BERLIN (AP) - Croatia national team basketball player Matej Mamic
regained some feeling in his legs Sunday after an accident during a
German league game threatened him with lifelong paralysis.
Mamic hit the back of his head on the floor while playing for Alba
Berlin late in a Bundesliga game against TBB Trier on Saturday, damaging
his neck.
Mamic, who lay motionless for minutes, was flown by helicopter from the
arena to a Berlin emergency clinic.
"On Sunday, he moved both legs well, but has trouble moving his arms,"
clinic head Dr. Walter Schaffartzik said. "But we are happy with what we
have - if it would have stayed the same, he would never have been able
to move alone again."
Schaffartzik said the injury probably meant the end of the 30-year-old
forward's basketball career, but he didn't expect Mamic to be confined
to a wheelchair.
"If everything goes well, he will have a normal life," Schaffartzik
said.
Mamic fell on his head after his shot was blocked, but Schaffartzik said
he believed the real damage occurred when he twisted his neck while
still in the air.
The game was stopped with Berlin leading 66-64. Mamic' wife and two of
his three children were in the crowd.
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