Ronan Nelson may be confined to a wheelchair, but he is certainly not defined by one, which he will tell you. The story of his injury is heart wrenching, but the story of his comeback is even more powerful. Ronan Nelson is back, and his indomitable spirit is stronger than ever.
During a rugby game in April, Ronan was tackled and his C5, C6 and C7 vertebrae were crushed. After complications in his surgery, Ronan was paralyzed from the middle of his chest and down. “Over the summer, there was one point where I decided that I was either going to be a shut-in or be mature enough to take on the challenges to arise during the upcoming year,” said Ronan, who chose the latter.
His return to Cathedral Catholic on the first day this year, August 20th, marked a new beginning, a new victory for Ronan. “To be quite honest, from the time when I was injured up until about two weeks or so after I got home in mid-June, I didn’t have any real thought on the possibility of returning to school,” he said.
Fully aware that this junior year would be overwhelmingly different than any he had faced before, Ronan confronted it dauntlessly with his characteristic “glass half-full” attitude. “It was my choice to go back to school; I just couldn’t stand not seeing my friends nor the idea of being homeschooled,” he said. “The best part was definitely seeing my friends at school again instead of seeing them in the hospital. And having a breakfast burrito and tater tots wasn’t too bad either,” said Ronan.
Though Ronan chooses a positive outlook, his day-to-day school life exists not without challenges, beginning in the morning when an additional 45 minutes is needed to get ready for the day. “The hardest adjustment I’ve had to deal with this year has been not being able to do any functional activity with my fingers. Because of my injury, I’m not yet able to move them, making it a challenge to do any writing, typing, or any other activity involving my hand,” said Nelson, who maintained a 4.5 GPA last year.
Instead, the iPads have been a real blessing to Nelson. He uses a lot of dictation software, so he can speak instead of having to manipulate his thumbs. Because of this, Ronan describes test taking as an off-the-wall challenge for him. This luckily is easily remedied thanks to Mrs. Margaret Billy in the learning center, who writes down his answers and provides other necessary help.
Sprinkled amongst the challenges, little unexpected perks have appeared along the way. Though Ronan accepts no special treatment, teachers don’t mind if he’s tardy as long as it’s within a reasonable amount of time. “People say that I can cut in front of them in lines and stuff like that, but I’m still a normal person, so I wait my turn and do what I can to maintain the normal life I had before. Other than that, my friends don’t give me any special treatment because I’ve told them not to,” he said.
Special treatment is different from help, of course, and Ronan has been surrounded by a loyal group of friends who assist him as much as he allows. “My friends have made it a thousand times easier to transition back into school,” said Ronan. “They only take notes, help me get around school and lunch, and basically are there for any necessary help I need throughout the day. And even better, they treat me normally, which helps to make me fit in better at school.”
Each spirit dress day, students don their “#TeamRonan” shirts as a show of support for their fellow schoolmate. “Most of the time I have no clue whatsoever who the people wearing the T-shirts are, but its cool to see support in the community, even with people I don’t know,” he said.
On a more serious note, Ronan has placed extreme time and energy into his physical therapy regimen in order to work toward a recovery. He spends three days a week at Scripps Encinitas for physical and occupational therapy, and one day a week at Project Walk in Carlsbad. “At Scripps we do a lot of upper body and strengthening and mobility exercises so that I’m able to do adaptive things around the house, at school, and when I’m out and about,” said Ronan.
Project Walk does just about what you would expect from the name: they try get your legs moving. “With 40 hours a week of therapy though, I get pretty tired quickly, but whatever way you look at it, I’m getting better,” he said.
Along with physical therapy, his faith has aided him immensely in his recovery. “There are a ton of athletes and famous people in the world that I look up to, but the one who inspires me the most is Jesus. Without him, I would be so far from the point I am at now, emotionally and physically. He has helped me with all my challenges and has been able to pull me through when times got really rough,” he said.
It seems nearly impossible to be in Ronan Nelson’s presence and feel anything except optimism about his future. “I maintain a positive attitude because the way I think of it is, if you don’t have a positive attitude, then you’re not going to be able to get better from an injury. I mean, if I were just pessimistic, there would be no way that I would able to believe in myself nor the activities that I’m doing to help me get better,” he said.
