Father shares recovery from skull crushing injury, reunites with Staten Island doctors

Wednesday, March 24, 2021
STATEN ISLAND, New York (WABC) -- A man who suffered a shattered skull is sharing his story after recovering from a coma and a very intricate surgery.

In November of 2019, 40-year-old Robert Annunziato was playing softball, when he dove for a ball in the outfield and a teammate accidentally kneed him in the head and shattered the left side of his skull.
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Annunziato threw up, lost consciousness and was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital.



Doctors at the hospital discovered Annunziato's skull was in pieces after performing a CAT scan.

Using titanium glue, surgeons were able to piece his skull back together.



"We were able to take the bone fragments and piece them together like a puzzle," neurosurgeon Dr. Ronit Giland said.
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Doctors also treated a hematoma that left Annunziato paralyzed.
After waking up on Thanksgiving, he miraculously started walking after just 14 days of rehabilitation.

"You don't realize sometimes, but it's all put together -- and I say, as long as I can live every day," Annunziato said.
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Annunziato is not playing softball for now, instead he's golfing and bowling a lot more.

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