LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — In 2007, when Las Crucen Othello Gamboa, now an eighth grader at Las Cruces Catholic School, was 5 years old, he woke up to find that he had no feeling in his right leg and couldn't move it.

At first, his father, Gabe Gamboa, thought he might be sore from karate the night before or that he was just not feeling well, but as the day progressed it seemed to get worse. His parents took Othello to his primary care doctor, who told them he should visit the University of New Mexico Children's Hospital in Albuquerque. Othello and his family stayed at the hospital for about thre...