Inside Grand Casino Arena, at the start of another Minnesota Wild season, one fan got a special welcome back to the state of hockey.

"It feels amazing," said Jackson Drum. 

Drum is an 18-year-old from Alexandria, Minnesota, and spent nine months away from the rink after a life-changing spinal cord injury. 

"He broke the C1 and C2 which is at the top of your spinal cord," explained his mom, Erica Drum. "He wasn't supposed to have any movement or be able to breathe or drink or anything."

Erica has been right by her son's side ever since he was injured on the ice playing prep school hockey during a game in Canada. 

She says her son wouldn't accept his prognosis. 

"I just believed in myself, I believed in God," said Jackson, adding faith has played a big part in his journey. 

"When we told him he was paralyzed in Canada, he was like, 'I am not going to be paralyzed,'" Erica said. 

Jackson spent about eight months in Atlanta, Georgia, at Shepard Center, a rehab facility. There, he got off a ventilator and did therapy.

"He wasn't supposed to get off the ventilator, then he got off the ventilator. Then he wasn't supposed to be off a feeding tube and then he got off a feeding tube," Erica said. "It's so unexpected that it's just like a miracle." 

After months of rehab, Jackson and Erica returned home to Minnesota. It wasn't long before they were back at the rink. 

"No time wasted, my coach came with me," Jackson said of his Saturday trip to visit his teammates in Blaine, Minnesota. "I love seeing my team play, saw some of the returners. They all heard about my story, and they were so happy to see me."

While he still has more rehab in the future, and a growing list of goals, Jackson wants to inspire others to beat the odds. 

"I really want to show that there's hope for anyone with a spinal cord injury," Jackson said. "I would say always trust in the Lord with your heart and anything is possible."

The Drum family shares updates on Jackson's rehab on Facebook.