Max Brito
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Max Brito (born April 8, 1971) is a former Rugby Union player for Ivory Coast who, as a result of injuries at the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, was paralyzed.
The game (between Ivory Coast and Tonga) was three minutes old when Brito, running out of defence, was tackled by Inoke Afeaki, the Tonga flanker, before several players fell on top of Brito, leaving him prone and motionless on the ground. Brito was taken to the intensive care unit of the Unitas Hospital in Pretoria where medical staff worked to treat damage to his vertebrae. Operations to stabilize the fourth and fifth vertebrae of his neck offered hope but Brito was left paralyzed below the neck.
"This was a tragic and freak accident, but we are very concerned about spinal injuries in rugby. Law changes have depowered the scrum but the tackle is still a major problem," said Etienne Hugo, chairman of the South African rugby medical committee and an orthopedic surgeon who treated Brito.
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