Doctors at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Grapevine call it ‘miraculous.’
A 15-year-old high school wrestler has just proven just about everyone wrong after suffering a devastating spinal injury.
Angel Hernandez is among four patients invited to BSW’s Grapevine Trauma Survivors Reunion Wednesday to share his story and reconnect with medical staff and first responders.
“I just want to thank all the surgeons and the EMS crews,” said Angel Hernandez in front of the crowd gathered in the lobby of the Grapevine hospital. “To the EMS crew, I want to say thank you for calming me down and being there for me.”
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In a crowd of survivors, Angel stands out, simply by standing up and walking.
On January 11, 2024, the 15-year-old suffered a devastating injury during a high school wrestling match.
“I was dominating,” he said. “I wanted to end the match right there when he got me in a position. I tried to flip out of it, being flashy.”
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The next thing he felt was excruciating pain after being slammed on his head.
“It sounded like when I landed on my head it was like a kaboom sound,” he recalled.
Angel knew immediately something was wrong.
“Just imagine your arm being asleep, everything in your body, you can’t move,” he said. “When I felt that numbness I was like ‘Get up, Angel, power through it’ but when I tried to get up, it broke my heart instantly knowing I lost my sport. That’s the sport I fell in love with.”
He remembers people rushing to his side, EMS were able to stabilize the teen’s injured neck and transported him to BSW Grapevine for Level Two Trauma care.
Dr. Ryan Balogh, MD, was the trauma surgeon on call that evening.
Baylor Neurosurgeon Dr. David Masel, MD, also responded to the emergency.
Balogh and his colleagues discovered the injuries to Angel’s C5-C6 vertebrae, lower neck and upper thoracic spine, a portion of the vertebrae caused injury and bleeding to the spinal cord itself.
The teen would have to undergo emergency surgery to address bleeding around his spinal cord.
They elevated Angel’s blood pressure hoping to prevent further injury then dropped it to allow his spinal cord to receive blood and oxygen.
Doctors were stunned to learn Angel reported having some sensation in his legs before surgery.
They did not want to give Angel’s panicked family false hope.
They feared he would leave the hospital as a paraplegic.
“Given his injuries when he came in, we were fairly confident that he was not going to regain function of his legs whatsoever and our goal was to keep as much function of his arms as we could,” said Balogh. “We were quite convinced that the spinal cord was never going to work below the level of the injury.”
Imagine everyone’s surprise when the teen began moving and walked out of the hospital seven days later.
“It was a jaw-dropping moment,” said Balogh. “Quite miraculously I will say now within a couple days he was up and taking a couple steps.”
Incredible, he says, because of how bad the injury was.
“Horrible is a great way to describe it,” said Balogh. “It’s a devastating injury, especially for a 15-year-old. When we see that type of injury, we don’t see a recovery like this. Talking to a spine surgeon after the fact and telling him that he’s walking and taking steps, he used the word 'miracle' as well.”
Balogh is quick to credit everyone from start to finish and top to bottom for the boy’s incredible recovery, praising the first responders on site.
“Those minutes are critical, and they really matter,” he said.
From nursing staff to the cleaning crew, everyone has a part in this, says Balogh.
As for Angel, this experience has taught him patience.
He looks back at the moments leading up to his injury where he became impatient, ready to end the match.
“It taught me to be more patient and to not judge,” he said. “People are going through tough times and who knows, you could go through tough times.”
He spent two months out of school recovering.
Hospital staff made calls and managed to get Angel accepted at no cost into a Baylor Scott & White rehabilitation center specializing in spinal cord injuries.
The teen is also openly discussing the mental toll the experience caused, saying he often felt as if he’d lost who he was and lost everything he could have in the future.
“How I went from a victim to a survivor, it’s all mentally,” he said. “Say you’re hurt. Just know you could get better by the day and know that people are going through worse.”
Angel received a trauma survivor’s bracelet following Wednesday’s event with the day he was admitted and an engraving reading: Never Give Up.
“No matter what, you’re still you,” he said. “It doesn’t change you at all.”
While Angel would love to return to the sport he loves, doctors are adamant he should not.
For now, the high school freshman dreams of becoming an attorney one day.
