On his way home after an evening with friends, Alvaro lost control of his car causing it to flip six times.
“I blacked out. I just don’t remember anymore,” he said. “Everyone was ejected from the car and I was found face down, bleeding from my nose, mouth and ears, and gasping for air.”
Once at the hospital, Alvaro was diagnosed with a spinal cord injury, in addition to a punctured lung, broken scapula, broken ribs, and facial fractures.
He was in a coma for a week — all the while his family was searching for him. After going to all El Paso hospitals, they found one that had a male patient around his age. When it was finally confirmed to be Alvaro, his mother never left his side.
“The hospital told my family I might not make it, or if I did, I’d be a vegetable. They were in disbelief,” he explained. “I remember waking up in the hospital and hearing the machines beeping and myself breathing on the machine. Once I woke up, it was decided to move me to another hospital.”
After three weeks at the trauma hospital, Alvaro was flown to Houston to receive therapy at Nexus Children’s Hospital in the Rise Program. As a quadriplegic with acute hypoxic respiratory failure due to the spinal cord injury, he wasn’t able to move his upper and lower limbs and was on a ventilator.
He said, “When I first got there, I couldn’t do much, but I started making progress right away.”
“I went from being told I wouldn’t walk again or do things on my own to where I am today because of Nexus,” said Alvaro. “They started by weaning me off the trach. Every time they’d take it off I’d push myself to keep it off a little bit more every time. Then we focused on eating. I started swallowing medications first, then the first real foods, and today I’m eating regularly.”
He also mentioned the therapy at Nexus was amazing — along with the staff. Occupational therapist, David Layfield said, “Alvaro was focused on walking again, and would tell me he was confident he would, and then he did. He never gave up and always worked hard.”
Although the road ahead was uncertain, Alvaro remained positive, making friends and cracking jokes — but most importantly, always keeping his head up.
“Now that I’m home, my next goal is standing up on my own. I need assistance right now, but eventually, I’m going to get there and walk again,” he said. “Nexus really helped me get where I am today. They wanted me to do good and helped my body get stronger while I kept my mind strong.”
