By Cassidy O’Neil, Staff Writer
It’s a summer day at Kitty Hawk skate park: The sharp sound of skate trucks grinding against metal can be heard as skaters weave back and forth desperately trying to land a new trick. The sound of hard laughter between homies is layered between the sound of wheels on the pavement. In the middle of all this commotion stands junior Luke Ash, enjoying every second of it.
“I started skating because I got a board for my birthday, and there’s not a lot to do in Minnesota during the summertime,” Ash said.
Two years later, Ash moved to the Outer Banks which stereotypically has “a lot to do” in the summer. Even with all the new hobbies available to him, Ash’s feet were still stuck on top of a board. A majority of Ash’s five years on the Outer Banks has been spent at local skate parks.
“I love Kitty Hawk skate park. I’m usually there. I always loved going into the contests they used to have down here and in Virginia, but they don’t really have many anymore,” Ash said. “I always just try to skate and show my face so eventually I could get in there with the big dogs.”
Ash continued to progress as he has constantly skated during a time where skating’s local popularity always
fluctuated. Locals’ infatuation with skating is forever changing and skaters tend to come and go, a concept Ash is familiar with.
“I think it’s one of those things where you do it, and then realize you can’t do much with it unless you actually commit to skating and have a passion to get better and learn more,” Ash said. “I always meet cool guys at the park, but they eventually stop skating. They’d start to work more and then not want to skate after or get into school sports.”
Ash hasn’t lost his passion: “I just stuck with it. I started skating with a good group of guys who skate practically every day and that definitely was cool to find. It helped us all get better and those are my homies.”
In the early months of summer 2018, though, Ash began to feel a strong pain in his lower back. Ash expected the normal aches and pains that come from taking a few bails at the skate park and thought nothing of it. That was until those normal aches turned into a long lasting chronic pain that followed him every step he took.
That was when Ash decided to get a professional opinion. He was diagnosed with sciatica, or a pinched nerve. WebMD.com defines sciatica as “a herniated disk in your lumbar spine. Your vertebrae are separated and cushioned by flat, flexible, round disks of connective tissue where pain radiates along the sciatic nerve, which runs down one or both legs from the lower back.”
Ash was then told to stay off his board for the next six weeks to give his body a chance to recover. After waiting the recommended time, Ash returned to the park with the same passion he left with six weeks earlier.
“I hit the Manteo park one of my first times back and I was just trying to get some tricks in but after a few runs, I already could feel the pain coming back almost instantly,” Ash said.
Since then, Ash has been advised to postpone his skating for an indefinite amount of time in hopes that his body can make a full recovery. Unfortunately, skating has not been the only aspect of Ash’s life affected by sciatica.
“It sucks, even the most basic things have started to become painful: walking and getting out of bed. It doesn’t take much,” Ash said.
With no clear treatment for Ash’s condition, the fight to get back on the board has turned into more of a waiting game.
“At this point in the process, I’m just trying to stay positive and get better in any way I can. Since there’s not really a fix for it, I’m trying different medicines, therapy and massages,” Ash said. With no exact date on when Ash will be cleared to ride again, it could seem discouraging, but for Ash, there’s only one end goal in mind.
“When I get back you know I’m going to grind harder,” Ash said.
Senior Cassidy O’Neil can be reached at o’neilca1210@daretolearn.org.
