THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 6, 1996 TAG: 9605060150
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Nathan Bolling stared intently at the action throughout the Owl Creek Municipal Tennis Center, seemingly transfixed on the sight of the wheelchair-bound athletes confidently whacking their shots while tooling across the Virginia Beach courts.
``Incredible, isn't it?'' the Kellam senior said. ``I can't imagine trying to play tennis without the use of my legs.''
But playing without feeling sensation through much of his right (playing) hand? Without the strength to squeeze a racket's grip? Without using a rubber band-rigged glove that stops the racket from flying out of his hand every time he attempts a shot?
Bolling doesn't have to imagine what this kind of tennis is like. Not since he sent his arm through - and, more disastrously, snatched it back out of - a mirror on New Year's Day, severely damaging nerves and tendons and seemingly ending his high school career.
Recovery time for this type of injury is supposed to take up to 15 months. But when the Beach District tournament gets underway today at Owl Creek and First Colonial, one of the men to beat in the B Bracket singles draw will be Bolling, a ponytail-wearing, odds-defying role model for determination and the power of positive thinking.
``I used to have a tendency to be the biggest hothead on the court,'' Bolling said. ``But now, everything I do out there is like a big achievement. I'm just happy to be playing.''
Success in the B Bracket (a tournament for the Nos. 4-6 players) would have been easy for Bolling under normal circumstances. He's been ranked as high as No. 4 in doubles (with Norfolk Academy's Alan Johnson) in the Mid-Atlantic region, reached the quarterfinals of the district championship flight a year ago and began the year expecting to contend for the title.
But three hours into the new year, at home ``horsing around'' with some friends after a party, Bolling stumbled into the mirror.
``I sat there for about five seconds and I could feel my arm getting really warm,'' Bolling said. ``Somebody turned the light on and I saw my entire arm and my shirt covered with blood. My body went numb. I knew I was in trouble.''
The damage - two forearm muscles cut through to the bone, five severed tendons, a completely severed ulna nerve and a partially severed median nerve - took nearly seven hours of surgery by Dr. Paul Krop to repair. Bolling, 18, was left with a quarter-inch thick scar which begins above his elbow and runs along his arm about six inches, or until met by a similar scar encircling his forearm.
Shortly after the operation, Bolling asked the doctor when he'd be able to play tennis. Krop replied that if Bolling was lucky, he might return to the courts - in 1997.
Homebound from school and unable to even tie his own shoes, a depressed Bolling did almost nothing for a month. But then he started noticing improvement in his condition through physical therapy seasons with Richard Sieller at the Tidewater Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Center.
Bolling's hand hadn't healed to the point where he could make a fist, so Sieller attached rubber bands to the tips of the fingers of a glove, stuck a racket in Bolling's hand, then fastened the bands to a knob at the base of the glove, forcing Bolling's hand into a grip.
Bolling had to use a two-handed backhand for a serve and couldn't put much power behind his forehand, but still won two challenge matches to earn a roster spot. He then went 12-2 in singles and doubles play despite a game ``about 40 percent'' of what it used to be.
``I really regret what happened, but in the long run, I think it's made me stronger,'' Bolling said as he glanced back out of the wheelchair players. ``It's showed me that whatever happens to you, you've just got to learn to deal with it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
A New Year's Day trip through a mirror slashed Nathan Bolling's
right-arm muscles and cut tendons and nerves.
by CNB