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Decatur wrestler walking again after paralysis

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A 12-year-old boy from Decatur is walking again after a severe wrestling injury left him paralyzed.

Remy Bultemeier, a sixth grader at Wyneken Memorial Lutheran School, was wrestling in a tournament at Huntington North High School on Dec. 4. Remy and his opponent hit the mat in an awkward position that broke Remy’s back.

“When I talked to him he said, ‘Dad I broke my neck. I can’t move and I can’t feel anything,” Remy’s father, Corbin Bultemeier, explained.

The first thing Remy asked for was a phone call to their pastor for a prayer. Within a half-hour, he was getting feeling back in his toes and fingers and could feel the medics touching him.

“He was amazing in his faith, his strength, never waivered, never cried, never got excited,” his dad said. “In fact, some of the others that had seen some pretty traumatic situations were rather scared just by his calmness and his demeanor and his faith that he had.”

Remy was first sent to Lutheran Hospital. Over his two hours there he gained back more feeling, although a lot of it was painful. An evaluation revealed he had ruptured the ligaments in his vertebrae.

Next, Remy was transferred to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. Monday afternoon, he underwent surgery to fuse his vertebrae C2 – C5. Since then, Remy has been walking slowly but surely.

A Decatur sixth grader is walking again after a severe wrestling injury left him paralyzed.Bultemeier, Remy’s mother. “We just thank God and we’re so happy that he’s so strong with his faith. We’re still in shock about it, really.”

“We’re in awe, especially when a doctor tells you that it’s a miracle, that they don’t understand why his spinal cord wasn’t severed,” said Lisa Bultemeier, Remy’s mother. “We just thank God and we’re so happy that he’s so strong with his faith. We’re still in shock about it, really.”

Remy returned home with his family in Decatur Saturday night. He plans to spend his time resting as his back heals. He has a return visit to the doctor in 4 weeks.

“I just want to thank [everyone] for all their prayers and it’s not just Indiana,” Remy said. “There are people all over the country and we had people in even other countries that are praying for me and followed up on Facebook and stuff like that. They were supporting me and giving me strength through this whole thing.”

Remy believes there’s one reason he is back on his feet.

“It was a complete miracle,” he said. “It was definitely straight from God. God got me through this.”

A GoFundMe campaign has been started to support Remy with medical funds.