Seaford teen paralyzed in swimming accident walks again

A Seaford teen has made what doctors are calling a miraculous recovery after he was paralyzed in a swimming accident. After months of rehabilitation, Nico Fiorello is walking again. He was injured

News 12 Staff

Sep 3, 2015, 2:52 AM

Updated 3,249 days ago

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A Seaford teen has made what doctors are calling a miraculous recovery after he was paralyzed in a swimming accident.
After months of rehabilitation, Nico Fiorello is walking again.
He was injured after he dove into the water at Jones Beach in May and struck a sandbar.
"I was just telling myself to move my toe. I couldn't move anything, like nothing was happening. I didn't know what was happening," says Fiorello.
Doctors at Nassau University Medical Center say Fiorello had spinal injuries along with broken bones in his neck.
Dr. Elizabeth Fontana, of NUMC neurosurgery, says that the probability of someone being able to walk after his accident was about 10 percent.
"I actually think he's going to be essentially normal and the odds of that happening are really slim to none," says Fontana.
Fiorello's mother credits her son's strong perseverance for being able to walk out of the hospital only a few months after the accident.
Fiorello, 17, will begin his senior year at Seaford High School Thursday.


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