by: Sarah Cody
Posted: May 1, 2025 / 07:26 AM EDT | Updated: May 5, 2025 / 02:08 PM EDT
WALLINGFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — For Alex Figueroa of Meriden, walking slowly with an assistive device through a garden is an incredible experience because there was a time when he thought he’d never be mobile again.
“I fell out of nowhere, not really knowing what was going on, but I ended up breaking my left foot,” the 32-year-old said.
Then he fell once more and lost sensation in both feet, eventually becoming bedridden.
“If your body is talking to you, listen to it,” he said.
On his mother’s suggestion, he ended up at Yale New Haven Hospital where doctors uncovered the problem: a pinched nerve that had fused to his spinal cord, causing stenosis that left him a paraplegic.
“It was extreme depression for me. It was actually hard for me and my family just to get the news that I was paralyzed from the waist down. It was a hard pill to swallow,” Figueroa said.
After surgery, Figueroa went to Gaylord Specialty Healthcare where miracles started to happen, thanks to therapists like Jackie Lavigne.
“In the beginning, he needed three people to stand up,” she said. “My focus was on his daily life skills, making sure he could wash himself, dress himself, use the bathroom, take showers, all those sorts of things.”
“One of the major problems he had was stiffness of the muscles, we call that spasticity, it was really bad,” Dr. David Rosenblum of Gaylord Hospital said.
Figueroa especially loved working with a facility dog named Mandy, who is actually an employee of the hospital, seeing patients every day.
“Mandy brightened my day every single time,” he said.
Figueroa worked hard to improve his mental health. He adopted an incredibly positive attitude and, amazingly, has started to regain movement.
“He has come so far, and we’re very optimistic,” Rosenblum said.
He’s now planning to go back to school, grateful for all the help he’s received, savoring this new lease on life.
Yes, this is my new beginning,” he said.
And listen to this: Figueroa has a goal to someday walk or run a marathon.
Follow Gaylord Specialty Healthcare’s facility dog on Instagram: @facility_dog_mandy