Boy recovering after being injured in Napa earthquake

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- Tuesday marks the six month anniversary of the devastating earthquake that rocked the Napa Valley area while people were sleeping around 3:40 a.m. One seriously injured teen is finally doing well, but the recovery in Napa still has a way to go.

Things in Napa are not back to normal yet. A Safeway damaged in the earthquake is still closed and there are examples like this throughout the downtown area.

PHOTOS: Six months after the Napa quake

Nick Dillon, 14, is not supposed to be doing walking, but he likes to defy expectations. "According to the doctor he really scared me. Six or seven months before until I could start walking again. That's too long for me, no way, that's too long," he said.

Six month ago, Dillon was in a hospital bed with a broken pelvis. Bricks from his fireplace fell on him during the Napa earthquake. He was asleep on the floor in the living room because he was having a sleepover with a friend. "I almost died that day. It's an experience I wouldn't want anybody to have. Honestly, I wouldn't even want that to happen to anybody, it was a horrible experience," he said.

Dillon then spent the next few months in a wheelchair and now he's not only walking, but able to run.

"So yeah, there are days when I get discouraged, but I'm still alive," Dillon said.

He just came back to school in December. School administrators say that was an inspiration for everyone. "To have someone like Nick that you know get injured the way he did, there was a fear was he going to make it, was he going to be able to walk, was he going to come back to school, so I think he's a rallying point for the students, but also he brings a sense of calmness to the kids," Assistant Principal Riley Johnson said.

Dillon still has a ways to go. He will undergo surgery over Spring break to have three bolts removed and doctors don't know whether he will be able to walk or jump. But Dillon isn't afraid. And he isn't paying much attention to this six month mark either.

"I heard a quote say don't count the days make the days count, ever since I haven't really been counting the days, I've been waking up being like I'm alive. Great, time to make a difference in the world today," Dillon said.

Click here for full coverage on the South Napa Earthquake.