Courageous steps start tennis whiz on long road back

This was to be Hadrien Saperstein's big summer in tennis.

The 15-year-old Las Vegas resident already had begun to make a blip regionally and nationally on the youth tennis radar.

Now he's fighting just to walk on his own again, because of a disease neither he nor his family had ever heard of.

Saperstein, who became Palo Verde's No. 2 singles player as a freshman last fall, was diagnosed with transverse myelitis in late June. The rare disease, which can permanently damage the nervous system and is caused by inflammation of the spinal cord, has left Saperstein paralyzed from the diaphragm down.

Saperstein returned home Saturday after spending nearly two months at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital attempting to recover from an illness that might've dashed his dream to become a professional tennis player, and has him working hard to just put one foot in front of the other.

The good news is he's making plenty of progress, but there's still a long road ahead. Only about one-third of patients diagnosed with the disease fully recover.

"I'm better," Saperstein said last week. "Every day I'm walking farther. I'd prefer to be in California, at the beach with my friends, but I know I'm going to walk again."

He's on his way to achieving that goal, having walked nearly 300 feet with the use of only two canes Friday. Last week he walked more than 1,000 feet with a walker.

His therapists, doctors and even family members weren't always that confident, though. At least not after a kid who practiced tennis for as long as seven hours a day suddenly couldn't move.

Saperstein suffered a sprained ankle in the spring, which masked some of the weakness in his legs that transverse myelitis brings on.

On June 22 he began having lower back pain and tremors. A doctor diagnosed him with heat exhaustion and gave Saperstein IV fluids and Valium to stop his shaking.

Five days later, he was in California to play in a United State Tennis Association national tournament.

"That night, I felt so good," he said. "Three hours later, I got up to go to the bathroom and I could barely stand up. I tried to sleep it off, but my back was just going crazy. I was in tears from the pain. Everything just went haywire."

Mark Saperstein picked up his son in California, literally. Hadrien could barely move.

"We were shocked," Mark Saperstein said. "But we've handled it well. In life, things happen and none of us is beyond it happening to us."

By the time he reached the emergency room at Summerlin Hospital, Hadrien had no upper body strength, couldn't move any part of his body below the diaphragm and was shaking so badly he couldn't hold a glass of water.

"I'd never had anything really wrong before," he said.

He was hospitalized for five days before tests led doctors to diagnose his condition as transverse myelitis.

"Heat exhaustion has the exact same symptoms," Mark Saperstein said. "If we had found out what it was right away, it could have prevented all of this, but how can you know a person has a one-in-a-million disease?"

The disease could have permanently paralyzed Hadrien, but doctors got to it quickly enough to begin steroid and blood treatments.

On July 14 he was moved to HealthSouth, though he still had no lower-body reflexes.

"I'd think about my condition, but then I'd bounce back and think there are a lot of things I could still do, even if I was in a wheelchair for the rest of my life," said Hadrien, who has kept an optimistic and hard-working approach to his rehabilitation.

"When we first saw him, he had absolutely no movement from the hips down, no control of his abdomen and had very little actual movement anywhere," said Jerilyn Giron, Hadrien's occupational therapist. "I've seen him just progress so quickly. He has done amazingly well."

Saperstein was in the rehabilitation hospital for nearly a week before his family finally saw some tangible results. Hadrien could move his big toe again.

"When I moved my big toe, I was like, 'That's it. I'm walking out of here,' " Hadrien said.

He continued making small figurative strides, until he actually could begin to stride again. On Aug. 7, with help from his therapists, he took 14 steps. A week later, with the support of only a walker, Hadrien moved 115 feet.

"Every day he's making progress that the therapists say you'd see in three months (by another person)," Mark Saperstein said. "What he's doing and what they did at the hospital is just incredible. The doctors and therapists did everything humanly possible. They were excellent."

Hadrien's typical day at the hospital included a visit to occupational therapy at 10 a.m., working to regain the ability to function in everyday life. After a break for lunch and to play games with friends and family, he went to physical therapy for 11/2 hours to rebuild his strength.

Mark Saperstein's sisters have taken over most of his work in their family business. The family is involved in real estate developments, which are suffering in the current economic climate. In the meantime, the bills for Hadrien's treatment -- the part the insurance won't cover -- are beginning to mount.

"The money is an issue, but it doesn't matter," Mark Saperstein said. "He's getting better."

The tennis community has rallied around Hadrien, holding benefits in his honor. His former teammates at Palo Verde and the Bonanza team, which Hadrien helped defeat in last year's state championship match, are coming together to hold a daylong event Saturday at Canyon Gate Country Club. The teams will play a round-robin tournament and hold a barbecue.

"Everything people have done to rally behind Hadrien and us has been very touching," Mark Saperstein said. "It's heartwarming."

Hadrien's rehabilitation will continue at home. How hard he works could determine whether his recovery is full.

"He has exceeded our expectations," physical therapist Sunita Modani said. "He has a great outlook. Even if he has some pain, he'll keep working through it."

Hadrien's love of tennis hasn't diminished.

"I miss the workouts and everything," he said.

At the hospital, he settled for heading out to the garden area or the parking lot in his wheelchair and hitting a few balls with his father.

"I'm really hoping to be back," said Hadrien, who was scheduled to play in tournaments in Salt Lake City and Denver this summer. "I was hoping to play professionally after college."

Three months ago that dream wasn't unrealistic.

"He's probably the most talented freshman I've ever coached," Palo Verde tennis coach Zach Brandt said. "He came in and competed with every type of kid. From a coach's standpoint, he has the most important thing -- an amazing attitude."

Saperstein wouldn't have played at Palo Verde this year. He is enrolled at Odyssey Charter Schools, and his family moved out of Palo Verde's zone. He planned to spend his days as he did last spring, practicing for four hours in the morning, doing his schoolwork and squeezing in a practice session several nights a week, then playing in tournaments.

Walking, though, comes first. Then maybe running. Then maybe playing. And, finally, playing competitively.

That's a lot of maybes.

"We have, from the first day, believed he would walk again," Mark Saperstein said. "Do I see him being able to play at the same level again? That's a long shot. With this disease you keep getting better and then you just stop."

Maybe. But Hadrien is on his way to beating the first set of odds. His therapists say it's not out of the question for him to be running again in four months.

"I'm really hoping to be back," Hadrien said.

Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5230.