Old Bridge High school wrestler walking again after suffering spinal injury during match
· Yahoo Sports
A high school wrestler from Old Bridge, New Jersey, who was left paralyzed after a devastating spinal injury during a match, is now defying the odds.
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Adriana Maria is back on her feet and walking again after weeks of surgery and grueling rehabilitation.
"One day you're up and walking and doing great, and the next you can't really move," said student athlete Adriana Maria.
Maria is back on her feet with the help of a walker, in a triumphant return to Old Bridge High School on Thursday.
The student athlete displaced her spinal cord during a wrestling match against Perth Amboy on Jan. 31.
"She did a routine takedown on me and a routine armbar, and when I tried to get out of it from being pinned, I felt pain in my neck," she said. "And when I tried to call injury time, I realized I couldn't move."
Her athletic trainer provided support until first responders arrived.
"When you suspect a neck injury like this, you do what we call hold c spine, where I'm literally, holding, you know, her head is here, and I'm holding her head between my arms, so that she doesn't move," said athletic trainer Jane Maline.
Maria had to have two neck surgeries, and after about six weeks in the hospital, she finally returned home. The Old Bridge community has been behind her every step of the way, raising money at home games and online.
A GoFundMe page has raised more than $135,000 for Maria's recovery.
"It just really let me know that no matter what the outcome was, that I would always have people there for me," Maria said.
She still needs therapy a few times a week, and is attending half-day classes right now, but her future is bright.
The 16-year-old shared what she's looking forward to now.
"Getting back to wrestling," she said. "The losing feeling isn't as great, but the winning feeling, it just brings something out, especially in me."
Her grit is relentless.
"The whole time that this has been going on, she's never let it take her down," Maline said.
Maria is reframing what victory looks like on and off the mat.
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