WARRENSBURG, Mo. — An Excelsior Springs grad is determined to not let a life altering injury alter his life’s plans.

Greg Murphy spent months in rehab after an ATV accident his sophomore year of high school left him paralyzed from the chest down.

The injury kept Murphy off the football field where he had excelled, but not away from his team. He served as scoreboard operator.

Then he walked across the stage at Excelsior Springs High School’s graduation this past spring with a little help from friends, including Caleb Romazon.

“The moment became like surreal. It was awesome,” Romazon said.

“It was really special. It was something I`d been wanting to do for a while. Being able to actually do it and close that chapter, it felt really good,” Murphy said.

As he begins a new chapter, Romazon is again by Murphy’s side. Both started their freshman year at the University of Central Missouri last week. When deciding where to go college, he had to factor in some things most prospective students don’t think about.

“It`s really flat around here, so it`s really easy to get around, not too many hills, and everything is really accessible,” Murphy said.

He has a device in his dorm room that helps him continue physical therapy and is happy no one has treated him any differently.

“I`m just normal down here, and it feels really good,” he said.

He hopes to do an even better job of walking across the stage at his college graduation. Murphy has a scripture verse tattooed on his arms that says “I can do all things.”

He offered the same message to Nolan Sprague, a Mill Valley senior paralyzed this month after diving into a pool.

“Things are going to get pretty hard, but you can`t stop because if you stop, things are going to keep getting worse. If you keep going, it will eventually get better,” Murphy said when asked what he’d say to Sprague.