When Nathan was about to deploy, his wife Jennifer was pregnant with their first child. He was very excited about becoming a father to a little girl. Nathan was at a small operations base in South East Afghanistan two months into his deployment. That day, Nathan had transportation set up to move him to a different location. However, before the transportation arrived, his base was attacked by a single round of direct fire. He had a 175-millimeter rocket explode about three feet away from him. The blast sent shrapnel all over Nathan's body, from the top of his back to the bottom of his ankle. Nathan remained conscious through everything. A helicopter arrived for aid, and one of his last thoughts he can remember was telling the medic, "My feet don't feel right." Nathan woke up at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center a few weeks later. It was there that he learned about the severity of his injuries. The blast broke his T1 and T2 vertebrae. Nathan had to process how his injuries would impact his life. He reflected on the fact he came close to never meeting his daughter and not having a future with Jennifer. Nathan's worst injury, which he still hasn't healed from, is that Nathan is a C7 quadriplegic. Nathan has shared that living life in a wheelchair is much more complex than you can ever imagine.
There's a tremendous impact on how you perceive yourself, how you feel others perceive you, and how you interact with others. The utility of the IBOT is an incredible thing. Unlike any other technology, it has changed Nathan's life. Before the IBOT, Nathan was limited to where he could go and the activities he could participate in. Now, with the chair, Nathan can immediately go off the sidewalk and into his yard to play with his kids. He can honestly go anywhere. Jennifer shared, "Once Nathan got the IBOT, my husband had a renewed sense of purpose, an enhanced quality of life he otherwise would not have. It continues to open doors to the future that feels a lot brighter." Nathan feels the IBOT has provided him with more independence than he ever thought possible, including more quality time with his family and making an impact on his community. The Nelson family thanks the supporters of the Robert Irvine Foundation for changing and impacting their whole family forever.
