By Patrick Tepoorten

"Don't take walking for granted" is not the kind of advice one normally associates with teenagers, but in the case of Nicholas Lundquist it wasn't given lightly, nor is it likely to be taken that way.

Long after his classmates have left various hospitals and returned to school, Lundquist, 16, of North Branch, remains an inpatient for broken femurs and head injuries. According to his father Scott though, he is looking forward to getting out soon and returning to school.

Lundquist, and North Branch classmates Jessica Olen, 16, Riley Kessel, 16, James Kessel, 14, and Jon Olen, 14, were injured in a car accident on their way to school the morning of Sept. 18. According to police reports, the collision occurred when a pick-up truck driven by Gregory Alan Becker, 25, of North Branch, attempted to turn northbound onto Hemingway Ave. from eastbound 378th Street.

Lundquist, who is scheduled to get out of the hospital on Nov. 29, was the most severely injured of the four, suffering two broken femurs and serious head injuries. "We really weren't sure if he was going to make it there for the first week or so," said Scott Lundquist.

Lundquist spent roughly a month in an induced coma as doctors dealt with fatty embolisms formed due to the femur breaks. After a long process of small daily gains, he is now up and walking around with the assistance of a walker. Although he still suffers from some memory loss due to the head injuries, he is expected to make a full recovery.

"I'm feeling a lot better every day," he said on Monday. He also indicated that he is hoping to return to school for the first day of the second trimester, which begins the week of Dec. 4. "I can't wait to get home," he added, and expressed excitement for being able to see his friends at school on a daily basis.

Lundquist has been able to keep family and friends updated as to his progress through the use of journaling at a Web host called CaringBridge. Since he started posting personally on Nov. 1, he has provided humor and reassurance for visitors to the site. His journal entries have mirrored the progress he has made:

Nov. 1: Just saying hi and rehab is great fun, yeah right. But at least it'll bring me home. Well, gonna miss ya'll alot and hope to see you soon.

Nov. 3: Hey everyone this is Nick again just saying hi and everything is going good in rehab. Can't wait to get out of here and go home.

Nov. 4: My parents are going to a meeting on Friday to figure out when I might be leaving. So I'll be letting you know when I'm leaving. P.S. Don't take walking for granted.

Nov. 17: Hey everyone, got to go into the pool today. That feels really good on my legs being able to jump like the old days. Well I've been doing so good that they might take my wheelchair away and let me just use the walker, then move to a cane.

Nov. 19: Well I found out that I can dance. Still, not the same moves, more of a stand there move your body. But I'm doing my best to feel good about the situation.

To visit Lundquist's CaringBridge site, go to www.caringbridge.org. Click on "visit a CaringBridge site," and enter "nicholaslundquist" under site name prompt.