In one indelible instant, Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend saw his career flash before his eyes.
He had just hit Chicago Bears quarterback Kyle Orton at Heinz Field last Sunday when his neck and back went numb. He instantly ripped off his helmet, popped to his feet and struggled to get back to the sideline for medical attention.
Townsend thought the worst.
"It was the scariest thing I've ever been through," he said Wednesday, moments after successfully completing a full practice just three days after his traumatic experience. "It is a feeling that I have never felt before. What was going through my head is that I thought it was over. I was thinking that I was never going to play this game again. That's why we say, 'Play every game like it's your last.' "
On the injury-causing hit, Townsend said he dropped his head at the last minute as he ran into Orton, who threw incomplete.
"(The pain) just went down my back -- all the way down," Townsend said.
He impulsively -- and erroneously -- pulled off his helmet.
"All the boys were telling me that was the wrong thing to do," he said. "Joey (Porter) asked me why the hell did I run off the field, and I told him, 'man, I don't know, that's all I knew what to do is run.' "
When Townsend went to the sideline, teammates surrounded him for support. It was testament to what he means to the Steelers, and it served as a reminder that tomorrow is not promised in the NFL -- or in life.
That's why teammates checked on Townsend constantly in the hours and days following the game. Both a CT scan and MRI proved negative, though Townsend didn't regain feeling in the neck and back area until Tuesday.
"My cell phone was filled with messages, people wishing me the best," Townsend said. "And to have my teammates rally around me like they did just tells you what kind of family we have here."
For wideout Hines Ward, who came into the league with Townsend eight years ago, reality struck like a freight train.
"It's a scary sight," Ward said. "Me and Deshea have been very close, and to see him getting treated by the trainers and then finding out after the game, that everything is going to be all right was good. Him coming out today in practice is a good thing."
Fellow defensive back Chris Hope chided Townsend in the locker room yesterday, and Townsend wouldn't want it any other way.
"This is what makes this locker room so special," he said. "You get your hand broken, and you think to yourself that you're coming back. But to feel that (type of injury), it makes you really appreciate what you have. It gives you a new life.
"From that moment there until right now on, how I feel is a 100 percent different. There is always somebody else worse than you are."
Townsend is listed as questionable with a neck strain for the Steelers' game Sunday at Minnesota, but he feels confident he'll be ready to return to his starting spot.
It is a quantum leap for a player who thought his career was over.
"The doctors say I am good," Townsend said. "It is all getting that muscle back. I have most of it back. I (turned my head) all the way to my shoulder, and I told them it was as far as I could go. They said they know, because if I could go any further, I'd be an owl."
The key for Townsend is to avoid being tentative the next time he steps onto the field. He believes the scary hit last Sunday won't haunt him against the Vikings.
"Not really," he said. "Go out there and hit and tackle. I am just glad to be back out there. I don't worry about that stuff, because if I don't hit, then I won't be out there anyways."
If Towsnend can't start Sunday, he could be replaced by rookie Bryant McFadden, who started in the nickel package two weeks ago against the Bengals, or Ricardo Colclough.
"I'll be ready if they need me," McFadden said. "Deshea looks pretty good, but I'll be ready to go, just in case."
