Th e Corey Borner Story

The Corey Borner Story

A Motivational Story

Corey Borner is a native of Texas. He was born in Dallas, Texas and his family moved to DeSoto, Texas when he was in the 5th grade. DeSoto is a suburb right outside of Dallas, Texas; approximately 16 miles from Dallas. Corey has always been active in sports, especially football. He played the defensive position of cornerback. Corey graduated from DeSoto high school in 2011, and after that he attended Cedar Valley College to further his education. He majored in social arts and graduated in 2017. Corey is now attending University of North Texas (UNT) of Dallas and will graduate this fall. In his spare time outside of class, he is a motivational speaker and he is also a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated. On May 6, 2009, Corey Borner was 16 years old going into his sophomore year at DeSoto High School, he was injured at football practice and suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed. It was just another normal spring day when he left home to go to football practice. He told his mom that he was leaving and would be back later. Corey arrived at practice and everything was going well. After a while he told his coach that he wanted to play, so the coach put him in. A play was called and the receiver caught the ball. Corey ran toward the receiver with his head down, but his head was down a little too low. When he and the receiver made contact Corey fell down and immediately he realized that he could not move anything from the neck down. Corey’s teammates were standing over him congratulating him on a good hit not realizing what had happened. He said no matter how hard he tried to get up he just could not move. Corey was rushed to a local hospital and had to have

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surgery. His surgery took about nine hours and when he woke up he saw his picture on the news. Corey did not know what was going on or why he was on TV. When the doctor came in to talk to him, Corey was told that he suffered a C-5 and C-6 spinal cord injury. He was not prepared or ready to accept that knowledge, and it took him a full year to accept the fact that he would be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. After Corey’s surgery, he had people like Deon Sanders and other professional athletes that stopped by to visit, motivating and encouraging him. After quite a few therapy sessions Corey was ready to go back to school, but his family wanted him to home school. Corey did not want to home school and was determined to get back into the classroom. After Corey’s graduation DeSoto High School decided to retire his football jersey (#24) in 2013. Corey believes God has a plan for everyone. Even though Corey was only 16 years old when his life changing injury happened and he never got the opportunity to do the things that he loved to do. Corey still believed that God had a plan for him and he grew to learn and accept his new life changes. When Corey’s injury happened, he was wondering what his plan B was going to be. Ellis Hobs and Tim Brown asked him how much was he worth? So, Corey turned to God and asked, “What do you have planned for me now? Since my football career is gone. Is motivational speaking my new calling?” So in 2010, Corey started publicly speaking and really began to get serious with it by 2012. That same year he started taking classes to better prepare for his new path. He wanted to let people know not to give up just because you are in a wheelchair. He also wanted to tell people that there is still life and hope in everything you do. In 2009, a lady named Pam Deborde who was the athletic director at DeSoto High school ordered some wristbands for Corey. She surprised Corey with black and white wristbands that said little Corey, it had his jersey number on it, and the words “Find A Way” on it. After receiving that gift it pushed Corey to keep going. It also makes Corey feel good because his wristbands are encouraging people and the wristbands

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