Gymnast, 22, who dislocated BOTH her knees just two months before her wedding is determined to walk again before her big day as she tells how the pain set in and she realized the true horror of her career-ending injury after missing the landing
- Samantha Cerio, 22, dislocated both her knees after landing badly during a competition in Louisiana on April 5
- The Auburn University gymnast underwent surgery after tearing multiple ligaments in both of her legs
- For now, Cerio remains wheelchair-bound but she has vowed to walk again before she marries her fiance Trey Wood in Alabama in June
- Speaking of the moment she injured herself, Cerio said she knew something was a 'little wrong' but didn't know the full extent until she actually looked at her legs
- Cerio, who will graduated with an aerospace engineering degree, already has a job lined up with Boeing in Seattle after her wedding
The Auburn university gymnast who dislocated both her knees during a floor routine just two months before her wedding has vowed to learn to walk again before her big day.
Samantha Cerio, a 22-year-old senior who is getting married in June, suffered the career-ending injury during an NCAA regional semifinal held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on April 5.
She immediately underwent surgery for her horrific injuries, including multiple torn ligaments in both knees, and remains in a wheelchair while she recovers.
Cerio told the Today show on Monday that she is determined to walk down the aisle when she marries her fiance Trey Wood in Fairhope, Alabama, on June 1.
Scroll down for video
Samantha Cerio, a 22-year-old senior who is getting married in June, spoke out about her recovery on Monday after injuring herself on April 5 during an NCAA regional semifinal
'Hopefully it's looking real good. I know I'm going to do everything in my power to make it happen,' she said.
'We're going to work hard for it,' she added, saying she is currently working with a team of physical therapists.
Footage of her harrowing injury quickly went viral earlier this month after it showed the moment her legs buckled during the floor exercise and left her screaming in pain.
Cerio said that while she knew something was a 'little wrong' when she landed a tumbling run, she didn't know the full extent of her injuries until she actually looked down at her legs.
'I could feel my pass was off by just a little... usually even if they feel off I can get through,' she said.
Cerio said that she is determined to walk down the aisle when she marries her fiance Trey Wood (above) in Fairhope, Alabama on June 1. She has already undergone surgery on both of her legs after dislocating her knees and tearing the ligaments
For now, Cerio remains wheelchair-bound but she has vowed to walk again before she gets married in two months
'When I had landed that one I felt like something was a little wrong. I thought I had just hyperextended my knees until I looked down and that wasn't the case.
'Then that's when I saw what had happened, that's when like the pain kind of started to set in and it got worse.'
Despite the career ending injury, Cerio said she is still upbeat and is looking forward to the future.
The senior, who was named SEC co-scholar athlete of the year, will graduate this year with an aerospace engineering degree.
She will head to Seattle to begin working for Boeing soon after her wedding as a structural design analysis engineer.
The 22-year-old senior suffered the career ending injury during an NCAA regional semifinal held on Friday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Horrific footage captured the moment Cerio's legs buckled during the floor exercise when she landed badly at the end of a tumbling run
The couple got engaged in November last year and will get married in Alabama before moving to Seattle where she is set to begin working for Boeing
'I'm really excited just because I have so many positive things coming up. I mean, this is a small setback, but it's… just another thing to get through,' she said.
'Even though that was my last gymnastics meet, everything we do, everything I have done and trained for Auburn has always been for my team. Just knowing that I have their support behind me 100 percent... that's always helped me.'
When she announced her retirement the day after suffering her injury, Cerio said she couldn't be prouder of the person she had become.
Share this article
'After 18 years I am hanging up my grips and leaving the chalk behind. I couldn't be prouder of the person that gymnastics has made me to become. It's taught me hard work, humility, integrity, and dedication, just to name a few,' she wrote on Instagram.
'It's given me challenges and road blocks that I would have never imagined that has tested who I am as a person.'
'It may not have ended the way I had planned, but nothing ever goes as planned.'
When she announced her retirement the day after suffering her injury, Cerio said she couldn't be prouder of the person she had become
