11 - JOE BEENE
Permian defensive player Joe Beene was paralyzed on November 8, 2000, while making a routine tackle in the last football practice prior to the Panthers' victory over cross-town rival Odessa High.  He is paralyzed from the neck down as a result of his injury.  Joe was admitted into Odessa Medical Center Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, where the staff put him on a respirator.  He was then air-lifted to Zale Lipshy University Hospital in Dallas.  After a seven hour surgery, the attempt to fuse the C2 vertebrae was a success, though paralysis still existed.  Beene was released from Dallas on November 22, and headed to Houston for therapy and rehab at the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, still listed in critical condition and unable to breathe on his own, so a ventilator machine was still being used to allow him to swallow with more ease and to speak.  Beene continued his physical therapy in Odessa, spending about two hours a day.  He is also enrolled at UTPB and trying to continue his education.

Joe Beene Family Trust | c/o Raymond James & Associates
3800 E. 42nd St.  Suite 330 | Odessa, TX 79762

 

6 - TREY HOWELL
Trey Howell was thrown from his truck in a one-vehicle rollover July 7, 2003 outside of Midland on Highway 191.  This came on the heels of qualifying for the state 7-on-7 tourney, which the team would win.  He was in a coma and listed in critical condition for five months.  He was upgraded to stable and moved to a private room out of the Intensive Care Unit at Zale Lipshy University Hospital.  A battery of tests at the hospital showed Trey was improving.  He would next have a tracheotomy surgery.  Howell made enough progress medically that he was transferred to the rehab unit at Zale (8th Floor).  He is fighting very hard. His determination is evident when the physical therapists tell him to hold his head up and he does! He was trying very hard to communicate with his speech therapist.  It was a year later and Howell was still in Dallas, but he did get to briefly come back to Odessa to graduate with his class.  In 2004, the Howell decided the best therapy for Trey would be to be home around friends and family.  It's been two years since the accident and Trey can depart from his wheelchair for short periods of time.

Trey's Website