Fifteen-year-old Alessandro Apuzzo of Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, walked out of Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital this week after a severe spinal injury left him temporarily paralyzed in July.
Apuzzo fractured his cervical spine after diving headfirst into a sandbar during the Fourth of July weekend, but four months of rehabilitation led to a dramatic recovery that stunned even his doctors.
“To see all the people who supported me, it’s awesome,” he said, while his father described the progress as “absolutely crazy.”
Dr. Kimberly BeDell noted Apuzzo suffered “three burst fractures of his cervical spine” and “had an incomplete quadriplegia,” crediting his athleticism as a standout water polo player for aiding his recovery.
With another six months of therapy ahead, Apuzzo says he’s hopeful: “I hope to get back to doing what I love… And Happy Thanksgiving.”