Paralysed teenager is on cloud nine after triumphing in GCSEs

A student paralysed in an accident just five months before his GCSEs has triumphed in his exams.

In a remarkable demonstration of determination, Ripon Grammar School student Alan Nowicki insisted on returning to school to take his exams and gained two top grade 9s, two 8s, two 7s, two 6s and one 5 and 4.

The 16-year-old learned of his results in Bangkok, where he is undergoing stem cell surgery over a period of five weeks before returning to school to take up A-levels in chemistry, maths and physics in mid-September.

Speaking from Thonburi Bamrungmuang hospital in Thailand’s capital city, Alan said: “I’m very happy with my results, it’s better than I expected.”

He is now excited to return to school:"I want to do well, get my A-levels and be with my friends," he said.

His mother Kamila, who is by his side in Bangkok, added: “I’m super proud of him, it’s been a very tough eight months for Alan but he was not defeated.

“He achieved amazing results in his GCSEs, especially in sciences, it has given him a huge boost of confidence. With a positive can-do attitude, anything is possible.”

The teenager praised the support he received from his teachers and other school staff: “And my friends are all one of a kind, they kept me sane while I was away from school and home. On my return, it felt like I’d never been away.”

Alan was left unable to walk after falling from an exercise bar on December 9, breaking his back and crushing his spinal cord.

“I was out of school for four months leading up to my GCSEs. During that time, I underwent spinal surgery and intensive neurorehabilitation in Poland. I returned after the Easter break and sat my exams shortly after, although I still had to complete three hours of rehabilitation daily.”

He juggled his studies with three hours of daily rehabilitation, to help maintain his bone density and tone his muscles and also made time for a part-time job selling tickets at Ripon Races.

His mother, Kamila, said: “Sitting his exams was never in question, he was determined from the first day after his accident and surgery to sit his exams as planned.The first question that Alan said to his spinal surgeon after the surgery was when can I come back to school?"

He hopes to study chemistry at university.

A Ripon fundraising campaign raised £20,000 in a week to pay for Alan to go to Poland for his intensive rehabilitation, with additional money raised going towards buying all the physio equipment Alan requires, as well as a wheelchair.

A further fundraising campaign to help pay towards the stem cell treatment, which costs £95,000, raised half the money towards the treatment, flights and other costs, with Alan’s family taking out a loan to make up the difference.

Alan had his first lot of spinal surgery, taking four-and-a-half hours on August 11, when he had an epidural stimulator the first lot of stem cells implanted at Thonburi Bamrungmuang hospital.

Kamila said: “He recovered quickly and despite some pain and discomfort he was up and in rehab two days later.

“In addition to a further two stem cell transplants, he has five hours of physiotherapy and rehab daily, learning how to move his legs again with the use of epidural stimulator.”

The procedures aim to improve Alan’s muscle tone, voluntary movement and allow him to regain sensation in the lower parts of his body.

Before his accident Alan dreamed of being an RAF pilot and his family are trying everything to help him regain his mobility.

"I will not rest until I know that I have done everything, but it does not mean that Alan will walk again, but I have to do everything I can to give him the chance," Mrs Nowicki said.

She said the family wants to balance Alan's exercise and rehabilitation with school and enabling him to maintain a social life. It's been a busy exam season for the family: "Alan's sister received fantastic A-level results last week and is starting university before we get back home."