AN UNEXPECTED SCPERHERO By Lexi Ferguson On the eYening of Sept. 2. senior Aris Ortiz ,rn im·olved in a car accident, which resulted in him haYing a leg injury and his left arm being amputated from the elbO\r dO\rn. O rtiz originally planned on spending his fall 2016 semester abroad at Harding Uni,·ersity in Australasia \ffL'A', but his plans changed after the accident. Ortiz spent time at the l,'A::\IS hospital in Little Rock, Arkansa . immediately follo1ring his accident, and ,ms then moYed to the Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute (BHRIJ in Little Rock to start relearning eyeryday ta ks. Ortiz said the rehabilitation center had bedrooms, bathrooms and eYen a car inside the facilityju t so he could practice real life situations. "From the ,·ery beginning. [,,·hen] I got to Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute [until] I left, it was a spectacular experience,'· Ortiz said. ·'The entire staff there ,ms amazing in helping me recoYer. The people were very encouraging." Juniorjonnathan J on) Ortiz, .-\.ris' brother, aid getting the call about his brother wa the most terrifying moment of his life. He aid his family was surrounded with support, but they were also greatly affected by this new reality. ·'If you know Ari , you kno,,· ho,,· high- pirited and encouraging he , and how much of a positive attitude he always has," Jon said. "It has affected our family, and thi is omething that we're going to haYe to liYe ,,·ith and cope ,,·ith." Alumna Alexi Ruiz-Hamilton, Aris·s girlfriend, ,ms by hi ide e1·ery step of the way. She aid she got to see him just about e,·ery Sunda~· \\·hile he \\·a at home recovering for the fall semester. ·', ris is not doing fine: he's not doing [well]; he's doing wonderful," Ruiz-Hamilton said. ··Ir's almost freaky. It's like I'm dating a superhero." He was still on track to graduate in l\lay 2017. Though Aris was not able to go to Hl,'A in fall 2016, he planned to return to Harding in spring 2017 to finish his student teaching in mathematic . Aris aid he hoped hi experience was something he could use to help others. "There ha,·e been so many people saying that my story has inspired them, and that I've been much more of a bles ing to them," Aris said. "I can already see God working in that. Any time I tell my te timony, it really grabs people's attention, and they say they are inspired by it. It's somewhat exciting to just figure out what my purpose is that God has for me." Senior Aris Ortiz enjoys a visit to campus after his Sept. 2-accident for the Homecoming festivities on Oct. 29. Although he was supposed to travel to Harding University in Australasia (H UA) in fall 20 16, Ortiz em braced the results of his accident as a powerful testimony and purpose. I Photo by Ka;::.u Fujisawa 118 > PFOPI.F.
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