- Auburn gymnast Samantha Cerio shattered both of her legs and knees after a devastating fall during a competition on Friday.
- Samantha had surgery yesterday with Dr. James Andrews, which reportedly lasted two and a half hours.
- Auburn gymnastics head coach Jeff Graba said on Twitter that Samantha is expected to make “a complete recovery.”
Samantha Cerio, the Auburn University gymnast who gruesomely broke both of her legs and dislocated both knees during a gymnastics competition on Friday, is expected to make a full recovery after a successful surgery.
This morning on Twitter, Auburn gymnastics head coach Jeff Graba wrote, “Sam’s surgery lasted two and a half hours and was an extreme success. We know the road for full healing is going to be a long and difficult one, but we are confident that she’ll be able to make a complete recovery.”
Jeff Graba Twitter
Orthopedic surgeon James Andrews, MD, reportedly operated on Samantha’s knees, which she broke trying to land a handspring double front, per ESPN. Dr. Andrews is a founding member of Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center in nearby Birmingham, Alabama, and cofounder of the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI), “a nonprofit institute dedicated to injury prevention, education, and research in orthopedic and sports medicine,” according to his clinic’s bio. His description says he specializes in the elbow, knee, and shoulder…but after repairing both of Samantha’s knees in just a few hours, “specialize” sounds like an understatement.
Samantha knows that her days of a gymnast are behind her, as she posted on her Instagram Sunday: “Friday night was my final night as a gymnast. After 18 years I am hanging up my grips and leaving the chalk behind.” But the fact that she’ll make a full recovery—meaning she should be able to walk again—is worth a standing ovation in itself.
As a senior, Samantha will graduate from Auburn in May with a degree in aerospace engineering, which she’ll bring with her to her already-lined-up job at Boeing in Seattle.
It sounds like things are looking up for her bright soul.
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