I met a young man at a bus stop in Edmond this spring who was commuting to South Oklahoma City Community College three days a week.
Nathaniel Martinez was blind, the victim of a brain tumor that robbed him of his sight, but successfully negotiated the long commute for the entire spring semester.
I wrote a column about meeting Nathaniel at the bus stop across from the University of Central Oklahoma and what an inspiration he was to me. That’s Nathaniel above left with David Kisling, a cab driver who drove him to the Edmond bus stop each day.
On Monday, Nathaniel’s father, Tony Martinez, called to give me an update on his son.
There was good news. Nathaniel finished the spring semester with all As except for two Bs and has been accepted into the political science program at UCO this fall, his dad told me.
But there was bad news, as well. Two new tumors have been discovered on Nathaniel’s brain and surgery will be required.
“We’re going to have to put the college thing on hold,” Tony Martinez told me. “We’ve been referred to M.D. Anderson in Houston and they’re going to have to do another surgery.”
The surgery is scheduled for July 24.
When I spoke with Nathaniel, he clutched a white cane but looked me right in the eyes when we spoke. I had to asked him if he had any vision, and he said “no.”
His dad told me the original brain tumor cut off the optic nerve.
But Nathaniel’s normal appearance fools many people, including some that should know better.
“He runs into that a lot,” Tony Martinez said. “He was at a barbershop once and they held up a mirror and asked him how it looked. He said ‘you’re asking me?’”
Nathaniel is determined to recover in time for the fall semester, his dad said. My prayers are with him in this fight.
Jim Stafford
Business News Reporter