Old Bridge Teen Girl Who Was Paralyzed In Wrestling Match Is Walking Again, And Back At School

OLD BRIDGE, NJ — The Old Bridge teenage girl who dislocated her spine in a wrestling match this winter — and who doctors and school officials feared would never walk again — is now back at school. And walking.

Adriana Maria, 16, returned to classes at Old Bridge High School last week.

She only needs a walker to help her get around, and she gets help from her friends and fellow teammates on the girls' wrestling team.

"The surgeons told my mom that after my surgeries, I probably would only be able to move my arms," she told News 12 this week. "I told them I'm going to walk out of here."

See this video of Maria smiling, laughing and walking the halls of Old Bridge High School last week, with the help of a friend.

In late January, Maria was critically injured in a wrestling match. It happened during a girls' wrestling match against Perth Amboy High School, and Maria was pinned to the mat by a Perth Amboy teenage girl in what coaches say was a normal, routine wrestling move. The other girl was not issued any penalties.

Maria, a high school junior, said she felt a sudden and extreme pain in her neck, and she was suddenly unable to move her arms or legs. She was unable to get up off the mat.

After being taken out of the Old Bridge High School gym on a backboard, Maria was hospitalized at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for several weeks, where she underwent multiple surgeries on her cervical spine (the spine in her neck). The vertebrae in her spinal cord at C4, C5 and C6 had been displaced, which caused her to lose the ability to move her arms or legs, said Old Bridge High School wrestling head coach John Post. Even after two surgeries, she still only had limited movement in her arms, and doctors feared she would never walk again.

Still, Maria somehow defied the odds. Not only is she back to walking, she says she even plans to return to wrestling.

"It’s a true miracle," said Old Bridge school superintendent Vincent Sasso.

A GoFundMe was launched for the girl, and Sasso said he was authorized to share it with the media: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sup...

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