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We are proud to announce Payton Phan as our Personal Injury Scholarship winner this Fall. Our team was moved by Payton’s essay of determination toward his academic goals amid recovery from a debilitating injury.

Payton was playing basketball in P.E. with some friends when a stray ball from half-court struck him in the eye. The blunt force caused him to fall and require assistance getting off the court. His friends helped escort him to the nurse’s office after Payton’s vision faded in and out, causing him extreme anxiety that he might be going blind. His vision in his right eye was gone for a week before returning to normal.

A year later, Payton began experiencing the return of blindness in his right eye. His mother believed it was from playing too many video games, but they went to a retina specialist to confirm. It was then that the doctors found Payton had a torn retina that was caused by the prior basketball incident. Immediate surgery was recommended to save the vision in his eye. Payton was concerned about recovery time as he was amidst A.P. exams and the SAT. He was able to schedule the surgery for after the exams using the vision in just one eye.

The recovery process had Payton wearing an eyepatch and administering routine eye drops several times daily. His vision would never be restored to what it was before the accident, and his peripheral vision worsened. Payton still struggles daily, and the healing process has not ended. He has had to re-learn how to drive, using his left eye to correct for his right.

Despite the challenges, this injury has fueled Payton’s passion for computer science. During recovery, he began programming simple video games. He fell in love with the ability to use creativity to innovate these programs.

Payton will soon be graduating high school and heading to a college program.

Congratulations Payton!