartened that the 4-2 Giants are doing well in his absence. No mixed emotions, he insists, even though the team's pass rush has been virtually unstoppable while the Giants have won three straight games with him out of the lineup.

"I'm very excited about it," he said. "It puts me in a good mood to know that we're winning, because there's always a chance for me to come back and a chance for us to get a Super Bowl ring. That's where my heart is at."

His heart also is with his fellow players who may face similar situations; Kiwanuka hopes the NFL will raise its awareness of spinal issues the same way it has with concussions.

"I think the league needs to take an initiative to make sure everyone's healthy enough to play," he said. "Everyone's neck hurts after a game because you hit a lot. You may think that it's just a small injury and you don't report it. I just knew that if my neck hurt, I should report it to somebody, and that's the only reason we caught it. I've played through herniations before and I didn't know it, and I'm sure other people have."

Kiwanuka believes all players should be better screened for spinal issues to avoid potentially catastrophic consequences.

"It's unacceptable with all the technology we have for something like this to go undetected," he said. "A lot of players are playing with these injuries, and a lot of these guys are one hit away from paralysis."

Kiwanuka is thankful he's not one of them.