Elizabeth Fontana, MD, director of neurosurgery at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, N.Y., operated on 17-year-old Nico Fiorello after a spinal injury in May left him paralyzed, according to NY Daily News.
Here are five things to know:
1. Mr. Fiorello suffered a near-fatal spinal injury that broke all bones in his neck after he dove into a beach that had a hidden sandbar.
2. Dr. Fontana told Mr. Fiorello she didn't know if he would regain motion to walk again.
3. Performing two surgeries, Dr. Fontana implanted a metal plate into the break in his spine. The plate is fused in the back and front of the spine for stabilization.
4. Against odds, Mr. Fiorello walked for the first time, just five weeks post-accident.
5. After receiving her medical degree from Columbia University in New York, Dr. Fontana did a surgery internship and neurosurgery residency at Columbia University-New York Presbyterian hospital. She then completed a brain/spine tumor fellowship at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Issaquah, Wash.