Last week, Canberra teen Elijah Arranz got to experience a year 12 rite of passage. Dressed in a slick maroon velvet jacket, Elijah attended his final formal along with hundreds of his classmates.
“It was lots of fun. I ran to the dance floor a couple times but there was way too many people on the dancefloor. I feel like a free man,” Elijah told The Feed.
However, unlike most of his classmates cutting a rug on the d-floor, Elijah has overcome insurmountable challenges to be able to slip on his formal tux.
Elijah was able to enjoy his Year 12 formal with his classmates. Source: Supplied
When Elijah was 14 he spontaneously decided to do a skydiving jump on the encouragement of his father, Jose.
A gust of wind led to a freak accident that resulted in the death of instructor Tony Rokov and left Elijah wheelchair bound. In the years since he’s had to relearn how to walk, talk and act like a regular teenager.
“At the time of the accident we didn’t really know what was going to happen,” Elijah’s mother Robin told The Feed.
Normally what happens with therapy is that you plateau and then you get sent home but Elijah never plateaued.
"And he still hasn’t.”
Despite the obstacles ahead of him, he's remained persistent.
This month, Elijah is graduating with the rest of his 2019 class - even finishing close to the top his maths cohort.
He’s also taken to photography in the last year, a graduation requirement that has quickly turned into an avid interest.
But nothing has distracted Elijah from returning to his original passion - long distance running. His sights are set on making it to the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics to compete for Australia.
Source: Supplied
I haven’t decided which event yet but I’ve narrowed it down to three - the 10,000 meter, half marathon or full marathon.
While Elijah’s physical therapy continues, he hasn’t been discouraged from training. He’s just pivoted to sessions on the rowing machine - a habit that he’s kept up for the last two years.
“I hit the gym at least three days a week, I’ve been going a lot more now I don’t have school to interfere with it,” laughs Elijah.
“He would just push and push and push and I think that’s what saved his life. His body was so used to being pushed to the limit that when it comes down to the crux he just thrives,” adds Robin.
While still primarily wheelchair-bound, Elijah has big plans for the next twelve months.
“Next year I would really like to be independent walking with either crutches or the roll-aid,” he said.
Robin says that Elijah has become adept at using a walker and within five years he could be back to walking independently.
2020 will see him continuing his strenuous training while also studying part time in accounting and business at the Canberra Institute of Technology.
It hasn’t been an easy road for Elijah to recover the life of a normal 18-year-old - but he’s not slowing down anytime soon.
“I just think to myself that if I don’t do the hard work I’m not going to get anywhere. Also Tony, I do it all to make him proud up in heaven and to make the whole Rokov family proud,” says Elijah.
“I think he would be proud of the man I have become and am becoming.”
