Pennsauken wrestler back on mat after life-threatening illness

PENNSAUKEN TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (WPVI) -- A Pennsauken High School wrestler is back on the mat after battling a life-threatening illness.

"It felt like good old times," senior Amanda Lezcano.

Lezcano still can't walk without a crutch, but she still can get in her wrestling stance without help.

Last year, she couldn't breathe without the help.

"Eventually, I wasn't able to breathe on my own, I had to be on a breathing tube," she said

She says it was July and she had a common cold but then unexpectedly lost control of her legs.

"My parents took me to the hospital and they told me I had Guillain-Barre Syndrome and that's when your immune system attacks your body," said Lezcano.

She went from a three-sport athlete, constantly surrounded by friends, to thinking she might die at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"I couldn't move my legs or my arms. I wasn't able to speak. I thought I wasn't going to make it, to be honest," said Lezcano.

But on Wednesday night, it was a happy ending with a whole school and medical team of help. Amanda got better and gets to be a high school senior again.

We can't forget her parents. You could tell by looking at her mom this ordeal has been tough. Amanda says she'll never forget how they stood by her side through it all.

"They're my rock. I love them so much. They've been there for me through everything," Lezcano said.

After high school, it's on to Rowan University where she plans to study pediatric nursing.