Cause For Celebration: Nick Springer

As part of our Cause for Celebration series presented by PNC, we are highlighting the triumphs of athletes with disabilities who have reshaped sport through courage, resilience, and determination. This week, we celebrate Nick Springer.

In August of 1999, 14-year-old Nick Springer was given his last rites after contracting a rare form of meningitis while hiking the Appalachian Trail at summer camp. Doctors gave him just a 10 percent chance of survival. Eight weeks later, Nick awoke from an induced coma to a life forever changed — both legs amputated above the knee and both arms below the elbow.

A lifelong hockey player, Nick faced an unimaginable reality. Yet while his body was transformed, his mindset never wavered. With the unwavering support of his family, he refused to see his story as an ending. “My family made a point of showing me my life was not over,” Nick shared. “It was more of a timeout.”

That perspective carried him into elite competition as a wheelchair rugby athlete. Competing for Team USA, Nick Springer helped earn a gold medal at the 2008 Paralympic Games and followed it with a bronze medal at the 2012 London Games, proving that grit and determination can redefine what’s possible.

Today, we celebrate a powerful example of resilience and the true triumphs of athletes with disabilities.