Miraculous Recovery after falling 47 floors
A window washer who fell 47 stories from the top of a Manhattan skyscraper is now miraculously awake, talking and expected to walk again. Alcides Moreno, 37, suffered potentially catastrophic injuries when he fell from a scaffolding collapse. The collapse killed his brother. Moreno’s legs, his right arm and wrist were broken in several places. There were severe injuries to his chest, abdomen, spinal column and his brain was bleeding. He may be breathing on his own and able to move his limbs now, but when he arrived at the hospital they were afraid to move him in case it killed him. They performed his first surgery without going to an operating room. He underwent an additional nine orthopedic operations later. For a fall victim Moreno’s injuries were relatively minor and his neurosurgeon said he avoided paralyzing his spinal cord regardless of suffering a shattered vertebra. The hospital where Moreno was treated said that the death rate from just a three-story fall is 50 percent. Those who fall 10 or more stories seldom survive. Alcides Moreno is one of the lucky ones and no one may ever know how he survived. The death rate of falls is concerning and those who do survive will undergo painful and lengthy recoveries. No information is available whether Moreno had insurance or not, but the truth remains that someone will have to pay the bills and it’s doubtful a window washer’s paycheck can cover it.
