WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:03.083 (gentle piano music) 00:03.771 --> 00:06.973 ^- I joined the Air Force because I wanted to fly. 00:06.973 --> 00:09.187 ^In high school I was looking through different colleges 00:09.187 --> 00:13.354 to go to and I saw the Academy, saw people flying, 00:14.031 --> 00:16.488 and I said that's what I really want to do. 00:16.488 --> 00:17.641 And while I was at the Academy 00:17.641 --> 00:19.265 I actually flew for three years. 00:19.265 --> 00:20.548 I was an instructor pilot 00:20.548 --> 00:22.878 in the 94th flying training squadron 00:22.878 --> 00:25.380 but unfortunately my eyes became an issue 00:25.380 --> 00:27.460 and disqualified me from that. 00:27.460 --> 00:31.460 So I graduated and went into the munitions field 00:32.776 --> 00:35.359 for my work with the Air Force. 00:37.419 --> 00:40.033 I was looking for new things to do in Guam. 00:40.033 --> 00:42.535 It's a small island, I had done a lot of scuba diving, 00:42.535 --> 00:46.118 so I decided to try picking up dirt biking. 00:46.671 --> 00:49.304 So I went out one day and had a blast. 00:49.304 --> 00:51.287 I was taking jumps, having fun, 00:51.287 --> 00:53.194 but still taking it pretty easy. 00:53.194 --> 00:56.361 And I decided to go out one more time. 00:56.522 --> 00:59.106 This time I got surprised by a jump 00:59.106 --> 01:02.273 and despite the fact that I landed it, 01:02.369 --> 01:05.202 I still ended up breaking my back. 01:05.521 --> 01:08.728 So my T12 vertebra, which is right above the lumbar column, 01:08.728 --> 01:11.349 shattered into probably about a dozen pieces 01:11.349 --> 01:13.930 and nicked and chipped away at my spinal cord. 01:13.930 --> 01:15.597 So at the crash site 01:15.838 --> 01:19.255 I was entirely paralyzed below the waist. 01:20.736 --> 01:24.903 Following surgery, I started getting certain things back. 01:25.185 --> 01:29.185 Over the next two months, more things came back. 01:30.166 --> 01:32.817 Around then, it stopped progressing. 01:32.817 --> 01:36.179 So right now I am still paralyzed below the knee, 01:36.179 --> 01:39.427 but I've found ways to still walk around, 01:39.427 --> 01:41.205 almost to the point where I can feel 01:41.205 --> 01:43.372 comfortable enough to run. 01:43.996 --> 01:46.164 I got an email notification saying hey, 01:46.164 --> 01:48.715 you qualify for Air Force Wounded Warrior, 01:48.715 --> 01:51.670 and I said no, I'm not a combat injury 01:51.670 --> 01:52.503 or anything like that. 01:52.503 --> 01:54.003 I wasn't deployed. 01:54.067 --> 01:56.822 But it was explained to me that this is an organization 01:56.822 --> 01:59.247 that is out to help anybody who has been through 01:59.247 --> 02:01.914 any traumatic injury or illness. 02:02.904 --> 02:05.049 I was really hesitant at first, just because I didn't feel 02:05.049 --> 02:09.216 like that was a title I was worthy of, but back in November 02:09.631 --> 02:13.010 I went to the event out at Andrews Air Force Base 02:13.010 --> 02:16.260 and just felt like I was at home again. 02:18.387 --> 02:20.724 You get hurt and all of a sudden it's like, 02:20.724 --> 02:22.433 you're stuck in a chair the rest of your life, 02:22.433 --> 02:25.754 or you're sick and you're never going to get better. 02:25.754 --> 02:26.931 Life's never going to be the way it was 02:26.931 --> 02:28.696 and usually that's going to be the case, 02:28.696 --> 02:30.911 but you find new ways to do it, 02:30.911 --> 02:33.417 and sometimes those new ways are more exciting. 02:33.417 --> 02:34.963 Like the wheelchair racing. 02:34.963 --> 02:37.890 I can't run anymore but I get in that chair 02:37.890 --> 02:40.973 and when I start getting my speed up, 02:42.112 --> 02:45.654 it's more fun than running to me all of a sudden. 02:45.654 --> 02:47.409 So it gets me excited and it empowers me 02:47.409 --> 02:50.395 and all of a sudden I don't feel like I am disabled anymore. 02:50.395 --> 02:54.562 I feel like I can do just about anything all over again.