Columbia High School wrestling coach Matt Cox was recovering at Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland earlier this week, after undergoing six hours of surgery Sunday.
Cox injured the fourth and fifth vertebra of his neck Friday afternoon during wrestling practice at CHS. A Skyline Ambulance transported him to OHSU later that day for more intensive medical treatment.
Cox, in his fifth year with the program, is the only head wrestling coach CHS has had since the program began in 1998.
According to CHS athletic director Howard Kreps, Cox and one of his wrestlers were demonstrating a routine wrestling move prior to the injury.
"It was a fluke, as most accidents are," Kreps said. "Either Matt slipped, or he tripped, and took a tumble to the mat and landed on his neck."
Wrestlers, adult volunteers and CHS boys basketball coach Steve Larsen did what they could for Cox until Skyline emergency medical personnel arrived and took over.
"According to the doctors at OHSU, everybody did the right thing and to a tee," Kreps noted. "Bad as it was, it could have been a lot more devastating."
OHSU surgeons used a bone graft from Cox's hip to fuse together his fourth and fifth vertebra (the latter of which was pressing into the spinal cord) "back to where they're supposed to be," CHS's AD said.
More good news about Cox's condition came Tuesday. Kreps said Cox got out of bed and took a short walk on Monday. If all continues to go well, he added, Cox could be discharged and home as early as Thursday."I have no idea how long the recovery will take, but he should make a full recovery," he added.
In the meantime, with CHS's first wrestling match just over a week away, Kreps is scrambling to hire an interim coach.
"I'm in the process of talking to some people who might be interested in the position, but I've already had four people turn me down. At this point, I don't know who it's going to be or how long the 'interim' is going to last," he said.
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