By Ryan Palencer
INDIANAPOLIS — For a 17-year old Brownsburg boy, life has had several twists and turns.
But through all of them, Nick Long says he’s tried to maintain a positive and happy attitude.
“I just mostly think positive,” he said.
Long has cerebral palsy and other complications that resulted from his premature birth. He was one of seven children honored as Riley Champions on Thursday by Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay at the Riley Children’s Foundation annual luncheon.
“It’s a pretty special feeling to me,” Long said. “This is my first time being a Riley Champion. Not only am I a Riley Champion, but all of the kids at Riley are Riley Champions.”
Long has had about 40 surgeries. His grandfather, Carl Hackleman, says that shows how special Long really is.
“It’s nice to be honored as a champion, but each surgery brought on challenges that we all overcame,” Hackleman said. “Especially Nick. He is extremely resilient. He knows no pain and he is a hero when it comes to surgeries.”
Hackleman added that none of the surgeries went according to plan. He said there were always complications until the final surgery that Long had last year.
“It was really great for a change,” he said. “He shows a lot of character.”
Long has nothing but positive things to say about Riley Hospital for Children.
“All of the time that I spent at Riley was good memories,” he said. “The team is good, the doctors are good, the nurses are good, their whole staff is good.”
Long has been influential in raising awareness for the hospital by serving as the face of the Race for Riley go-cart event, which is hosted by racecar driver John Andretti.
Andretti and Long have become good friends over the years, so it was no surprise that Andretti showed up at the luncheon to congratulate him. Despite preparing for the final NASCAR race of the year in Homestead, Fla., Andretti found time to fly back to Indianapolis to attend.
“I kind of saw him grow up,” Andretti said. “When you see kids like that and you think about your day or your year, you think, ‘Why am I looking at things differently than him?’ He always has a positive outlook and he never has a bad day. You know there are days where he is not having a good day, but somehow he doesn’t let that ruin anybody else’s day. He stays the same, Nick.”
This past year’s Race for Riley was July 22 at New Castle Motorsports Park. The event raised $207,586 for Riley Hospital. Since its inception, the race has raised nearly $1.4 million for the hospital.
Though he is pleased that Long is being honored as a champion, Hackleman thinks that it extends beyond just his grandson.
“This is extremely special,” Hackleman said. “The sad part is that they are all champions. There are more than those that are here. All of the kids at Riley are champions.”
Andretti said he was happy to be invited to the luncheon.
“I don’t like to miss anything that involves Riley, if at all possible,” he said. “I just want to do things that help.”
The hospital holds a special place in Andretti’s heart as he has a brother and a sister who were both treated there.
“In my early IndyCar days, I used to come here just as a single guy because nobody wanted to go to Riley,” he said. “I thought, that’s where my brother and sister went. Riley is just harder because it deals with harder circumstances than some of the other hospitals.”
Long says he’s a racing fan and it’s no surprise who his favorite driver is: Andretti.
“It’s very special (to have Andretti at the luncheon),” Long said. “Me and him go way back to the very first Race for Riley and all of that.”
ryan.palencer@flyergroup.com
