By Jim Hague
Observer correspondent
It was a night six years ago that touched the hearts of many local residents, especially people who live in his hometown of Kearny.
June 9, 2008, was a very stormy night and Victor Muniz, a former standout basketball player at Kearny High School, was making his way home through West Hudson Park when a huge tree branch snapped and landed directly on him, paralyzing him from the waist down for the rest of his life.
Muniz spent the next five months at the Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation in West Orange, where he received many gifts and had plenty of visitors, including then-New Jersey Nets All-Star guard Devin Harris, who presented Muniz with an autographed pair of his sneakers.
“When I got there, I was practically a vegetable,” said Muniz, now 28 years old. “I couldn’t move at all.”
But Muniz worked diligently through his rehabilitation, eventually gaining use of his upper body, especially his hands and arms.
“I couldn’t grip anything at all, but now I can write,” Muniz said. “I can use my hands.”
Never once has Muniz’s spirits wavered.
“He’s come a long way,” said Joseph Sgalia, the president of UNICO of Kearny, a social group that helps benefit the community any way possible. “His determination is outstanding and his resilience to keep on going is amazing.”
Of course, Muniz needs help. Sgalia worked hard to find Muniz a more suitable place to live with limited stairs and easier access.
But Sgalia wanted to do more.
“There had to be something we could do for him,” Sgalia said.
On Sunday, Oct. 5, the Kearny UNICO will hold a special fundraiser/ tricky tray to help raise funds to purchase a motorized wheelchair for Muniz. The event is called “Wheels for Vic.”
“You should see how bad his hands get from trying to push the chair around,” Sgalia said. “It’s not easy.”
The fundraiser will be held at the Kearny Boystown gym on Belgrove Drive from 1-5 p.m. Tickets are $30. All the proceeds of the event will go to purchase Muniz a motorized chair that costs approximately $11,000.
Muniz still hopes for the day that he could walk again, even six years after that fateful night.
“I’ve learned to never say never,” Muniz said. “Because unless the Big Man upstairs comes down and tells me something different, I will never say never. That’s just a just a waste of time and effort.”
Muniz has been attending Bergen County Community College in pursuit of a degree in hospitality management.
“I’m a people person,” Muniz said. “I deal with a lot of people. It’s perfect for me. I’ve always been interested in hotel management, because you get to meet a lot of younger people that way.”
Muniz is grateful to Sgalia and the people of Kearny.
“It’s been six years and people are still willing to help me,” Muniz said. “What people have done for me already is tremendous. It’s amazing that I still have a lot of friends and teammates that want to help. It motivates me and gives me the direction to go.”
Sgalia said that the UNICO members were all in support of the cause.
“We all wanted to make sure we did something worthwhile for Victor,” Sgalia said. “He’s a special young man and we’re all willing to help him.”
If anyone is willing to purchase tickets for the event, contact Sgalia at (201) 998-6879 or you can send a check to “Wheels for Vic” c/o Kearny UNICO, 11 Terrace Place, Kearny, NJ 07032. Make the check out to Kearny UNICO.
“We really wanted to do something special for Vic,” Sgalia said. “Now, we think we have.”
If anyone wants to just make a donation, they can do so as well, sending a check to the address above.
“It’s hard to explain how I feel,” Muniz said. “It’s really difficult to come up with the emotions. All I can do is say thanks.”
