Imagine only having a 50 percent chance of survival and moving to an entirely new country within the first couple years of your life.
These are just two things Lipscomb student Juan Oliva had to deal with when he was born.
Oliva was born five months premature in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
“The doctors told us it was 50/50 — the next day he can stay alive, or he can die,” Oliva’s dad, Juan Oliva Sr. said.
When Oliva was born, his lungs were stuck together, and he weighed less than three pounds.
“At that time, they were five kids born in the same situation; there was just one dose of medicine for that,” Oliva Sr. said. “He was the one at that time that had more possibilities to live, so they gave it to him.”
Five months after Oliva’s birth, his parents noticed he was having problems sitting and turning.
“He just used to stay still, looking straight. He couldn’t turn or do anything like that,” Oliva Sr. said.
That’s when Oliva’s parents decided to take him to a doctor in Guatemala. The doctor told his parents that he has Cerebral Palsy, a disease that would require him to walk around with a walker everywhere he goes.
The Olivas said they then decided that it would be best to move to America, where their son could have the best facilities to help with his disability. But Oliva said life in the United States wasn’t perfect for him.
“Having a disability, you always had to deal with types of insults like getting called octopus or people saying the wheels on the walker go round and round,” Oliva said. “I can even remember people pulling my chair out from under me. But those things helped [me] to grow to the person I am today.”
But then he found an outlet to help him get through the bullying.
“Comic books helped me get an escape from everything,” Oliva said.
When he was feeling down, Oliva would look to comic books to be able to put himself in a “superhero’s shoes.”
“For me, it was a chance to look at someone who has their own trials and tribulations but just keeps moving forward,” he said.
And it’s these superhero-traits in Oliva’s own personality that stand out to his friends at Lipscomb.
“I know that he has a drive about him where he’s not going to stop at anything, whether it’s physical, mental or anything like that,” Oliva’s friend, Hayden Hall said. “He has a drive about him where he’s not going to stop no matter what.”
Oliva said he has been able to find a community at Lipscomb where he’s able to meet new people every day and establish connections.
“Juan just randomly started coming up to me in the student center, like he always does with other people,” Oliva’s friend Edwin Wu said, describing the way their friendship started.
“I’m just a guy who likes to get to know different people,” Oliva said. “I like to build friendships because you never know who you’re going to need around you one day.”
Watch Tyler Harvey’s full short documentary below: