William Masuda is facing one of the most difficult stretches of his life after a severe injury left him unable to move from the chest down.
His family has launched a public fundraiser, to help cover the mounting costs of his care – as doctors describe a long and uncertain road ahead.
The injury occurred August 22 at the Super Pro Jiu-Jitsu 2026 championship in Londrina, Paraná, when opponent Juliano Di Pelli Machado used a banned move commonly known as a pile driver, driving Masuda into the mat.
He suffered a high cervical spine fracture along with serious spinal cord damage, retaining slight movement in his arms but no sensation below his chest.
Masuda underwent nearly ten hours of emergency surgery and has remained in intensive care since, breathing without mechanical assistance and listed as clinically stable, though doctors say it’s still too early to determine the full extent of the spinal cord damage.
His wife, Fernanda Mayumi, has been sharing video updates with the thousands following his recovery.
In one posted Wednesday, August 26, she described his ongoing physical discomfort:
The pain is still there, and it feels very uncomfortable in that region. Because he can’t move himself, it’s dangerous for him to stay in the same position all the time.
He’s having his position changed every two hours, which is protocol, and every time they move him, he feels a lot of pain.
A post-operation MRI offered some reassurance, though much remains unclear:
The surgery went very well. But we don’t know yet how the spinal cord is, because it’s still very swollen, still very wet.
So we have to be patient and wait for the body to recover, so we can see how serious the injury really was.
Two days after the injury, Fernanda launched a fundraising campaign on the Vakinha platform with an initial goal of R$650,000 (about $120,000) to cover medical bills, physical therapy, home care, equipment, and other adjustments to Masuda’s daily life.
Donations came quickly, with more than 8,800 contributors pushing the total past R$660,000 (about $122,000) within days, surpassing the original goal.
Fernanda said telling her husband about the level of support brought him to tears:
He was very happy when he found out about the fundraiser.
I told him yesterday and he even cried, because he knew there are a lot of people helping him.
Because we know it’s going to be a long recovery, we’re going to need help, so it was a relief to know we have support.
Thank you all very much, truly, for helping, for sharing.
You may donate as well on the following link.
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