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AUSTIN, Texas — As cyclist Nate Aikele approached the final turn at The Driveway Series race on April 10, he looked over his shoulder to gauge his first-place lead. It wasn't the first time he was slated to win, but some fear this might have been his last.
In an instant, Aikele veered off course, crashing into a tree. After extensive spinal reconstructive surgery, the doctor’s prognosis is a complete spinal cord tear resulting in paralysis from the middle of his chest down.
No one wants to hear that kind of news, especially an athletic 30-year-old who is seven weeks away from receiving his doctor of podiatric medicine. The returned missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn’t know if he can graduate this May from Midwestern University, or if he can complete his podiatric medicine and surgery residency at North Colorado Medical Center.
But those aren’t questions he’s asking. All he wants to know is if he can still perform surgery from a wheelchair, or better yet, while standing.
“I’m not worried about the outcome, I just want to make sure I can give everything I can to make it through this, to be a doctor and make it as a normal individual in society,” Aikele said. “Residency is an uncontrollable thing. I try not to focus on things I can’t control, just focus on what I can — like therapy.”
An unexpected visitor
Aikele’s friend Mason McMullin wanted to visit Aikele, however living out of state made that difficult. So he thought of someone else that could lift his spirits — one who actually lives in Austin.
McMullin did a Google search at 2 a.m., “How to contact Lance Armstrong,” and by morning he was coordinating the surprise visit through Armstrong’s manager.
Despite Armstrong’s fall from grace, the cyclist isn’t avoiding the media, nor is he passing up opportunities to encourage athletes with debilitating injuries. The professional athlete owns a home one mile from the hospital where Aikele is receiving care, and manager Mark Higgins said this visit was a case of right time, right place.
When asked about his interaction with Aikele, Armstrong said, “His personality is infectious. If you told me it was four months after his crash and not five days, I would’ve believed that. He looked fresh. He looked healthy. It’s a testament to the athlete of a person he is.”
“I’m not worried about the outcome, I just want to make sure I can give everything I can to make it through this, to be a doctor and make it as a normal individual in society. I try not to focus on things I can’t control, just focus on what I can — like therapy." -Nate Aikele
The two spent 45 minutes discussing riding techniques, mutual cycling buddies and Aikele’s desire to still become a doctor.
“A guy like Nate — he was very concerned with his hands and arms. He understands that if he never walks again he can still be a doctor, he could still see patients and he could still do surgeries. He’s still that guy. That was preserved,” Armstrong said.
When Armstrong entered the room, Aikele said he was both confused and elated. Aikele’s family *set up a fundraiser to help offset the daunting hospital bills and inpatient rehab, and Armstrong and his close friend both made donations.
Having defeated cancer, Armstrong offered advice: “In any situation — cancer, spinal injury, MS — I’m always an optimist. I always encourage these folks in these situations to just be positive, to think their ‘cure’ is around the corner — it’s just a matter of timing.”
Since the visit, Armstrong has continued to email, tweet and support the Aikele family.
Faith in the Lord
Aikele said his faith and preparation to get through this trial really began during his final year in podiatry school. During the process of applying to residency programs, traveling out of state and completing audition rotations for weeks at a time, Aikele relied heavily on a higher source.
“That whole year I had to lean on the Lord. I had to do all I could to prepare and put my trust and confidence that I’ll land in a location for residency that is best for me and my future family,” he said. “Going into this bike-crash trauma, that’s mostly what I’ve been thinking. The Lord will put me in a place that is best for me.”
He admits, “It’s not just smooth sailing and rainbows, but at the end of the day it’s what you’re working toward.”
Support from others is carrying the athlete along. “The biggest thing that’s inspired me not to get downtrodden is just what my family has done for me already, and my friends and total strangers. It gives me peace that the money isn’t going to burden us as a family … seeing how much friends and family have donated — that’s inspiring.”
When asked what people could do to help, he humbly replied, “Pray for me. It melts my heart and gets me going every day to realize how much people care.”
But quick to divert attention away from himself he continued, “I’m not the only one with a spinal cord injury. Think about the others. Help boost their spirits because that’s what’s helped me. You can influence people a lot more than you’re aware of.”
A family of fighters
Aikele's dad, Michael Aikele, was diagnosed with leukemia in 1998, and with no bone marrow matches in his family was told he had 3 to 6 months left to live. The odds of a random-donor match were slim, according to doctors. They needed to prepare for the worst.
But thanks to a woman, who while grocery shopping randomly decided to go ahead and donate bone marrow, the father of five is still alive and healthy 16 years later. His body responded — a perfect match from a perfect stranger.
If one medical miracle exists in the Aikele family, why can’t there be two?
As kids, his sister, Shauna Cutler, remembers going for a leisure bike ride with Nate and their go-getter mom, Lori Aikele. Within five minutes, the young boy challenged his mom to a race while his sister hung back.
“This is how he has always been,” Cutler said. “This desire to fight, to win — not just to stroll along but to aggressively tackle any obstacle that comes his way.”
It’s hard to not to have faith in someone who is caught smiling in every hospital picture, proclaiming to the world that he still plans on becoming a doctor — whether or not he gains functions in his legs again. Seems like this Aikele has more than one win left in his future.
The family has *set up an account at the Gesa Credit Union in Washington. Tax-exempt donations can be made to "Fighting to the Finish Line". Lance Armstrong has autographed 50 pictures of him and Aikele from the hospital that will be gifted to 50 donors. Contact Mike Aikele with any questions at maikele@agrinw.com or 509-948-7061.
*KSL.com
Brooke Willardson Porter is a California native, a writer, editor and full-time wife to a busy pediatric resident. Join her worrisome scenarios and solutions at atleastitsnotasingle.blogspot.com. EMAIL: bporter@deseretdigital.com
