Injured Enriquez undergoes surgery

CEBU, Philippines - Cebuano basketball star Woodrow Enriquez yesterday underwent a cervical spine surgery at the Chong Hua Hospital where he was immediately admitted after suffering a bad fall that left him motionless for a couple of minutes on the floor during their exhibition match against the Alaska Aces the other night at the University of San Carlos (USC)-Main gym.

Pio Solon, the team physical therapist of the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños, said the operation, which lasted for nearly three hours, was highly successful and was done to speed up the recovery of Enriquez from what appears to be a career-ending injury for the spunky playmaker.

According to nurseonline.org, "cervical spine injuries are injuries of the cervical spine and this is very serious because in time of trauma this may cause severe neurologic problem and presence of edema and swelling which may cause loss of spinal cord function. These are the person who had met an accident with head , back and neck injury and keep them immobilized in a hard board stretcher until emergency team gave an emergency management.

But based on his observation, Solon said everything seems fine as Enriquez is conscious and his vital signs are stable.

"We don't want to make this as a 'serious' issue because we don't want him to be a cause of worry for everyone. As of now, we don't know everything. We still have to wait for three days yet. We're hoping everything will be fine," said Solon.

Solon likewise released an official statement by the M. Lhuillier management in relation to the condition of Enriquez. "As of now, Woodrow is recovering from his injury. Several procedures were performed to ascertain the severity of his injury. We are not rushing the recovery process. He is being attended to by very competent medical personnel and the whole team including the team management have extended their all-out support."

In a separate interview, Woodrow's wife Cathy Enriquez said his husband still cannot move the half portion of his body.

"At first, I really did not expect that the extent of his injury would be that serious. I'm happy though that the operation was successful. I'm asking everyone to help us pray for his speedy recovery," appealed a teary-eyed Cathy Enriquez.

Woodrow is confined at Chong Hua's Intermediate Care Unit (ICU).

During their game against the Aces, in which they won via an 88-87 cliffhanger, Enriquez suffered a bad fall after dishing out an off-balanced assist underneath the basket at the 2:23 mark of the third period. He laid flat on the hardcourt for a few minutes before he was whisked away by ERUF personnel on a stretcher to Chong Hua Hospital.

            Inronically, the traumatic incident came one night after Enriquez received a major award for excellence in basketball during the 28th Sportwriters Association of Cebu-San Miguel Beer (SAC-SMB) All-Cebu Sports Awards last Thursday night at Casino Español de Cebu.   (FREEMAN NEWS)