MATAWAN, New Jersey (WABC) — A fundraiser was held for a high school wrestler who was severely injured during a match last weekend in New Jersey.
Students and parents don’t usually pay an admission fee to see a high school wrestling match, but it wasn’t just any match.
The Old Bridge High School Knights and Lady Knights were on the mat Wednesday night against South Plainfield High School, but while they are squaring off against each other, they were wrestling for one common goal.
The match was a fundraiser for 16-year-old Adriana Maria.
On Saturday, after the Lady Knight was pinned down, the gymnasium was filled with her cries, “I can’t move.”
Maria was unable to feel her arms and legs.
“We were all quiet. We were all silent. We were letting the paramedics do what they immediately needed to do. And immediately prayers, immediately prayers,” said a parent, Ascencion Reyes.
Maria’s spinal cord was displaced, compressing her nerves.
After undergoing neck surgery, she regained some movement in her arms but still can’t move her legs.
She underwent a second surgery on Monday.
Doctors are hopeful. Her coach and teammates say she’s a fighter.
“You have to be passionate about wrestling if you succeed, even if you’re going to stick it out for a season and that’s something that you know she communicated to me often that she loved this word and that’s one thing,” said Maria’s wrestling coach, John Post.
Her friends and family say she’s a vibrant, high-energy student athlete who pours her heart into everything she does.
They say she’s deeply caring, and a bright light to everyone who knows her.
A GoFundMe for her has already raised nearly a $100,000, and that’s not including the money raised Wednesday night.
“Our students are coming in and instead of paying $3, they’re handing us a $20 and handing it all over to Adriana and her family,” Reyes said.
“It’s a big town, 42 square miles, but whenever there’s a tragedy, the town comes together,” Old Bridge Township Mayor Debbie Walker said.
“We love them. We’re praying for them and we can’t wait to see her back her at Old Bridge High School,” School Superintendent Vincent Sasso said.
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