March 21, 2008 High-school wrestler overcomes paraplegia, returns to the mat Play video

(NECN) - Nearly a year ago, 16-year-old Donald McNeill was paralyzed in a wrestling match. His family was told to prepare - the All-American athlete could be left a quadriplegic. But don't count the Massachusetts teen out just yet. NECN’s Ally Donnelly shares the steps along Donald’s phenomenal road to recovery to a state championship.

Script:

16-year-old Donald McNeill bears more than 200 pounds of his trainer's weight -- much of it on his neck. The two time All-American has been wrestling since he was 8-years-old.

“I just go out there and I know I’m going to win..”

The Plainville, Massachusetts teen is shy -- a man of few words. But on the mat, his confidence muscles through.

Coach: “He's kind of amazing. One of the most committed kids to wrestling I’ve ever had.”

Now a junior at King Philip High in Wrentham, the 16-year-old hit a personal best last year. At just fifteen, he was one of the top ten wrestlers for his weight in the country. So it was no surprise when a team out of Connecticut called --- asking him to wrestle in a special tournament in Virginia last Memorial Day weekend.

“It was very different from what I do, when I wrestle, during the season.”

It was Greco-Roman wrestling --- Olympic-style -- against a team from North Carolina.

“I knew they were good, and I knew the kid I was facing was good.”

Donald's family was cheering him on, he was 6-0. It was the final match

of the day with 15, maybe 20 seconds left. Donald was on all fours, the other wrestler -- a hulking senior was standing -- bent down with his hands clasped around Donald’s chest.

“He was locking around my waist. Like right up here, he was locked up and he just...”

Andy McNeill: “Donald was actually up over the guy's head, so it was like shoulder height.”

He was struggling to maintain some balance...

Andy: “Once he got up there, it was just a bad feeling.”

Betsy: “I was very, very scared. I had no idea what was going on..”

In an instant, the other wrestler threw Donald to the ground. His neck twisting horribly.

“I just let out a scream...”

“I heard Andy, go, ‘oh, no.’ And at that moment, everything just kind of stopped.”

Donald was rushed to a local hospital. He had a broken neck and a serious spinal cord injury. He was in surgery for five hours.

“I couldn't move and I was scared.”

Medical staff warned the McNeill’s their son, now paralyzed, might never walk again. In recovery, a nurse used words like paraplegic, quadriplegic...all in front of Donald. His mother saw the terror in her son's eyes.

“Those are hard words for all of us to hear, but when we realized what it did to him, it made it even worse.”

Donald could only slightly move some fingers and toes, but little else.

“When we airlifted him to Boston, it was on a board.”

“It's very scary. It's nothing like anyone can imagine going through.”

He was brought to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston.

“He was not able to stand, not able to feed himself, dependent for all of his usual daily care.”

Dr. Kevin O’Connor would lead his care team.

Betsy: “He was the first real positive voice we heard through the whole thing, wasn't he? Don't you think? Without a doubt, he was the first one to say ‘yes.’”

Yes, that their son would one day walk out of Spaulding. It would take serious commitment and hard work, but because he was an athlete, Donald’s body was primed for rehab.

“Each day, I got like more movement and I got a little bit stronger and stuff.”

As the weeks and months of grueling physical therapy went by, Donald had a singular focus, it was to walk again, but more as a means to an end. His primary goal was to wrestle.

“I knew I was going to get through it and I was going to be alright.”

He was alright. O’Connor says full recovery happens less than one percent of the time after an injury as severe as Donald’s but the teen was that exception.

“Our goal between us, was that he was going to be stronger than before the accident, that he was going to come out of this stronger than before the accident and he is.”

Walte Laskey is Donald’s former coach and was instrumental in getting the teen back on his feet.

With his twin brother Ian at his side, Donald spent countless hours at World Gym with Laskey. At first, Donald couldn't even lift five pounds, but one day he did a push up.

“Knowing Donald, and knowing what he could do before and now, it just, it really didn't seem like a lot, but I knew it was a lot.”

Less then a year after the injury, Donald was back on the mat. His first match was one of the last tournaments of the season.

Donald: “I was just excited and nervous and everything -- I just didn't know how it was going to go over.”

Though he hadn't wrestled all season -- Donald pinned his men and won sectionals.

“Everyone in the stands was chanting Donald’s name. It was scary, awesome, the crowd's going crazy -- unbelievable.”

Donald went on to win State -- Division 2 and ranked fourth in the All-State's tournament. Despite the fact that he had been paralyzed just nine months earlier, he is the sixth ranked wrestler in his class in New England.

Donald: “I don't know, it's hard to explain, it's like nothing else, and it’s exhilarating.”

His mom still averts her eyes at matches. Waiting for word that he's okay.

Mom: “There's no comfort level like there once was, but you can see in your child that you learn from, you can see things in your child that you're just so unbelievably proud of.”

Donald says he plans to go to college when he finishes high school next year. He isn’t sure where just yet, but says school must have a wrestling program.