Injured player will rebound fully

A 15-year-old Ocean View High School student who fractured his neck during a basketball tournament in San Diego is expected to make a full recovery.

Erik Arrincon fractured his neck about 10 minutes into a game Oct. 11. Erik underwent two surgeries before he was moved out of intensive care. The sophomore was transferred to Long Beach Memorial’s Miller Children’s Hospital for rehabilitation Tuesday, said Susan Munro, Erik’s mother.

“Erik is a miracle,” Munro said. “The doctors said 99% of people [with the same injury] would not walk again.”

Erik was playing defense for the club team Huntington Beach Rebels when he jumped three or four feet into the air to block an opponent’s shot. The other player was faking and jumped up as Erik was coming down. Mid-air, Erik’s feet got caught on the other player and he fell and hit his head, Munro said.

When he first fell, he couldn’t move at all, but by the time he got to the hospital, he had some feeling back, Munro said.

“We just did not know what the prognosis was,” she said.

Despite the seriousness of the accident, Munro said, Erik handled it like someone beyond his years and even had a sense of humor. After his first surgery, the first thing Erik said to his mother was, “Mom, we should have won that game.”

“He never let any of this get him down,” she said.

Munro said she isn’t sure when Erik will be able to return to school, but Ocean View High School Principal Dan Bryan said the whole school can’t wait for him to come back.

“He’s a good kid and a good athlete, and he is definitely part of our Ocean View family,” Bryan said. “We’re looking forward to having him back.”