Wendy Nowak worked for Southgate schools for 30 years, then retired in September 2021, but somehow found herself back at Anderson High School this school year where her son, Nathan, is a senior.
“Nate and I were going to school every day for his senior year, you know, and that was nice,” she said.
However, when Nathan Nowak was hit head-on by a drunk driver on Feb. 16, 2024, those drives to school together came to an end.
Immediately following the crash, Nowak was placed on a ventilator and had a severed lower spine as well as a severe brain injury and no use of his right leg.
“Our daily routine is entirely different. It’s filled with doctor’s appointments and therapies,” Wendy said.
Nathan was in the hospital for just over a month and then has been home with his family for the past two months.
Wendy said this has affected her life in such a way that even driving is different for her family.
“We all worry more while driving that someone else’s decisions may affect our lives in such a traumatic way again,” she wrote in an email.
Nathan was also on Southgate Anderson’s varsity basketball team, but didn’t get to finish out the season.
“He’s a basketball player and a broken back is not something an 18-year-old boy wants to know that he has to deal with,” Wendy said.
Nathan also missed out on his winter and spring break trips with family and friends. He hasn’t been able to attend school since the crash, but he will still graduate and was able to attend prom, an evening his mother said was “wonderful” even if it came with a few modifications.
“It was unexpected because a few weeks prior to that, I wouldn’t have thought that he would be able to make it but he did,” she said. “He had a good time.”
After graduation, Nathan has a lot of unknowns in his future, Wendy explained. They have appointments scheduled with neurosurgeons to talk about if full recovery to his brain and his back are possible.
“(Nathan is) so kind and so gentle and he’s just such a nice kid,” she said.
In the meantime, Wendy said her family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring support from her community. Theresa Sevrence, Wendy’s sister, put together a GoFundMe that raised more than $34,000 for Nathan’s medical bills.
“We are very thankful for the community and all the support and fundraisers,” she said.
