Friends say local man recovering from Everbank fall

Cuidy Joseph recovering from fall

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man who fell 42 feet from the stands at Everbank Field during the U.S. soccer game last weekend is improving.

Friends and family told Channel 4 Thursday night Cuidy Joseph, who goes by CJ, is still in intensive care at UF Health but that he is awake and talking.

Joseph is a soccer player, whose team laced up without him Thursday night. Joseph is the captain of their indoor soccer team and Thursday night teammates told Channel 4 they were playing for him.

"He's pretty much our MVP, he was our best guy, he would put goals out of anywhere so it's going to be hard without him," said Kwame Ajavon.

BASL soccer photo of Joseph Cuidy

Many of the Panthers Adult Men's Soccer League players have spent the past few days at UF Health visiting their friend.

"I just went to see him actually, I just got back from seeing him and I was kinda shaken up," said Ajavon.

"When I went to the hospital I just stood there, I didn't know what to do, could be me, could be anyone in this room," said Pierre Corneil.

Corneil was at work when his best friend fell from the stands Saturday at Everbank Field.

"He had a lot of materials in his mouth, he couldn't speak, but he heard everything we said to him and smiled, or he would give you a thumbs up to let you know that he heard us," said Pierre.

Joseph is still in critical condition, and friends said he has a shattered pelvis and broken bones, but he does not have a head injury, which they are thankful for. Joseph fell nearly 42 feet from the stadium.

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"When you are falling from that height, you're just really lucky to be alive," Michael Jimenez. "From what I understand he was trying to stand up on the chair, I don't know if it was to see the game better or to take a picture, I have really no idea. CJ isn't the kind of guy to go crazy, I mean he's really just a relaxed guy, always really fun-loving."

Joseph's friends said while they visited him in the hospital he had one thing on his mind -- soccer -- and he asked his friends about the World Cup.

"A couple of days ago he texted a couple of our friends saying, 'Hey, I'm doing better.' We told him, 'We're going to go out and win this for championship, for you,' because the team's getting started with a new season, so we told him we're going to go out and win it for him," said Jimenez.