Katharina Buczek
TikTok is known for its popular dances, shocking “storytimes,” and, now, boyfriend applications. One paralyzed college student named Jimmy Jan hopped on the trend and quickly rose to the top of the applicant pool.
Just last August, Jimmy became paralyzed after experiencing a freak skiing accident. While attempting a ski jump, he broke his back and was told that he would never walk ever again. He became a frequent mountain visitor after his medical school classes had gone online due to COVID-19. With extra free time and no in-person commitments, Jimmy decided to spend most of his time at the slopes.
“The day of my accident was August 9th. It was a beautiful day, so I decided to squeeze in a half-day in the snow. It was the first run of the day, and I went past the terrain park– which was completely empty. So, I was like, ‘hey, let’s catch some jumps on the way down,” Jimmy explained in a separate storytime TikTok.
He ran the first jump and landed it “easy peasy.” But, as he approached the second, much larger jump, things took a turn.
“I had some considerable speed going and, as I was hitting the second jump, I got to the top, and I did not have my weight where it needed to be. So, I performed the world’s worst backflip,” Jimmy explained.
While in mid-air, he recalls thinking how much the landing would hurt. But that is the last thing he remembers.
“A few seconds later, I landed directly on my head and lost consciousness,” Jimmy said. After waking up, he realized that he could not feel anything below his waist and had a feeling that things were “not going to go well” after that.
It has now been six months since Jimmy’s accident, but– even in the face of this life-altering experience– he has remained cheerful and charmed the world with his infectiously humorous boyfriend application video.
TikTok; pictured above is Jimmy
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