Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Matthew Hardwick is able to skateboard again after recovering from a series of surgeries to correct backward growth in his legs.
Matthew Hardwick is back on his skateboard. And perhaps most surprising after major surgery on both legs and over a year of recovery, he’s able to learn and perform brand-new moves.
“He’s jumping and doing tricks on the skateboard that he couldn’t do before, but he’s got to have his brace to do that,” said his mother, Rhonda Hardwick.
Matthew Hardwick, a Liberty Park resident and sophomore at VHHS, had surgery in December 2015 after the growth plates below his knees closed prematurely. The condition caused his lower legs to visibly project forward from the knee rather than standing straight, along with pain and difficulty walking. This was followed in August 2016 by sciatic nerve surgery to attempt to recover full control and movement of his left foot.
“The nerve that runs down my leg is essentially dead,” Matthew Hardwick said.
The Vestavia Voice interviewed the Hardwicks in March 2016, when Matthew Hardwick was able to stand and take a few steps but mostly relied on a wheelchair. Now, though he still has long scars running down his legs, Matthew Hardwick is able to do nearly everything.
“I can’t run at all. I mean, I can run; it just looks very funny,” he said.
Aside from running, when Matthew Hardwick has his left leg strapped into a brace — christened Earl and Earl Jr. — he’s able to walk, bike and skateboard. He might get a little more tired hiking with his friends than he did two years ago, but he’s mostly excited to have some of his favorite hobbies back.
“He’s just not down. He’s an amazing kid with an amazing strength,” Rhonda Hardwick said. “That attitude has gotten him everywhere.”
When he started skateboarding again, Matthew Hardwick said it felt strange at first to skate with a brace.
“I can basically only feel the stuff I’m doing with my right foot,” he said.
He also wore heavy padding at first, though now he’s not so worried about falling.
“His friends say he is better now than he was before,” Rhonda Hardwick said.
She still feels a twinge of fear every time he attempts a jump or trick, but not the impulse to stop him.
“I want him to do everything; I want him to try everything. Life is short — we’ve both learned that,” she said.
Milo, the puppy Matthew Hardwick got right around the time of his first surgery, still hasn’t quite gotten the hang of riding the skateboard, despite his owner’s best efforts. But Milo enjoys chasing Matthew Hardwick around when he’s on the board or just lying by his side, typically with his head lying on the braced foot.
Matthew Hardwick was able to return to school this year, which he said he enjoys more than the time he spent in homebound classes as a freshman. However, he’s still playing catch-up.
“I just today turned in a research paper from last year. I’m still doing work from last year,” Matthew Hardwick said in April.
He’s looking forward to being able to try skiing again, which his doctor tentatively said will be possible next winter. Matthew Hardwick is also hoping to get a carbon fiber brace, which is sturdier than Earl Jr. and could make it easier for him to run. He’ll have to use a leg brace the rest of his life, but he said the past year and a half has changed his outlook on problems in life.
“I don’t take like the little things for granted anymore, like putting on a shoe. It’s hard with this [brace],” Matthew Hardwick said.
“He’s been the strong — great, strong one. Not me some days. He’s picked me up off the floor lots of days, but he’s had honestly very few down moments,” Rhonda Hardwick said.
