{"id":71559,"date":"2025-11-27T02:14:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T02:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/71559\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T02:14:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T02:14:19","slug":"a-new-beginning-long-beach-teen-alessandro-apuzzo-walks-out-of-miller-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/71559\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Beginning: Long Beach teen Alessandro Apuzzo walks out of Miller Hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"

Standout Long Beach water polo athlete Alessandro \u201cSandro\u201d Apuzzo took his first steps out of the Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital with friends, family and hospital staff cheering him on outside the hospital \u2014 just in time for Thanksgiving.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apuzzo walked out with a smile on his face, shaking everyone\u2019s hand who came to support him and cracking jokes as he walked outside the Miller hospital. He was finally headed home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a validation for all that hard work, it\u2019s a testament to his courage and determination,\u201d said Jacqueline Apuzzo, Alessandro\u2019s mother. \u201cIt\u2019s also another stepping stone. He\u2019s going to move on and do more things; it\u2019s a new beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Officers, lifeguards, staff as well as friends and family of Alessandro (Sandro) Apuzzo smile, even some shedding a tear, after seeing him walk outside of Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital on Nov. 26, 2025. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\"Friends and family of Alessandro \u201cSandro\u201d Apuzzo cheered him on while he walked out of Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital on Nov. 26, 2025. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

The 15-year-old Wilson High School student<\/a> was inside the water at Peninsula Beach with friends on the Fourth of July and struck his head on the sandbank while trying to dive. He was rushed to the hospital with a spinal cord injury and multiple burst fractures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jose Santos Loria, Alessandro\u2019s father, said doctors believed Apuzzo\u2019s sports background saved him from being completely paralyzed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is very fortunate because he was an athlete before and that has really helped him moving forward,\u201d said Kimberly BeDell, the Medical Director of Pediatric Rehab and board-certified spinal cord medicine physician. \u201cWe\u2019re fortunate to have seen him come from a quadriplegic with only moving a little bit of his leg to now walking with a walker.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the Fourth of July accident, his friends and present lifeguards quickly responded to get him out of the water and to safety.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI was the first one to see the event and when I saw him struggling in the water, instinct kicked in just because we trained and prepared for this a lot,\u201d said Isabella Shead, who has been a part of the Long Beach Fire Department Lifeguards for four years. \u201cSeeing someone struggle, you don\u2019t really think about it. You just respond before you think about what\u2019s happening, so I started running in and pulled him out immediately.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose the right friends,\u201d Apuzzo said, remembering his friends rushing in to save him. \u201cI have a great inner circle and I would never in one million lifetimes choose another one. I just love my friends a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apuzzo\u2019s sports background more than just saved him from further damage; it pushed him through rehabilitation. The 15-year-old athlete said his injured condition encouraged him to continue progressing.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Long Beach Fire Department Lifeguards who helped him during the July 4th diving accident visit Alessandro (\u201cSandro\u201d) Apuzzo on Nov. 26, 2025 at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\"Alessandro (Sandro) Apuzzo walked up and embraced members of his family and friends throughout the day on Nov. 26, 2026, thanking each of them for coming out to support him at the Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cI always kept in the back of my mind that I don\u2019t want to be in this wheelchair for the rest of my life,\u201d Apuzzo said. \u201cWhenever I\u2019d get tired, I didn\u2019t want to do it anymore, it\u2019s like, \u2018Do you want to be like this for the rest of your life? Do you want to be dependent on people?\u2019 The answer is always no, so I just kept pushing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wiley Haga, a lifeguard for the Long Beach Fire Department, said he grew up alongside the Apuzzo family and played water polo with Apuzzo\u2019s older brother. He said Sandro is the funniest kid ever, and that he always smiles and goofs around.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first visited him in the hospital, what I thought would be a somber and quiet moment, he was immediately energetic, full of life and you couldn\u2019t even tell that he went through this based on his behavior alone,\u201d Haga said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a C-Spine injury can be a devastating one and it can alter your life forever and the progress that he\u2019s made in a relatively short amount of time is nothing short of spectacular,\u201d Haga shared. \u201cSeeing him walk, it brought a tear to my eye. Seeing him like that, words can\u2019t describe it truly. It\u2019s just been an amazing thing to witness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital staff couldn\u2019t help but laugh as Alessandro \u201cSandro\u201d Apuzzo drank some fluids and cracked jokes on Nov. 26, 2025 in Long Beach. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

Apuzzo\u2019s father said the staff at Miller\u2019s helped them see the light with their encouragement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the moment he came to the hospital, the emergency room, the trauma team has continued to follow him,\u201d Jacqueline Apuzzo said. \u201cFrom day to day, there\u2019s just some incredible nursing care staff here on this unit. I think that Alessandro and us as a family really admire their dedication and really appreciate them.<\/p>\n

While there are unknowns about what the future holds for the standout water polo athlete, Apuzzo persists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though it looks like there\u2019s no hope, there\u2019s always a dim light at the end of the tunnel,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s always an end to the journey, there\u2019s always hope for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"After taking a few steps out of the elevator, Alessandro \u201cSandro\u201d Apuzzo couldn\u2019t help but smile as the audience cheered, waving their pom pomps with excitement on Nov. 26, 2025 at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\"Friends, family and employees of the Miller Children\u2019s and Women\u2019s Hospital wait for Alessandro \u201cSandro\u201d Apuzzo to walk out of the corridors as they hold signs and pom poms on Nov. 26, 2025. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\"Alessandro \u201cSandro\u201d Apuzzo smiles and laughs with his friends after the media asked them to find old photos of Apuzzo on Nov. 26, 2025 at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\"Alessandro \u201cSandro\u201d Apuzzo got the chance to talk with his friends about catching up on video games such as \u201cRocket League,\u201d smiling and laughing with them on Nov. 26, 2025 at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\"Alessandro \u201cSandro\u201d Apuzzo walked back into his hospital bed at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital after he was celebrated outside the hospital on Nov. 26, 2025. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"SamuelSamuel ChackoPhotojournalist<\/p>\n

Samuel Chacko is an award-winning photojournalist from Long Beach, California. Samuel currently works as a freelance journalist for multiple publications and he is a class of 2025 Cal State Long Beach graduate. Samuel loves watching sports (the Ravens and the Yankees) and taking photos.
Check out more of Samuel\u2019s work here: https:\/\/samuelchacko.com\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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