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

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Man shares his recovery from skull crushing injury
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.

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.



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.



Annunziato is not playing softball for now, instead he's golfing and bowling a lot more.



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