Ryan Mathews went back to school recently.

It was an emotional moment for him, his family, and many of his classmates and teachers.

The 16-year-old Mathews was injured in a sledding accident on January 27th. He broke his back and was paralyzed from the chest down.

Doctors at a Lincoln hospital fused a broken vertebrae with two rods that are held in place by 12 screws. Vertebraes were repaired using bone chips from his hip.

Following his surgery, he went to a rehabilitation center in Lincoln.

Southern High School Principal Steven Whitwer met with Mathews' caretakers about returning to school.

Mathews returned to school on a small school bus equipped with a chairlift.

Of his first day back to school he says, quote "It wasn't the most difficult thing in the world. The kids were really cool."