This was my dad a year and a half ago.

At 65 years old he had fallen off of a rock wall (he was very focused on a route and didn't hook into the autobelay) and had shattered both heels and forearm. His elbow and legs were broken. They put pins in his bones and just hoped that the bone would fill back in. Doctors realistically thought he would walk again, but with the use of a cane. My brother told me after his accident, "Looks like dad is gonna be an old man now." But my dad has always been a fighter and when he has a goal, he puts every ounce of effort he has into accomplishing it.

When my dad wanted to play golf well, he was outside at 2 in the morning hacking at balls. When he wanted to sing well, he was in the shower singing and in his car practicing with voice lessons. Most days during his recovery he was doing physical therapy exercises 4-6 hours a day and had churches praying for his recovery. He was a former 2X state champion gymnast so he had the drive to push himself physically in ways most wouldn't.

This is my dad now.

Fast forward to today. My dad is running on the treadmill several times a week, swimming and has started rock climbing. (Now when he climbs he always has someone watching him to make sure he hooks in properly.) This is a video from his first time back rock climbing after a long break and recovery at 66 years old. As you can see, he's not wearing climbing shoes because his feet were still too swollen to wear them.

My dad is an inspiration to me and hopefully some of you can find some motivation in this story as well. This video is a couple months old and now he's an even better climber than before the accident.