Long Beach teen with spinal cord injury to walk out of hospital – NBC Los Angeles

A 15-year-old Long Beach athlete who suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a diving accident has made a remarkable recovery ahead of the holidays.

Water polo player Sandro Apuzzo was thought to be paralyzed following the July 4 accident. Five months and several surgeries later, he is planning to walk out of the hospital Wednesday surrounded by friends and family members.

The celebration will mark a significant milestone for Sandro, who was with friends at Peninsula Beach when his life changed in a frightening moment during a dive into the water.

“Diving around, splashing with friends,” Sandro said, describing the summer beach day. “I didn’t feel myself hit the bottom, so I just realized I can’t move. I’m just floating here. Why are my arms not moving?”

Sandro suffered burst fractures — caused by force that shatters the vertebral body in multiple pieces — in his lower cervical spine, leaving him immobilized at Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach. The injury severely hindered movement in his left leg and fingers.

During the hospital stay, Sandro said he often thought about his love for water polo. He not only questioned whether he would play the sport again, but whether he would be paralyzed for the rest of his life.

“It was my purpose in life,” he said. “It was what I loved to do.

“At the end of the day, if this is real. That’s not going to happen. I’m not going to end up in a wheelchair the rest of my life.”

His determination fueled two-a-day physical therapy sessions every day except Sundays. He battled vertigo and agonizing hyper-sensitivity.

Spinal cord injuries can alter the way someone feels sensations due to nerve damage and changes to the nervous system.

“Let’s say you have a feather and you put it on your skin, it feels really soft,” Sandro said. “My entire left side of my body from my chest down, if you had put that same feather it would have felt like you stabbed me with a bunch of needles.”

Sandro will continue with therapy and plans to be back on his high school campus in February.

“I feel great, knowing how far I’ve come,” Sandra said. “There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how dim that light is, there’s always a light that shines in there, and there’s always hope.”

A special guest will be part of the celebration when Sandro heads home to continue his recovery — the lifeguard who rescued Sandro from the water.