THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 43, NO. 13 | OCTOBER 29, 2021
RUNNING MATE
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Jude Nickson, 9, a member of the Curé of Ars CYO cross-country team, makes his final push toward the finish line with the assistance of his guide — and mother — Joanna. Jude was born with bilateral microphthalmia, a condition in which the eyes are abnormally small and he has no vision. But that hasn’t stopped him from competing at a high level in cross-country.
Lack of vision doesn’t slow Curé runner down
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V E R L A N D PARK — Jude Nickson, 9, a member of the Curé of Ars CYO cross-country team, is just like most runners — highly competitive with a strong work ethic and a desire to get better every time he runs. There is one difference, though. Jude is blind. Jude was born with bilateral microphthalmia, a condition in which the eyes are abnormally small. In Jude’s case, the eyes were not formed properly in the womb. “He has no vision and no light perception,” said his mother Joanna Nickson. Jude’s condition was discovered
shortly after his birth and was a shock to her and her husband Matt. “We had to rely on our faith more than we ever imagined,” she said. “It allowed our family to grow closer together and closer to God through the gift of Jude.” Joanna said the family thought everything would change with Jude’s diagnosis. But to her surprise, things stayed mostly the same. Jude, now a fourth grader at Trailwood Elementary School in Overland Park, is in his second year of cross-country. He has an infectious smile, a quick wit and a bit of spunk. The Nicksons, members of Curé of Ars Parish in Leawood, have five children — all active in various sports. The family wanted something that Jude could call his own. They tried T-ball, but realized that wouldn’t be a long-term sport. They
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By Todd Habiger todd.habiger@theleaven.org
“ [RUNNING IS] FUN. WHEN YOU GET BETTER, IT’S FUN. AND THE MORE YOU DO IT, THE MORE FUN IT IS. JUDE NICKSON CURÉ OF ARS CYO CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNER also tried wrestling, but Jude didn’t love it. Then, one day, Joanna stumbled upon an announcement that Curé of Ars CYO was offering cross-country starting in third grade. She and Matt thought that this just might be the perfect fit for Jude — and he was all for it. “It’s fun,” Jude said. “When you
get better, it’s fun. And the more you do it, the more fun it is.” “He really desires to do activities and to compete against peers and to compete in something that he is of equal to his peers,” Joanna said. But it wasn’t without its challenges. For one, as Jude was growing up, learning to walk and run, he didn’t have, what Joanna calls, a “true run.” “Our physical therapist said that a true run is when you’re elevated off the ground for a momentary second — when both of your legs are off the ground,” she said. “So, he really didn’t have a true run until the year before he started cross-country. For all the other third and fourth graders that started cross-country with Jude, they had been running since they were 18 months old. Jude just has a lot bigger learning curve >> See “MOTHER-SON” on page 6