Wounded Warrior Fighting For Innovative Surgery

September 16, 2010

His latest battle is for the Army to approve his request to get leading-edge surgery developed by a doctor in Portugal. The procedure takes nerve cells from a person’s nose and transplants them to the injured spine. It is not an approved procedure in the United States, according to military officials.

Romy and his wife, Gabriela, have done the research and are convinced that the procedure by Dr. Carlos Lima in Lisbon, Portugal, can help return some feeling and sensation to Romy’s body and limbs.

Both say that Army permission to proceed — and approve an estimated $60,000 price tag — is not just about Romy. “I think this is a great opportunity for him,” Gabriela Camargo said. “Today it is going to be Romy Camardo. But later it will be, as he says, the other wounded warriors.”