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Grappling with tragedy Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Friends and wrestling are two big reasons Juan Knapp is coping with the loss of his family in an accident last April, which also left the Eagle Point High School athlete seriously injured. While Juan, left, looks forward to a return to competitive wrestling, friends such as freshman Kevin Meyer often playfully wrestle with him between classes. After crash that took his family and injured him severely, 15-year-old vows to return to mat By Jessica Smith EAGLE POINT � Juan Knapp was on his way to a club wrestling tournament when he lost the three people closest to him five months ago. Yet the 15-year-old boy insists the tragedy that marked the tournament � his parents and sister died in a car crash that left him critically injured � won�t keep him from doing again what he enjoys most. "I�ve been wrestling eight years," Juan says in his slow, measured way, letting the simple statement say all that needs to be said. "I�m real good at it," he adds, "and my mom, dad and sister loved to watch me do it." Before Juan can hit the mats, however, he�ll have to grapple with the physical and emotional wounds he sustained in the April 7 crash that killed dad Stephen, mom Catherine and sister Carlie. "It�s weird not having them around to talk to and that kind of stuff," Juan says, his usual smiling face turning serious. "I just miss everything about them." There�s sadness over his loss, but Juan says he tries to stay positive. "This is what they would have wanted me to do," he adds. "They would have wanted me to keep my good outlook on the world." And by all accounts, Juan is a strong, upbeat kid who is handling what life threw at him. Much of his life is like that of any 15-year-old. He walks to school by himself, but often catches rides with friends to sporting events and other activities. He likes to hang out with friends, listen to music. Like too many kids his age, he does his homework late at night. In the halls at Eagle Point High School, he�s constantly met with greetings from friends and playful slaps from teammates, most of whom are smaller than the 6-foot-4 sophomore. Lunch he usually spends alone � he always buys the same turkey sandwich and bean burrito � while working on homework. Juan likes auto shop and math, but admits to frustration with language arts � he�s really awful at spelling, he says. "He�s made a remarkable, remarkable adjustment considering the loss he�s encountered," says Mari Brabbin, principal at Eagle Point High School. It�s been less than half a year since Juan�s family was killed when their car skidded head-on into a pickup truck in California about 70 miles from the Oregon border. Juan, who suffered collapsed lungs, a detached liver and a broken leg, pelvis and jaw, was hospitalized for nearly seven weeks in Redding, Calif. Confined to a wheelchair when he returned to Eagle Point in May, Juan now walks unaided, but with a pronounced limp. "It�s a miracle," Anita Molinar says of her grandson�s improved health. Doctors expect him to make a full recovery, she says. "He�s almost there. Every day he�s getting better." Juan�s rehabilitation is fueled by his desire to wrestle competitively in another year. There�s no reason to think Juan, who ranked sixth in the district in his weight class last year, won�t return to the sport, his coaches say. Juan is working on his conditioning with his coaches and teammates. He�ll keep stats and coach Eagle Point youth wrestling to keep in touch with the sport this season. "He�s got a long road to being the athlete that he was," says Eagle Point coach Brad McBee. "But he seems to be dedicated to working himself back into shape. He doesn�t beg out of anything." True, Juan says. "In PE class on Monday, we had to run a cross country lap around the track," he adds, proud he finished the workout. "I almost passed out." But running and other activities are getting easier, and Juan says his appetite is coming back in a big way. The boy who once wolfed down 18 Big Macs in one sitting now boasts about eating 1�-pound steaks and whole boxes of pasta. "When he eats a lot, it makes me happy," says Molinar, Juan�s legal guardian until age 18. "It makes me feel good." Juan lives with Molinar in the Knapps� modest Eagle Point home. Molinar moved to town last spring so that Juan could remain in Eagle Point, where his home, friends and life were. Molinar�s husband, A.J., will join them after he sells the couple�s bar in Albuquerque, N.M. She says the family is making the payments on the Knapp home, and that Juan�s living expenses are covered by Social Security survivor benefits.Juan was adamant about remaining in Eagle Point, Molinar says. He�s surrounded by photos and keepsakes, like a caricature of himself with Carlie, that make him feel close to his family. "Juan is so strong," Molinar says tearfully, still shaken by the deaths of her daughter, Catherine, her son-in-law and her granddaughter. "I hide from him," she adds. "I don�t want him to see me like this. I don�t want to spoil a good day for him." Molinar and others say they�re amazed by Juan�s cheerful and easygoing manner. "You talk about a comeback kid � he�s the epitome of that statement," marvels Matthew Boren, who teaches Juan�s first period auto shop class. "He�s always got a smile on his face. "You think you�ve got to show this kid all this love," Boren adds. "You end up feeling like the wimp." That�s not to say Juan doesn�t mourn the loss of his family, which he described as close-knit and supportive. Catherine, a chef, was a hard worker, Juan remembers. Carlie, a year his senior, was friends with everyone. She also gave good advice. "And me and Dad did basically everything together," Juan says. Talking, fixing cars, hunting, some fishing. "We had fun together. I don�t know if I can really describe it." Juan, however lonely he might feel at times, is far from alone. Friends are there to give him what he needs � even if that�s just time to shoot the breeze. "I don�t know if it�s hard on him when so many people want to talk to him to show him sympathy," says former football teammate Justin Brewington, 16. "I just try to act like normal." The crowds that used to visit him as he recovered at home in May have subsided, Juan says. There�s no shortage of support, however. In addition to his grandparents, Juan�s uncle, Chuck Knapp, also has moved to the area. A family friend helped him catch up on his schoolwork so he could join his sophomore class this month, and another friend is helping Juan get his driver�s permit. "He�s definitely loved," says Principal Brabbin. "This community has embraced Juan and he recognizes the degree to which people are here for him. It just shows in his face." 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