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D’ykri Jackson has aspired to be an engineer since a young age. He pursued that dream as a chemical engineering student at Howard University, where he also excelled on the football field and the track.

Before graduating from West St. John High in Edgard, he led a busy life, participating in relay runs and long jump on the Rams’ track and field team, becoming an inducted member of West St. John’s Beta Club, and maintaining his status as an honor student.

The trajectory of his academic career took a different turn. In his second year at Howard University, Jackson fell from the balcony of his fifth-floor apartment building while trying to elude robbers during an attempted robbery at his apartment.

Jackson had a broken neck, a fractured back, a displaced spine, and the doctor’s initial prognosis stated he was bleeding in the brain. The doctors concluded that he would never be able to walk unaided.

“I remember saying, ‘What’s going to happen?” recalled Jessica Jackson, D’kyri’s mother, who explained the doctor’s diagnosis. “We were told he would never walk again because his spine was out of place.”

“The first thing D’Kyri asked me when he saw me after the accident was, ‘Would I be able to walk again?’ I trusted God even when the doctors said otherwise.”

However, after a long road to recovery, fueled by strength and determination, D’Kyri, now 25, managed to prove everyone wrong, resulting in unexpected slow and painful progress in his recovery. 

After spending six months in the hospital and a couple more months rehabilitating at home under the guidance of his mother, Jessica, who opted not to hire a home nurse for him, D’Kyri regained the use of his left hand. Though D’Kyri had undergone extensive physical therapy, his mother is credited with helping him the most.

“He actually couldn’t use his right hand to write anymore, so he trained himself to use his left,” Jessica said. “ He is now writing with his left hand, and he also started feeling a little sensation in his toes because he fought every single day.”

“I watched him endure unimaginable pain,” she recalled. “He cried, I cried. But we kept pushing.” According to Jessica, the experience was emotionally challenging for both of them, with lots of sleepless nights and physical strain.

At the time, D’Kyri also developed issues with balance and vision. D’Kyri took time off from his studies for medical rehabilitation.  The rehabilitation sessions focused on standing, walking, and moving his hands, which were critical parts of his recovery.

Reflecting on D’Kyri’s experience, Jessica told L’Observateur, “The message I hope people gain from reading his story is that life is beautiful and we should never give up.”

The following fall, D’Kyri returned to school and resumed his studies in chemical engineering at Howard University, determined not to let anything deter him from his dreams. The journey was not smooth, as D’Kyri has also faced the heartbreak of losing his best friend in a tragic car accident. 

“I’m so proud because he defeated the odds,” Jessica said, her voice filled with emotion. “They said he would never walk again, but he’s walking. They also said he couldn’t continue, but he’s graduating and his strength has been inspiring.”

Under the colorfully festooned caps and gowns at the graduation ceremony at Howard University in Washington, D.C, on May 10, D’Kyri’s story will be listed with the soaring stories of scholarship and against-all-odds achievement.

“I can’t wait to see him fulfill his dream,” she said. “He’s going to keep rising.”