Detroit Lions Levi Onwuzurike Details Back Injury, Recovery Process

Levi Onwuzurike is working his way back from a back surgery that not many people undergo and then end up successfully playing NFL football. 

After entering the league with elevated promise, the young defensive lineman found his growing back pain debilitating, leaving him unable to have the impact on the field he had expected coming out college. 

"I needed a spinal fusion in my L5-S1. It was pretty simple; the surgery could limit my flexibility and prevent me from playing football ever again," Onwuzurike wrote, in a poignant new series, where Lions players tell their stories in their own way. "There are not a lot of guys who get this surgery and are able to come back to football."

After making the decision to undergo surgery, Onwuzurike understood his second season was going to be spent recovering. 

"The darkest it ever got was when I slipped at my house and fell down the stairs two months after my fusion surgery, which now thinking back on, I find pretty funny," wrote Onwuzurike. "There was no way my story ends with me slipping and falling. After I got up, I texted my doctor in a panic like, ‘Damn, did I just mess everything up?’ But the x-rays were good. My bone scan was fine. The metal and screws weren’t impacted by the fall."

After working his way back and earning a spot on the 53-man roster, the former second-round pick finished his piece with a reflective thought. 

"Always have fun, be positive and enjoy the process. Life is too short to be stressing."