Nate Koplin will walk at Skyline High School’s graduation on May 28.
Eight months ago that would’ve seemed impossible.
Koplin broke his neck Aug. 21 when he dove headfirst into a sandbar in the Snake River. He was paralyzed from the neck down and fell into a coma.
Today, Koplin has miraculously recovered from his life-altering injuries.
Last fall, doctors told the Koplin family that he had little to no chance to walk again. The family was hopeful he’d able to use his hands but were resigned that he’d probably be relegated to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
“I’m working as hard as I can to get back to ‘Nate,’” he said at his home in Fairway Estates two weekends ago.
“It’s been quite a journey,” he added.
Revisiting the scene
Returning to the scene of the accident with a Post Register reporter Koplin said he felt nauseous. It was his first time back since he nearly died there.
On one of the last summer afternoons ahead of their senior year, Koplin and his friend Carter Underwood went to the river to cool off. Koplin had just finished a football practice for the two-time defending state champion Skyline Grizzlies. He was slated to be the team’s starting center.
The friends were at their church group’s annual “End of Summer Swimming Party” friend’s house off Riverfront Drive, which stands alongside the Snake River. They decided to jump in.
Koplin was supposed to dive left. Underwood was supposed to dive right.
Koplin dove in. But instead of gliding into the water, his head struck a sandbar, breaking his C3, C4 and C5 vertebrae. Breaking a C1 to C4 vertebrae, which are place at the top of the spinal cord, is considered one of the most severe spinal cord injuries.
He said he remembers being unable to move in the river current and, once he was pulled out of the water, speaking to Underwood as his friend pulled his limp body out of the water.
Underwood remembers Koplin diving in and seeing his back and his legs hanging out of the water.
“I was expecting him to go underneath (the water) and not stop,” Underwood said. “You had to double take at it.
“His whole body just folded in half.”
Underwood pulled Koplin out of the water, saving his best friend’s life.
“I think it’s awesome how much he’s progressed,” Underwood said. “From going from never being able to do anything to literally driving and walking and just being able to hang out at my house is awesome. I’m proud of him.”
A path toward healing
Koplin’s vetebrae are surgically fused at C3 C4, C5 as well as T5, T6, T7 and T8, which are at the mid-section of the spinal cord. He said he still has some nerve issues with his feet and fingers and gets “pins and needles” feelings in his back and neck. His toes feel curled up, and his hands feel as if a blanket is draped over them.
He underwent five surgeries after the accident and has spent most of his senior year in physical and occupational therapy in Salt Lake City while still keeping up with classwork at Skyline High School.
His therapy sessions last about three to four hours a day. After they’re done, he and his mother, Mindy, drive home so he can do his math, English, government and economics homework.
Recently, he said he’s gotten more sensation back in his hands and legs as his therapy sessions have been reduced from five to three days a week. At home, he does two 30-minute sessions with a Saebo glove, an electronic glove that provides finger rehabilitation for stroke survivors, each day to help give his hands more stimulation.
He no longer uses a power-assisted wheelchair that sits in the family living room.
“I’m still pretty weak,” Koplin said. “My fingers don’t work really well. That’s been a slow part of my recovery. Just trying to get overall sensation back, too.”
Kevin Koplin, Nate’s dad, gave his son a nickname since the event and watching him recover: Miracle Boy.
“When he started (his recovery) they were just hoping to get him off the ventilator. Figured he would be in a chair, paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life,” Kevin said. “It’s incredible.”
Moving forward
Since the incident, Koplin has leaned on his faith and the idea that he can be an “inspiration” to help keep him going.
To get away from physical therapy and the stresses of school, he said he’s been binge-watching “This is Us” (a popular NBC network comedy-drama that is also available on the streaming service Hulu).
In his bedroom — tucked in the back of the Koplin’s basement — Nate’s Skyline High School football jersey hangs on the wall. He’s Utah University Utes football fan and even received a signed glove from one of his favorite players, Cody Barton, as well as a free tour of the Utes’ facilities while he was being treated in Salt Lake City.
He’s able to drive again (though backing out can be a chore, he said).
After graduation, he’ll leave on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He says he’s grown from the accident and his recovery. He still has goals. One of them: going back to the way he was before.
“I’m always like, ‘Where could I be had the accident not happened,’” Koplin said. “What I think about is the people I’ve been able to help. ... To me, it makes (life) 100 percent worth it by helping people see, ‘O.K. Nate has a trial. Maybe I can get through mine.’”
“I want to get better. I want to be Nate again,” he added.