Kevin Everett released his first public statement Wednesday since being critically injured by a tackle in the Buffalo Bills' season opener.

Everett confirmed that he's making dramatic progress at Houston's TIRR Hospital.

AP

Kevin Everett

"This week, with the assistance of a walker, I was able to take steps, and I have been able to move in my wheelchair, both of which are great triumphs for me," Everett said in the written statement. "I maintain a positive attitude and feel fortunate every day that I am alive and well.  I value and appreciate the unfailing support of my family, my friends, my doctors, and my fans."

Everett also thanked everyone who has supported him during his recovery.

“I am deeply humbled by all of your support, your thoughts, and your prayers during this trying period in my life," he said. "While the road to recovery is long and hard, I am determined to fight through it each and every day."

“He’s making very solid and noticeable progress,” Eric Armstead, an associate of the player’s agent, Brian Overstreet, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “He’s very excited.”

Armstead regularly visits Everett, who entered the second phase of his recovery process three weeks ago when he was transferred to Houston’s Memorial Hermann Hospital rehabilitation center .

Armstead is most impressed by how Everett has been able to maneuver himself in a wheelchair.

“He can go from point A to B on his feet in a wheelchair. He can go as far as he wants to go,” Armstead said, noting he’s watched Everett wheel himself to the elevator and head outside.  “He’s showing great movement in his legs.”

Everett was hurt making a tackle in the Bills’ season opener against Denver on Sept. 9. He arrived at Buffalo’s Millard Fillmore Hospital paralyzed from the neck down, and doctors initially feared he’d never walk again.

The prognosis changed a few days later when Everett began showing voluntary movement first in his legs and then his hands.

Armstead said Everett is now able to open and close both hands, another significant step after he showed only slight movement in his fingers while spending the first two weeks of his recovery in Buffalo.

There’s still no timetable as to when Everett will be released from hospital and continue his rehab as an outpatient. Everett currently spends about four to five hours a day in physical and occupational therapy sessions.

Everett was transferred to Houston because doctors felt it was important for him to be close to his family and friends. The player makes his offseason home in Houston and grew up in nearby Port Arthur, Texas.

Everett was visited by several Bills teammates during Buffalo’s bye weekend last week. Former teammates, including cornerback Nate Clements, who’s in his first year with San Francisco, have also paid visits.