Graduates contribute to community
When John Dykstra broke his neck in a 1995 diving accident, doctors told the Chilliwack native he'd never walk again. But the six-foot-three basketball player had other plans.
After surgery and months of physiotherapy, he rejoined the UBC Thunderbirds team and this year was named to the Canada West all-star team.
He remembers the day of his accident with absolute clarity.
It was the July long weekend and he was camped at Vernon's Kalamalka Lake for a soccer tournament. He and some buddies decided to go for a swim, diving from a dock 20 metres from shore.
"I looked into the water and told everybody, `Dive shallow, the water's only two or three metres deep.' I dove in and everything went black."
In fact, the water was just one metre deep and Dykstra had shattered three vertebrae in his neck, instantly becoming a quadriplegic.
Back in Vancouver, doctors told him the best he could hope for was some arm movement.
But he had three things going for him: a supportive, loving family, a crack surgeon and a strong belief in himself.
"Ever since I can remember, my family takes things as a challenge. That's the way my family has dealt with all the adversity they've had to face," says Dykstra, who has a special needs sister.
"When my dad said, `You're going to be all right,' he said it like he believed it, and in my heart I believed it too."
The surgery, performed by Dr. Marcel Dvorak, a clinical assistant professor of Orthopedics at UBC, replaced Dykstra's damaged vertebrae with pieces of hip bone. It was so successful that Dykstra immediately regained movement in his toes.
Months of often painful physiotherapy followed. His father rigged up special exercise equipment, his mother massaged aching muscles and his sisters offered support.
Within five-and-a-half months of the accident, Dykstra rejoined the UBC Thunderbirds at the Pacific Rim University championships in Korea.
Dykstra tells his inspirational story to school kids as part of the UBC Athletics PRIDE program. He's the P in PRIDE, which stands for positive mental attitude.
"When I was offered the chance to give kids some inspiration, I jumped at the opportunity," says Dykstra, who is graduating with a Bachelor of Human Kinetics from the Faculty of Education.
"It's an old saying, but it's true. If you believe in yourself, you can do anything."