Take a second glance and a third, still no difference. It’s only when he goes out for recess that he stands out. He can walk but his gait seems a bit awkward and it’s hard for him to keep up as his friends toss around the Frisbee or play football. On the way to lunch he has to ride in a wheelchair to save his strength; otherwise he risks running out of steam and falling down later in the day.

Nikolas has muscular dystrophy, a hereditary disease that causes progressive weakness in the muscles. Over time his leg muscles will get weaker to the point he might have to be in a wheelchair full time.

Today is Saint Patrick’s Day, the last day of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Shamrocks against Dystrophy fundraising drive and Nikolas hopes you will buy a shamrock to buy him some luck in finding a cure before that happens.

Nikolas gets along well with everybody, it seems. He has a close group of friends. They even have a special handshake, and he seems happy to get outside and play even if he’s a little slower.

“Normally when I go out to recess I’m very energetic,” he said.

When he can’t keep up with his friends as they scamper after the Frisbee, they let him have the majority of the throws. On the way to lunch he buckles into his wheelchair parked outside the classroom and lets his friend Izaiah Jones push him up the inclined hallways.

He loves video games, particularly Guitar Hero, which he said he can play on hard mode. His mother, Barbara Hernandez, says it’s a way for him to compete on an even playing field with other children.

After school he is always on the computers in the library, playing games while his mom finishes work. She is the attendance clerk at Western Hills and it comes with the advantage of being close enough to help Nikolas should he need it.

She said he doesn’t let his condition get him down, though she can see it frustrates him at times. When his kindergartener sister shoves past him to run up the stairs to their apartment, she can see it in his face. When the class beats him to the lunch line, she can see he hates it.

His most frustrating moments are “when people make fun of me.”

He was diagnosed when he was 3 years old. His mother noticed that when he got up he didn’t bend his knees.

Now when he gets home he has to wear special splints on his legs to stretch his tendons and slow degradation in his legs. When asked what he believes the future holds for him, he said, “They’ll probably find a cure.”

“He learned to compensate at an early age for what he cannot do,” Mrs. Hernandez said. “He’s a sweet kid, but that’s a mom’s opinion. He’s got a sharp mind; his body just doesn’t walk the way he wants it to. Maybe he’ll be the one who will find a cure or he’s going to inspire somebody someday to find it.”

Valero gas stations are selling shamrocks for a dollar, with the proceeds going to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. It funds medical research, helps pay for equipment like Nikolas’ leg splints, and sends children with muscular dystrophy to summer camp where they can interact without feeling out of place. Mrs. Hernandez said the second that Nikolas gets back from camp every year he asks when he can go back.

“It’s only a dollar, but that one dollar funds research and it sends $800 to send a kid to camp,” Mrs. Hernandez said. “Every little bit helps, and know that somebody here in Temple is going to benefit from that.”