After a horrific accident that left him unable to move his arms or legs, Argentine swimmer Matías Bottoni has successfully gone through the first stage in what will be a lengthy recovery process.
Bottoni, 17, dove into the warm-up pool and immediately collided with another swimmer at the Argentine Championships on Saturday, resulting in him fracturing his cervical vertebrae.
On Monday, Bottoni underwent a near four-hour operation at the Italian Hospital in Buenos Aires, having had to travel there from Rosario following the accident due to the local hospital being unable to perform the necessary surgery, according to Rosario 3.
“We were able to see him for a little while,” Bottoni’s father, Luciano, said in an interview (translated) with De Boca en Boca (Radio 2), according to Rosario 3.
“He was in surgery for four hours, intubated and sedated. When we came in, he opened his eyes and responded to our voices. Today, Tuesday, they’re going to start waking him up and extubating him, so he’ll be able to start talking.
“This was the first operation. The road ahead is very long, and we’re hopeful he’ll be able to move his arms, but the doctor didn’t give us any hope for his lower limbs. The first night, Mati’s report was critical, and he almost died twice. At Fleni, when they saw the injury, the neurosurgeon said she hadn’t seen such a significant injury in a long time.”
The family managed to raise the 60 million Argentine pesos ($53,000 USD) to help cover the initial medical expenses.
“We want to thank everyone who joined. It’s amazing how far we’ve spread the word,” Luciano said, noting that he only notified one teammate of his son’s about the need for donations before word spread quickly.
“It’s not that Mati doesn’t need more help, but we wanted to slow things down because I don’t want them to think we’re just raising money and taking advantage. It’s everything for Matías; it’s not just the medical aspect, it’s adaptation, mobility, and everything else that he’ll need in the long term.”
Luciano also said calls to the family’s health insurance company went unanswered on the day of the accident, leading Bottoni to be admitted to Santojanni Hospital in Rosario where he couldn’t have the required surgery and “vital hours were lost.”
“Ospac is a social welfare organization for the province of Santa Fe, and you can only contact them Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 1 pm.” Luciano said. “If you’re more than 100 km from Rosario, you have to contact a Universal Assistant. When we were coming to Buenos Aires, my wife contacted us and they told her that because it was a sporting event, they wouldn’t cover it.
“I wasn’t able to contact Ospac until Monday, and this happened on Saturday. I’m not angry, but it makes you rethink that if something happens to you at two in the morning, there has to be an emergency number you can call. If the operation had been done within 24 hours, things could have been different.”
Luciano reiterated that the road ahead is a long one.
“This is probably the first of several surgeries, and they’re telling me he’ll have to recover for two years in Buenos Aires.”
Prayers for him and family.
Such a horrific scenario possibly made much worse by the health insurance company’s inaction.
I really hope that a small silver lining of this very gray cloud will be more awareness of the dangers of diving into a warm-up pool.
Prayers up! Glad to hear he has started the recovery process. Hope he can get back in the pool in no time.