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Back at school, Sunlake High student seeks normalcy after tubing accident

 
Xavier Johnson, 17, spends time between Sunlake High classes with friends Andrew Riddle, 18, left, and Eddel Edouard, 17.
Xavier Johnson, 17, spends time between Sunlake High classes with friends Andrew Riddle, 18, left, and Eddel Edouard, 17.
Published Nov. 2, 2016

LAND O'LAKES

While many high school students look forward to the first day of their senior year, that day was something of a minor miracle for Xavier Johnson.

Once a top athlete and honor student at Sunlake High School, Johnson, 17, found his life altered forever in May 2015, when a tubing accident on East Lake resulted in a traumatic brain injury.

After emerging from a three-week coma, the Sunlake football player was unable to walk or speak. Confined to a wheelchair, he began a rigorous regimen of physical therapy, splitting his time between home and the hospital.

This fall, however, Johnson can be found in another important place: the classrooms and common areas of Sunlake High, where he is taking two classes.

Johnson is taking additional courses by way of home study. Yet it is at school that he is able to see his classmates, teachers and the staff members who care about and support him.

"Educating Xavier is a team effort," said Adrian Anthony, assistant principal in charge of special education at Sunlake. "We work together to ensure his success."

And in the eyes of his teachers, Johnson is working hard to attain his goals.

"He's very determined," said Patsy Little, a teacher for physically impaired students in the Pasco County schools.

Johnson has even developed a language all his own, communicating through the use of hand and leg gestures, facial expressions, sounds and limited computer usage. By pointing to printed letters of the alphabet and making certain sounds and movements, he has learned to form and communicate sentences and ideas.

With Little's help, Johnson recently completed a newspaper story as part of a class assignment. He loves to read — Harry Potter books are a favorite — and study history; he performs well on multiple choice tests, and expresses a strong interest in social justice issues.

"He wants to make the world a better place," Little said.

Through a written statement prepared with Little's aid, Johnson expressed his feelings about his life today.

"I am happy to be back at school!" the statement read. "It is great to see my friends. We chill between classes. We talk about the same things we used to talk about. I hang with my friends at football games, dances and pep rallies."

During breaks between classes, Little pushes Johnson's wheelchair to the center of a Sunlake common area, where he convenes with old friends.

"Socially, he hasn't missed a beat," said Little. Friends surround Johnson's wheelchair to say hello, to smile and laugh, and to reconnect with "X."

Among the friends who visit is Tyler Peretti, the 17-year-old who was with Johnson on the day of his tubing accident.

"I see Xavier every day at school, every Sunday at church, and on the sidelines at football games," said Peretti. "He motivates me to make progress in my own life."

Brett Hodros, the football coach and a social studies teacher, agrees.

"Xavier has a great work ethic and wants to do the best he can," Hodros said. "He's an inspiration for us all."

Through various fundraisers, Sunlake staffers and students have raised $70,000 to help with Johnson's care. And a GoFundMe page has been established on Johnson's behalf at gofundme.com/uyedyw to help with his medical expenses.

"It's important that Xavier have a sense of normalcy," said Ross Johnson, his father. "And he comes to a school that cares so much. They're a family here."

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