Saturday, January 28, 2012

West Point amputee gymnast returns to competition

Army's Avelino overcomes amputation

Gymnast injured in 2010 accident

Army's Andrew Avelino raises his arms after competing on the high bar at the 2012 West Poin Gymnastic Open at Christl Arena on Friday, Jan. 27, 2012.TOM BUSHEY/Times Herald-Record

By Ken McMillan


Times Herald-Record
Published: 2:00 AM - 01/28/12
WEST POINT — Gymnastics has changed Andrew Avelino in a way no one could have imagined.

A freak accident during a training session in the fall of 2010 damaged his knee in such a way that it cut off blood supply to the lower part of his right leg and eventually required an amputation. Even in the worst days that followed, Avelino was determined to return to West Point and the Army gymnastics team.

In the amputee community, Avelino's procedure is considered "a paper cut,'' he said. That's because he still has five or six inches of his leg remaining below his knee and with a sufficient prosthetic and proper rehabilitation Avelino could resume a normal life.

That wasn't enough for Avelino — he wanted to return to gymnastics, and his doctors and therapists at Walter Reed Hospital were confident that he could.
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