Ex-Cuban Boxer Takes Huge Step Toward Recovery
Eliott Rodriguez
Getting out of a wheelchair takes every ounce of energy for Ariel Sigler
Amaya, but the former Cuban political prisoner and one-time heavyweight
boxer is not the type to give up.
Sigler, 46, arrived in Miami July 28 after spending seven years in Cuban
prisons for his opposition to the Castro regime. Paralyzed from the
waist down, Sigler is undergoing his first week of physical therapy at
Jackson Memorial's Rehabilitation Hospital, where doctors are impressed
with his progress.
"What he just did, get out of a wheelchair and into bed on his own is
something that usually takes a patient two to three weeks to learn. He
has done it in two or three days," said physical therapist Pedro Pozzobon.
"Our focus is to make him independent in a wheelchair until we see some
improvement in his legs," said Dr. Jasmine Martinez-Barrizonte.
Sigler told CBS4's Eliott Rodriguez that severe malnutrition in Cuban
prisons led to his paralysis.
"How can a person survive by eating a piece of bread with some warm
sugar water in the morning? For lunch, we got three teaspoons of rice
with some watered down gravy or beans. And for dinner we ate a stew made
out of animal feet and intestines," he said.
The malnutrition nearly killed Sigler. First, he lost feeling in his
legs and eventually became paraplegic. Doctors say Sigler suffered a
spinal cord injury and has no feeling in his legs, but they are seeing
some signs of hope. The fact that he can sense when it's time to go to
the bathroom is one positive sign.
"He has a great attitude which will let him get further in his
rehabilitation," explained Dr. Martinez-Barrizonte. "The injury does not
mean he will not be independent in every aspect of his life."
Sigler is optimistic that he will not remain a prisoner of his wheelchair.
"As far as time goes, I can't tell you it will be one month, two months
or three months. But I will walk again. With better nutrition and
physical therapy I know I will do it. I will be out of this chair and on
my feet."
Sigler was released as part of a deal between Cuba's government and the
island's Roman Catholic Church. He was granted his freedom after the
Cuban government agreed to release 52 dissidents. Some are living in
Spain. Sigler is the first to be released to the United States.
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