You won't hear the back-to-school blahs from Kerry Ruffin.

It sure beats being stuck at home, he says.

The Sandy Creek senior should know. Monday was his first day back

at school since January when he was injured in a freak accident

during a wrestling match.

"Everybody was just happy to see me," Ruffin said. "It

felt just like a regular day."

Ruffin says he's glad to be back with his friends and leading

a more normal life. Even though paralysis confines him to a wheelchair,

Ruffin doesn't view it as much of a handicap.

"I can still do most of the things I used to, like go out with

my friends to movies and parties," he said.

Ruffin admits, however, that he will miss playing football, and

driving around in his mom's white Saturn, with friends in tow.

He's anxious to walk again, particularly so he can drive.

"I'm ready to get out of this thing," Ruffin said,

referring to the wheelchair.

During the intensive rehabilitation process, the doctors wouldn't

let Ruffin try to walk, saying it was too much of a liability. Instead,

they focused on improving Ruffin's balance.|

"I could barely keep my balance standing up," Ruffin said.

Though rehab was grueling, Sandy Creek wrestling coach Damian Belvedere's

workouts are much tougher, Ruffin added.

The rehab visits also kept Ruffin from going back to school, though

he wanted to escape from the TV and video games that kept him company

during the day.

A friend picks up Ruffin at his Riverdale home and takes him to

school each day. Other friends are helping his efforts to walk,

but the process is slow going, Ruffin reports.

The ordeal since his injury has helped show Ruffin what good friends

he has. Two came to the hospital every day and spent every weekend

night there to keep him company. Three others visited every day.

With his friends' help, Ruffin hopes to be walking by December

- anything to get away from the wheelchair, which leaves his

arms sore.

Ruffin is allowed to leave class a few minutes early so he can make

his trip down the hall in light traffic.

"They tried to put my classes close together, but it's

still hard." He also has plenty of makeup work to catch up

on.

So why bother when others might have folded into a state of depression

under similar circumstances?

"That's a good question," he said. "I guess

I'm not a quitter."

The hardship appears to be worth it, judging by the smile on Ruffin's

face as he cuts up with friends before class. Belvedere, for one,

isn't surprised to see Ruffin back.

"He's a tough competitor," Belvedere said. "He

has always been real intense and a real hard worker."

Belvedere recalled how Ruffin was injured when he tried to slip

out of a move called "The Guillotine." The paramedics

from the Peachtree City Fire and Rescue Department did a remarkable

job getting Ruffin out of there in a hurry, Belvedere said.

"It happened so fast," the coach said. "It was a

real freak thing."

Ruffin remembers feeling a pop and then lying on the ground, numb

and barely able to talk.|

Now he's back in school, doing just about everything he wants

to do.

"I'm so happy he was able to come back here," Belvedere

said. "It's important to him and I think it's important

to the student body to bring a little closure to it."