Chasing the light at the end of the tunnel
Every Monday, I will share a resident of the South Bay contributing to making our community a better place. Today’s MCM title belongs to Nick Ekbatani, who has found a way to bring inspiration to those struggling to find acceptance in loss after losing a part of his leg in an accident in 2012.
Nick, 28, grew up in Torrance, CA. During his youth, Nick didn’t have many friends and was often bullied for being “chubby.” When Nick was 11, his mom decided that she would sign him up for Pop Warner Youth Football in hopes of getting him out of the house and active. Soon after signing up, Nick thought he hated the sport and wanted to quit.
Despite his frustrations with the sport, his mom did not let him quit. “We didn’t have a lot of money, so she wasn’t going to just waste it,” Nick says. In order to get through the season, Nick often cracked jokes about himself and found that laughing at himself helped him surpass the bullying too.
After making a conscious decision to work harder in football, Nick continued to get better and better. By the 8th grade, he was one of the best linemen on his team and by his senior year in high school, Nick had been nominated as an All-CIF football player.
Nick participated in nearly every play of the game and owes a lot of his success to his mom, Tracy Ekbatani. “My mom was at every game and practice. She was the one who’d bring pizza, orange slices, Gatorade,” he says.
After graduating high school, Nick joined LA Harbor college. After one semester, he transferred to UCLA with a full scholarship and graduated with a major in Political Science.
In July of 2012, Nick’s life would be forever changed. He was involved in a catastrophic auto accident in which a van collided with his motorcycle. He woke up in the hospital and was delivered the news that doctors had to amputate his left leg.
Though highly drugged, Nick was able to laugh at himself like he did when he was younger. He explains that he went through several stages of grief, such as denial. However, in hopes of lightening an extremely difficult situation, he cracked jokes and tried to make the best of the situation.
Fortunately for Nick, he had been working out tremendously prior to the event, which ultimately is why he is still alive. Doctors explained to Nick his cardiovascular fitness helped to prevent him from bleeding to death. Despite being healthy, Nick remained in bed for 4 weeks while heavily drugged on painkillers.
Nick recalls the first two years after the accident as very challenging. He often fell in the process of recovering due to his eagerness to improve. Since he was visiting the doctor’s office at least once a week, he even moved to Santa Monica so that he was closer.
Nearly four years and a dozen surgeries later, Nick is still recovering. One of his greatest challenges has been battling a stubborn infection in his femur. He uses a prosthetic leg which he has to carefully clean and take care of, which also can be tiring to wear for a long time as it is tight on his skin. Being the joker that he is, Nick explains that he has benefitted by learning a lot about skin care in result.
When asked how Nick has been able to remain so positive during such a difficult time in his life, he explains that he is always seeking ways to chase the light at the end of the tunnel. “It only gets dark when you stop chasing it,” he says.
The accident has definitely had an impact on how Nick lives his life today. At times, he finds himself reacting overzealously in realizing that life is short. Other times, his fear/anxiety holds him back and scares him. Despite it all, he finds himself to be very grateful and has a changed perspective on life.
Nick genuinely feels blessed to have grown up playing football. He explains that he has become very disciplined due to the sport, which has helped him remain persistent to succeed. He loves football most for the virtues he has gained, relationships and mentors he’s found and how he is able to continuously improve his craft like an artist would.
Today, Nick remains as disciplined as ever. He remains very active, waking up at 4 a.m. to train clients and instruct classes at Orangetheory Fitness in Brentwood and West Hollywood. During times where he finds himself frustrated, he remembers that there are others out there who have it worse and no matter how bad it gets, he feels blessed to be alive.
Nick is currently pursuing his MBA from USC. He genuinely loves technology companies like Apple and athletic apparel brands like Nike and he hopes to establish his own business in the next five years where he can lead a team and inspire others.
When Nick is not studying, working or improving his recovery process, he is visiting patients of the doctors who’ve operated on his leg. It is very easy to see why Nick’s doctors value his presence, as he is able to present a positive, welcoming and high energy to others.
Nick spends time with patients who are in the premature stages of recovery and shows them that despite his loss, he is able to still do a lot for being in the position he is in. Helping new amputees throughout their recovery motivates Nick and gives him a deeper sense of purpose.
Thank you, Nick, for being a wonderful member of the south bay community and an inspiring and positive ray of light for those who still need help finding their way in a dark tunnel.
“Adversity has the way to advance us if we allow it. A setback is really a setup for us to come back.” – Nick Ekbatani