After a year of medical operations, animal doctors released a green sea turtle who had been badly injured back into the sea on Wednesday. They hope that the 177-pound turtle, named Andre, will now find a mate and help his endangered species survive. "He has overcome difficulties, such as being short of food, cold winters-any number of things that may have ended his life-and he has survived." said Dr. Nancy Mettee, who helped take care of Andre. In June 2010, tourists found Andre was injured and lay on the beach. He had big holes in his shell, caused by two different boats. More than three pounds of sand were inside the shell, along with a few crabs. He had a serious infection and a damaged lung. Andre was pulled to shore and his yearly long fight to survive began. In order to close the large holes in his shell, Dr. Alberto Vargas used braces similar to those used on humans. Then, doctors had to help Andre regrow some of his tissue to fill in the holes. Andre's successfully recovery has encouraged people all over the world. Many watched his slow recovery on a round-the clock Internet, and more than 200 people sent money to become the turtle's "honorary parents". Children sent him lots of letters, warmly addressed to "Andre the Turtle". A large crowd cheered as Andre was driven to the beach and placed on the sand, where he slowly made his way into the Atlantic Ocean. While Andre's fans were happy to see the turtle healthy and back in his own environment. Some of doctors who had taken care of him had a hard time saying goodbye to Andre, but were happy to let him go back to the sea.