Paralysis fosters epiphany
Accident victim graduates with friends
UNION TOWNSHIP -- Early forecasts called for rain Saturday, but the sun refused to be left out of the day. So did James Abernathy. James, 18, paralyzed from the upper chest down after a diving accident in August 1995, beat the odds to graduate on time Saturday. He joined 669 other Lakota East and West High School seniors in ceremonies at University of Cincinnati's Shoemaker Center.
James Abernathy, a Lakota East Graduate, poses with friend Gena Galbraith, a Lakota West graduate, at their graduation.
(Saed Hindash photo)
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He lost nearly a year of school after breaking his neck in the accident. But before he ever left the hospital, he "set a goal to graduate with his friends," Larry Abernathy said of his son.
James raised his fist in triumph after receiving his diploma. "I'm satisfied, relieved," he said after the ceremony, as family and friends crowded around. Well-wishers included his former therapists at the Drake Center, Susan Donovan and Phil Cadman. "It's been a lot of hard work. But hard work does pay off. Now I'm going home and I'm going to party."
He's earned that celebration, family and friends said.
"It's been a long haul," Mr. Abernathy said. "I'm very impressed with him and with his fight."
At a time when friends were playing sports and learning to drive, James was adjusting to life in a wheelchair, hoping someday to be able to pick up a fork and feed himself.
The popular boy who began playing baseball as a toddler was paralyzed at the peak of his teen-age years. But James came out on top, those closest to him say.
"Because he couldn't do anything actively, he let other things in him come to life," longtime friend and classmate Tony Zaya said. James became an avid reader and excelled academically.
"He's always been intelligent and creative, but now he's on a whole different level," Mr. Zaya said. "He's heads above the rest of us."
He jokes that the "bump on his head" did something to improve his brain. But then he more seriously acknowledges that he never questioned things in life until the accident, and that reading has answered a lot of his questions.
His path has not been easy, said his mother, Diane Abernathy. At first, James didn't want to go back to school, but his father insisted. A week later, he wouldn't slow down. Beyond his regular attendance at school, he attended summer school, enrolled in college correspondence courses and had hours of home tutoring, Mrs. Abernathy said.
In August, James will attend Miami University in Oxford to major in religion and philosophy. He said he believes this challenge will be far more difficult than what he has faced so far.
"I was forced into this change," James said of his accident. "But changes that you consciously choose to go through are tougher."
Lakota West High School teacher Hank Lubbers said James' choice to attend Miami over Wright State University in Dayton, which is more accessible to people with disabilities, is typical of the way the young man takes on life.
"He could have gone to Wright State," said Mr. Lubbers, who taught James in economics and military history. "The comfort zone there is better. But he doesn't let his disability get in the way of who he is." Graduating was his big goal, but it's important to keep reaching for new heights, he said. "When you set a goal and finally reach it, you have to look for something new. You can't just sit around."
Before heading off to college, James Abernathy will attend the Craig Rehabilitation Institute in Denver, Colo. this summer to learn independent living and recreational skills.
John Davies, an Indian Hill resident and longtime Cincinnati businessman, gave James a $10,000 graduation gift through the John and Shirley Davies Foundation to pay for the rehabilitation. Mr. Davies earlier donated money toward the purchase of a van to transport James.
Other donations may be sent to the James Abernathy Fund, c - o Lakota Christian Church, P.O. Box 575, West Chester, Ohio 45069.
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TRISTATE DIGEST
Waiting for my own NEA grant
