if you save one life it it is as if you save the world
Politi could save many by seeing that Bcg is available at the medical center. All he has to do is see eg pubmed.org faustman DL or for Italians with multiple sclerosis see pubmed.org RISTORI + Bcg
see also faustmanlab.org
BCG IS SAFE, EFFECTIVE AND INEXPENSIVE, EVERYTHING THAT AN INSOLVENT MEDICAL CENTER HATES AS IT PURSUES SAVING ONE LIFE AT A
TIME WHILE MANY SUFFER. NEEDLESSLY.
Seaford teen making remarkable recovery from neck injury in diving accident, surgeon says
In May, Nico Fiorello, a Seaford High School senior, dived into a sand bar at Jones Beach and injured his spine, causing paralysis. On Sept. 2, 2015, at the East Meadow hospital, he and his medical team celebrated because he is now walking, and has regained more motor function than experts had expected. (Credit: News 12 Long Island)
Nico Fiorello's goal is to play defense this spring on the Seaford High School lacrosse team.
His neurosurgeon thinks it's remarkable that the 17-year-old senior is even able to walk.
On May 17, Fiorello dived into a sandbar at Jones Beach and broke a bone in his neck that put him in danger of being paralyzed for life.
He was rushed to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, where Dr. Elizabeth Fontana, director of neurosurgery, performed two operations. The first, done that day, helped relieve pressure on the spinal cord. The second, completed the next day, removed any additional pressure on the spinal cord and helped to stabilize the neck.
On Wednesday, 31/2 months later, he was standing in front a multitude of clicking cameras at a news conference at NUMC to talk about his recovery and his goals for the future.
Nassau University Medical Center's Director of Neurosurgery Elizabeth Fontana says her goodbyes to former patient Nico Fiorello of Seaford, who is sitting with his mother Lorraine, at Nassau University Medical Center following a press conference Wednesday Sept 2, 2015, about the extraordinary progress he made after breaking his neck while diving into the water at Jones Beach May 17, of this year. The Seaford resident suffered severe spinal cord injury going from being a quadriplegic to walking again. Photo Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
All of which, Fontana made clear, was remarkable, given Fiorello's fracture of the C5 vertebra. She said the hospital sees several such neck fractures every month, mostly from motorcycle accidents. The odds of recovering as much as he has in so short a time, she said, "are slim to none."
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"For every Nico, there are 100 who don't make this recovery," she said.
After 11 days in NUMC's pediatric intensive care unit, Fiorello went to Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. There, he underwent physical therapy seven days a week.
Now he can walk with a walker and take some steps unassisted.
Fiorello said that on the day of the accident he was supposed to be working on an English project when friends talked him into going to Jones Beach. He dived into the water but he immediately knew something was wrong when he hit a sandbar and was unable to move, lying facedown in the water. A friend pulled him from the ocean and, luckily for him, a nurse happened to be nearby who stabilized his neck while he waited for an ambulance.
Nassau University Medical Center CEO Dr. Victor Politi right and former patient Nico Fiorello of Seaford are coraled at the Medical Center in East Meadow Wednesday Sept 2, 2015, by cameras following a press conference about the extraordinary progress made by this you man who broke his neck while diving into the water at Jones Beach May 17, of this year. The Seaford resident suffered severe spinal cord injury goes from being a quadriplegic to walking again thanks to neurosurgery performed at Nassau University Medical Center. Photo Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
His mother, Lorraine, said the call telling her of the accident to her only child changed her life forever.
"I grabbed my pocketbook and holy water," she said. "I had no idea what to expect."
She attributed her son's recovery in part to his determination.
"Nico doesn't take no for an answer," she said.
Fiorello said the recovery was frustrating and painful, especially at first. But as he began to be able to move more and more body parts, he was spurred to work harder.
Now he is looking forward to starting his senior year on Thursday and hopes to rejoin his lacrosse team in spring.
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He's also eager to begin the search for college, put on hold because of the accident.
Asked what he wanted to study, he said: "After the accident, occupational or physical therapy."
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