After a dive he risked paralysis, the 9-year-old boy now walks

A few days ago he had arrived in Ogliastra with his parents to spend a holiday before returning to Bremen, Germany. A few dives into the crystalline sea of ​​the beach of Porto Frailis bay, in Tortolì. Then the tragedy: an unfortunate entry into the water while playing, a blow to the head on the seabed and the rush to the hospital in Lanusei. Here only the promptness of the rescue and the management of the little 9-year-old patient by the doctors of the Emergency Room of the NS della Mercede, saved the child from tetraplegia, an irreversible paralysis.
Now he is better and has returned to his home in Bremen with his family: he has started walking and does not feel pain, but he will have to continue wearing the collar for a while. But for him and his parents these were days of apprehension. After the treacherous dive, help arrived immediately with volunteers from Bari Sardo who immobilized the child with the collar and spinal board and transported him to the hospital, where a neurological and orthopedic examination were carried out. The little boy was considered a “patient at risk”.
X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging then confirmed the fracture of three cervical vertebrae at the height of the neck. The doctors contacted the Neurosurgery Department of Brotzu in Cagliari: “We spoke to the specialists explaining the case to them – says Oreste Basso, director of the Emergency Room – There was in fact the possibility that the fracture of these vertebrae had to be stabilized with surgery”. Through an innovative image visualization system called Pacs (Picture archiving and communication system, an application that allows you to send an email with a protected link) it was possible to show the results of the tests to the specialists at Brotzu for a real-time remote consultation.
In the end, the health workers decided to keep the little patient in Lanusei, monitored by a dedicated team, while waiting for the arrival from Germany of the doctor from the family’s insurance company who had organized the transport of the bedridden child, first by ambulance to the Olbia airport and from there the flight to Frankfurt. Upon arrival in Bremen, the diagnosis made in Sardinia was confirmed and the child was fitted with another collar.
“We are immensely grateful to you, you were angels”, the parents said to the doctors in Lanusei who acted promptly and effectively, averting paralysis.