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Downloaded from
YTS.MX

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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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[gentle music playing]

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[group talking indistinctly]

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[man] Dear Lord, the battles
we go through in life.

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[group repeats]

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00:01:48,166 --> 00:01:50,625
-[man] We ask for a chance to despair.
-[group repeats]

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-[man] A chance to earn our stripes.
-[group repeats]

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-A chance to do it or dare.
-[group repeats]

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-If we should win.
-[group repeats]

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-Let it be by the code.
-[group repeats]

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-[man] Our faith and honor held high.
-[group repeats]

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-If we should lose.
-[group repeats]

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00:02:02,083 --> 00:02:03,708
-We stand by the row.
-[group repeats]

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00:02:03,791 --> 00:02:05,875
-Cheers as the victors go by.
-[group repeats]

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00:02:05,958 --> 00:02:07,458
-Day by day!
-[group repeats]

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-We get better and better!
-[group repeats]

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00:02:09,500 --> 00:02:10,625
-Beat again!
-[group repeats]

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-Can't be beat.
-[group repeats]

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-Won't be beat.
-[group repeating]

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[all chanting]

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00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,000
[cheering]

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00:02:21,416 --> 00:02:27,583
That whole sense of
excitement and desire to,

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00:02:27,666 --> 00:02:32,708
to be your best, is permeating
throughout that room.

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We're playing a really tough opponent.

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One of the longstanding,

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traditionally very good
teams in our league.

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00:02:41,333 --> 00:02:43,583
And yet there's a sense of confidence.

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[cheering]

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00:02:53,583 --> 00:02:55,500
And we just storm out on the field.

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There's energy from the
stadiums and cheerleaders.

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It's just like something that
you can't get anywhere else,

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other than playing football.

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[crowd chanting]

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We just had…
It was just a fun, fun day.

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We got there early,
we watched them warm up,

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we tailgated with their friends

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and we're just all having a great time,

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just the three of us.

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[Terry] Going into the fifth game,
he had beat out players on the team

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00:03:29,958 --> 00:03:31,583
that were first team all staters

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and was playing more than
any other freshman on the team,

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'cause he was on all the special teams,

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so we were really excited for him.

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It was also a big game because
they were playing Central

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and Central has long time
been a conference champion

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and always done
really well nationally, too.

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They always go to the playoffs

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and their head football coach,
Jeff McMartin,

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had really recruited Chris hard.

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[Chris] We started off the game,
really slow.

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Central scored on us right away.

53
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They had all the momentum.

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[group chattering]

55
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Let's go, let's go,
Yeah, it's a big deal, let's go.

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[shouting]

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[Chris] We go into halftime

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and we're pretty down on ourselves.

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00:04:18,541 --> 00:04:21,791
And coach just rips into us

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and lights a fire underneath us,

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where we come out
in the third quarter.

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[whistle blowing]

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All of a sudden our offense
puts together a great run.

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[dramatic rock music playing]

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And we score.

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And I remember everybody's excited.

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We're within striking distance,
so to speak, at that point.

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Momentum started turning,
the crowd's into it,

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the sideline's all fired up.

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And this time
it was my turn to make the play.

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And we were all really excited
and maybe a little bit jealous

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that Chris was out there,
'cause he was just a freshman

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and a lot of us didn't get to play
on special teams, even then.

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I remember being
super excited for Chris

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00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,000
because he was playing
as a true freshman,

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00:05:21,125 --> 00:05:23,166
and he was one of two or three kids.

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I mean, that was a pretty big deal.

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We had 120 kids on the roster,

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so you had to be pretty
dang good to break that.

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[Chris] So I came in
with just extra motivations,

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extra adrenaline
that I need to make a play.

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So play with simple mortar kick right,

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00:05:38,541 --> 00:05:42,250
which got me more excited because
I'm on the right side of the field,

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even more of a chance
for me to make a play

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00:05:44,583 --> 00:05:46,500
and I knew I was going to.

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This was going to be
my opportunity to really shine

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00:05:51,583 --> 00:05:53,458
and change the game for us.

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[dramatic music playing]

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I sprint down the field
as hard as I can go

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00:06:15,708 --> 00:06:17,416
and I see the opening

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of where I know the ball
carrier is gonna run through.

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I ended up returning it

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00:06:22,916 --> 00:06:25,125
and at that time I tried to cut right.

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00:06:25,208 --> 00:06:31,250
And my instincts tell me to dive.
However, I mistimed my jump,

95
00:06:31,708 --> 00:06:33,208
just by a split second.

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A routine football play
that we've done a million times

97
00:06:36,958 --> 00:06:39,416
changed Chris's world forever.

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[audience cheering]

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00:06:46,333 --> 00:06:48,916
[dramatic thud]

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[announcer] Chris Norton
is down as of right now.

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You just hope and pray
that he's doing okay.

102
00:07:02,541 --> 00:07:07,666
It felt as if someone just turned
the power off to my body.

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I couldn't feel a thing.

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I'm a little further distance away
from him at the time,

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but even at the distance that I was at,
you could tell he's not moving.

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Even athletes in pain, move.

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You can only imagine what's going through
his head at the moment,

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00:07:28,125 --> 00:07:30,583
when your face is down towards grass,

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facing kind of one direction

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and that's all you can see
and you can't change it.

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[Chris] The trainers asked me
questions like,

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"Chris, can you make
a fist with your hand?"

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I tried making a fist,
nothing happens.

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I'm just thinking, "No, I'll be fine,

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don't worry about me,
this is embarrassing."

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The game is stopped for me,
I hate that kind of attention.

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[Deb] And I remember just watching,
not being able to quite process

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00:08:01,916 --> 00:08:03,750
that he wasn't getting up,

119
00:08:03,833 --> 00:08:07,375
because he took some tough
tackles in high school,

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00:08:07,458 --> 00:08:09,000
he always gets up.

121
00:08:09,583 --> 00:08:14,333
[Del] It got really quiet, the field
and the whole stadium kind of,

122
00:08:14,416 --> 00:08:18,375
you can feel the air
suck out of everybody.

123
00:08:18,458 --> 00:08:22,416
And a typical football play,
when somebody gets hurt,

124
00:08:22,500 --> 00:08:24,541
you take a knee and I remember
being on a knee for,

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00:08:24,625 --> 00:08:27,833
for an extended amount of time
and being, like, at a certain point,

126
00:08:27,916 --> 00:08:31,000
okay, this is different.
This is serious.

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It was just such an eerie feeling
in that stadium.

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It's on such a beautiful day
for this kind of horrifying scene

129
00:08:40,333 --> 00:08:44,125
and you can just tell
by the looks on their faces,

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00:08:44,208 --> 00:08:47,583
that this is bad.

131
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Just as long as I live,
I'll just remember that image

132
00:08:51,041 --> 00:08:54,125
of just seeing a stadium
with 5,000 people,

133
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where you can hear a pin drop,

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00:08:55,541 --> 00:08:57,708
and then all these players
down on one knee.

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One thing that's
special about football is,

136
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no matter who you are,
it's always a brotherhood

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00:09:03,125 --> 00:09:06,041
and it was hard to see
someone laying there

138
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and couldn't move.

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[Chris] I remember just having
my eyes just completely shut

140
00:09:13,750 --> 00:09:17,125
and closed, trying to block out
what was happening around me,

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I just didn't want to accept it.

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I knew it was real,

143
00:09:21,500 --> 00:09:24,250
but it was just so hard
for me to swallow that.

144
00:09:24,333 --> 00:09:26,333
I mean, they were
doing everything right,

145
00:09:26,416 --> 00:09:30,666
working on him, and we still give thanks
to this day for that training staff,

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because us not knowing at the time

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that it was a spinal cord injury.
Just the slightest movement

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is the difference between
never having a chance

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to regain anything.

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00:09:44,666 --> 00:09:47,916
So we get down to the field
and we come in close

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and I remember leaning over

152
00:09:49,541 --> 00:09:51,416
and saying something like,
"Okay, we're here"

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just to let Chris know
that we were down there,

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00:09:53,458 --> 00:09:54,666
that we were with him.

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The beauty of everything
that had been going on that day

156
00:09:58,291 --> 00:10:01,708
is non-existent,
all you're doing is focusing

157
00:10:01,791 --> 00:10:03,458
on the face of a young man,

158
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that is one of your players
that has sacrificed time

159
00:10:10,458 --> 00:10:12,625
and given every effort he can

160
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to be the best player he can be,
lying there helpless.

161
00:10:15,625 --> 00:10:22,250
[Chris] The EMTs come out eventually.
I'm still thinking, I'll be okay.

162
00:10:22,458 --> 00:10:25,333
I'm 18 years old from small town Iowa,

163
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bad things happen to other people.

164
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It happens to people
you read about in the newspaper,

165
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or you watch on television.

166
00:10:33,083 --> 00:10:35,416
There's no way this
could happen to me.

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00:10:35,500 --> 00:10:37,583
I've been to a lot of sporting events

168
00:10:38,458 --> 00:10:40,375
and the injured athlete's
always been able

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to acknowledge the crowd,

170
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you give them a thumbs up,
a wave, and I couldn't.

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That took my fear to another level.

172
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[Richie] I still didn't
think it was serious,

173
00:10:54,041 --> 00:10:57,833
even when Chris was being
wheeled off in the ambulance.

174
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I thought we were
still going to go over

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00:10:59,791 --> 00:11:01,000
to my house that night.

176
00:11:01,083 --> 00:11:04,083
To me, it was just,
he might've gotten a concussion

177
00:11:04,166 --> 00:11:07,541
or, might've messed up
a shoulder or something.

178
00:11:07,625 --> 00:11:09,500
But when you're 18 years old,

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the gravity of the situation
never really sets in.

180
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[Chris] Eventually they get me
into the ambulance

181
00:11:16,291 --> 00:11:18,541
and drive me to the hospital.

182
00:11:19,333 --> 00:11:21,916
They had cut his uniform off him.

183
00:11:22,250 --> 00:11:26,458
In fact, I ran across
that bag with his…

184
00:11:27,541 --> 00:11:28,541
[sniffles]

185
00:11:28,625 --> 00:11:32,666
…his uniform in it and that was tough.

186
00:11:32,750 --> 00:11:35,833
But when they called in
for the helicopter,

187
00:11:37,166 --> 00:11:42,208
that's when my fear
really erupted inside me.

188
00:11:42,833 --> 00:11:44,166
And I knew it was serious.

189
00:11:44,250 --> 00:11:46,541
My breathing starting to go down,

190
00:11:46,625 --> 00:11:49,833
I'm just like gasping for air,

191
00:11:49,916 --> 00:11:53,291
felt like as if I was
breathing through a straw

192
00:11:53,375 --> 00:11:55,291
that you would drink with coffee.

193
00:11:56,416 --> 00:12:01,208
I remember just thinking I may die,

194
00:12:01,291 --> 00:12:05,916
if I don't take control of my feelings,
my emotions,

195
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:08,875
my heart was just racing out of control.

196
00:12:10,541 --> 00:12:14,041
We finished the game
and as we'd always done,

197
00:12:14,125 --> 00:12:16,541
we gathered one end of the field

198
00:12:17,416 --> 00:12:18,833
and we talked about it.

199
00:12:19,208 --> 00:12:25,166
We said, "Hey, we know that something
has happened with Chris,

200
00:12:25,250 --> 00:12:27,208
but we're going to
need to try to fight on,

201
00:12:27,291 --> 00:12:29,041
we're gonna try to move forward,

202
00:12:29,166 --> 00:12:32,625
we're gonna try to be the best
we can be in this situation."

203
00:12:33,416 --> 00:12:36,500
And what was really difficult
as I was talking to them,

204
00:12:36,875 --> 00:12:38,250
I could hear a helicopter.

205
00:12:39,458 --> 00:12:41,166
Now, in the city of Decorah,

206
00:12:41,250 --> 00:12:43,208
that's not an everyday occurrence.

207
00:12:43,291 --> 00:12:46,166
So I knew they were transporting.

208
00:12:47,125 --> 00:12:49,500
I look up and I tell my family,
tell my friends too,

209
00:12:49,583 --> 00:12:50,916
I said, "That's not good."

210
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:52,375
"That's not good."

211
00:12:53,375 --> 00:12:54,750
And I just remember glancing over

212
00:12:54,833 --> 00:12:56,625
and seeing that helicopter.

213
00:13:01,958 --> 00:13:03,791
[gently sobbing]

214
00:13:03,875 --> 00:13:07,291
And he was going to be
by himself in that helicopter

215
00:13:07,375 --> 00:13:11,333
and we were going to have to drive
all the way to Rochester,

216
00:13:11,916 --> 00:13:15,416
not knowing what was gonna happen.

217
00:13:17,750 --> 00:13:21,166
[gentle dramatic music]

218
00:13:43,500 --> 00:13:46,375
Instantly, they have me
rushing through the halls.

219
00:13:46,458 --> 00:13:49,750
I get to a room, just this bright,

220
00:13:49,833 --> 00:13:52,875
sterile room with all these
different medical personnel,

221
00:13:52,958 --> 00:13:55,375
all gathered around, just waiting for me.

222
00:13:56,083 --> 00:13:58,916
-[nurse] We're good?
-And back, one, two, three.

223
00:14:00,166 --> 00:14:02,750
They were testing
sensation and movements

224
00:14:02,833 --> 00:14:05,666
and it was just a chaotic scene,

225
00:14:06,083 --> 00:14:08,375
of all these people working on me.

226
00:14:08,458 --> 00:14:12,833
It just was this gradual increase in fear

227
00:14:12,916 --> 00:14:14,625
that just kept gripping me.

228
00:14:15,666 --> 00:14:16,916
In this time I'm just,

229
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,958
I'm still closing my eyes like,
this can't be happening.

230
00:14:20,041 --> 00:14:22,708
This is just all part of a bad dream.

231
00:14:23,333 --> 00:14:26,666
The tackle resulted
in some bending forward

232
00:14:26,750 --> 00:14:30,416
of his neck and of excessive force

233
00:14:30,500 --> 00:14:33,833
or flection of the neck
caused a fracture dislocation

234
00:14:33,916 --> 00:14:39,000
between the C3 and the C4,
cervical vertebrae,

235
00:14:39,083 --> 00:14:42,625
then pinched or compressed
the spinal cord,

236
00:14:42,708 --> 00:14:48,000
resulting in the paralysis that
he experienced immediately on the field.

237
00:14:48,083 --> 00:14:51,208
By virtue of placing him in traction

238
00:14:51,291 --> 00:14:54,416
and putting some force
on his head and neck,

239
00:14:54,500 --> 00:14:58,500
his surgical team was able to realign

240
00:14:58,583 --> 00:15:01,625
or partially realign
his fractured dislocation.

241
00:15:02,291 --> 00:15:06,166
And I could just feel
the blood trickled down my hair

242
00:15:06,250 --> 00:15:09,833
and my head and just, it was
the worst pain I've ever felt.

243
00:15:10,916 --> 00:15:12,958
And then they started adding weight.

244
00:15:13,875 --> 00:15:17,625
The sound was awful,

245
00:15:17,708 --> 00:15:20,750
it sounded like
a celery stick breaking.

246
00:15:21,708 --> 00:15:24,666
I wouldn't wish that
upon my worst enemy,

247
00:15:24,750 --> 00:15:27,000
to have to go through
something like that.

248
00:15:29,750 --> 00:15:34,166
After the traction,
I get into this MRI room

249
00:15:34,250 --> 00:15:37,333
and they put me on the board

250
00:15:37,416 --> 00:15:41,583
and it slowly brings me into the machine,

251
00:15:41,666 --> 00:15:45,375
which the machine is so tight
and claustrophobic.

252
00:15:45,750 --> 00:15:47,416
And once the machine starts,

253
00:15:47,500 --> 00:15:50,333
it makes this, like,
kind of a rattling sound

254
00:15:50,416 --> 00:15:54,000
that's really obnoxious.

255
00:15:54,083 --> 00:15:57,333
I was in such an uncomfortable position

256
00:15:57,458 --> 00:15:59,916
with the neck brace, the sounds,

257
00:16:00,541 --> 00:16:03,416
just feeling overwhelmed about
what just happened to me.

258
00:16:03,500 --> 00:16:06,541
What's my life gonna
look like going forward?

259
00:16:06,625 --> 00:16:08,333
Can this possibly be real?

260
00:16:08,791 --> 00:16:10,375
Is this really my life?

261
00:16:10,708 --> 00:16:12,208
I've been praying this entire time.

262
00:16:12,291 --> 00:16:14,791
Just praying to God, give me
the strength to get through this,

263
00:16:14,875 --> 00:16:17,333
give me the strength back
that I need to just walk

264
00:16:17,416 --> 00:16:19,041
and put this all behind me.

265
00:16:19,125 --> 00:16:20,708
I don't ever need to play sports again,

266
00:16:20,791 --> 00:16:22,833
just give me the ability to walk.

267
00:16:22,916 --> 00:16:24,958
And it turned to, "God,

268
00:16:25,041 --> 00:16:29,666
can you just let me sleep
for the next hour

269
00:16:29,750 --> 00:16:31,583
that I'll be in this MRI machine?"

270
00:16:31,666 --> 00:16:34,208
I thought that would be
impossible to sleep

271
00:16:34,625 --> 00:16:36,458
in that kind of situation.

272
00:16:36,541 --> 00:16:38,500
But the next thing I remember

273
00:16:38,750 --> 00:16:42,125
is being lowered out
of the MRI machine.

274
00:16:42,500 --> 00:16:48,375
I had fallen asleep. In that moment,
I knew I wasn't alone.

275
00:16:49,958 --> 00:16:54,750
That was the sign
that I needed to experience,

276
00:16:55,125 --> 00:16:56,500
to know that God's with me.

277
00:16:57,041 --> 00:16:59,750
That was a miracle to me.

278
00:17:00,708 --> 00:17:04,041
The surgeon finally comes,
and this is before surgery,

279
00:17:04,125 --> 00:17:05,916
and pulls us into a room

280
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,541
and then he's only got a 3% chance

281
00:17:08,625 --> 00:17:11,458
of ever regaining
any movement below his neck.

282
00:17:12,250 --> 00:17:18,750
And I can't even describe
how horrible that moment was.

283
00:17:18,833 --> 00:17:21,416
Just felt like my heart was crushed

284
00:17:21,500 --> 00:17:23,250
and my life was just torn out of me,

285
00:17:23,541 --> 00:17:26,416
that my son, that I had coached,

286
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,416
have had such a great relationship with,

287
00:17:30,500 --> 00:17:33,166
I mean we've just always
been really, really close

288
00:17:33,250 --> 00:17:37,666
and, um, it was just devastating.

289
00:17:37,750 --> 00:17:41,833
You know, I remember
sitting there in the hallway,

290
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:47,750
thinking, "Our life
just completely changed."

291
00:17:48,666 --> 00:17:50,916
And I just got so restless, like,

292
00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,000
I'm just like,
"I have to get out of here,"

293
00:17:53,291 --> 00:17:57,458
and I just took off walking
and I ended up at the chapel.

294
00:17:57,750 --> 00:18:00,125
I just needed to be there and pray.

295
00:18:00,708 --> 00:18:03,583
I sat down at a pew and I looked up

296
00:18:03,666 --> 00:18:06,916
and on the ceiling above me was a mural

297
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,166
of Jesus holding this injured man.

298
00:18:09,541 --> 00:18:13,500
And I thought, "You know what?
I was meant to sit here.

299
00:18:15,208 --> 00:18:17,791
God has us, He's gonna take care of him.

300
00:18:17,875 --> 00:18:19,708
He's gonna get through the surgery

301
00:18:19,791 --> 00:18:21,875
and I don't know what
the outcome's gonna be,

302
00:18:21,958 --> 00:18:23,416
but whatever it is,

303
00:18:24,375 --> 00:18:26,625
me and my family
are gonna get through this."

304
00:18:26,708 --> 00:18:27,916
[nurse] Bed's locked.

305
00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:32,166
One, two, three.

306
00:18:32,375 --> 00:18:33,958
[Chris] You can just see in their eyes,

307
00:18:34,041 --> 00:18:37,875
that they were emotional
and scared for me

308
00:18:38,625 --> 00:18:42,750
and then I asked the surgeon a question,

309
00:18:42,833 --> 00:18:46,041
that I've been really wanting
to ask the entire time,

310
00:18:46,125 --> 00:18:49,708
but I knew I couldn't
ask it until this moment,

311
00:18:51,125 --> 00:18:52,708
which was, "Will I walk again?"

312
00:18:54,333 --> 00:18:57,875
I don't care about sports at this point,
I don't care about running,

313
00:18:57,958 --> 00:19:00,291
I just… Give me the ability to walk

314
00:19:00,375 --> 00:19:02,250
and I'll put that all behind me,

315
00:19:02,333 --> 00:19:05,000
I'll be okay with just being able to walk.

316
00:19:05,083 --> 00:19:09,416
And I was hoping
for a very straight, honest answer.

317
00:19:10,250 --> 00:19:13,041
I figured they'd have
all the answers and they don't.

318
00:19:13,375 --> 00:19:15,666
And he just said,
"Chris, I don't know."

319
00:19:16,666 --> 00:19:19,625
And he just looked
at the ground in defeat.

320
00:19:20,541 --> 00:19:22,750
You know, something
I've always done my whole life

321
00:19:22,833 --> 00:19:24,583
is to stay positive, stay calm

322
00:19:24,958 --> 00:19:27,875
and this was a time
where I just let it all out.

323
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:34,708
I just started to cry and that's
when they put me to sleep.

324
00:19:38,416 --> 00:19:41,583
[gentle dramatic music playing]

325
00:19:57,458 --> 00:19:59,458
[Chris] My dad is my hero.

326
00:19:59,541 --> 00:20:01,500
He's always been there for me

327
00:20:01,583 --> 00:20:03,708
and the thing about him
that I really appreciate,

328
00:20:03,791 --> 00:20:07,708
is that he's always seen more
in myself than I could see

329
00:20:07,791 --> 00:20:10,250
and he would always try
to pull that out of me.

330
00:20:10,333 --> 00:20:12,250
And I had high
expectations for myself,

331
00:20:12,333 --> 00:20:14,541
but he'd always raise the bar.

332
00:20:14,625 --> 00:20:15,875
Chris was this,

333
00:20:17,416 --> 00:20:18,541
he… I always say this,

334
00:20:18,625 --> 00:20:22,041
he was special because
he wasn't necessarily special.

335
00:20:22,541 --> 00:20:24,500
And what I mean by that is,

336
00:20:24,583 --> 00:20:26,791
Chris was never faster
than everyone else,

337
00:20:26,875 --> 00:20:28,708
he was never bigger than everyone else,

338
00:20:28,791 --> 00:20:29,916
he was never stronger,

339
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:31,916
but he just had no quit in him.

340
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,750
And I remember
when he kind of was in that

341
00:20:34,833 --> 00:20:36,958
middle school range,
he wore glasses

342
00:20:37,041 --> 00:20:40,250
and we signed him up to
play tackle football for the first time

343
00:20:40,333 --> 00:20:44,208
and took him down to this small town,
about 30 minutes south of where we live.

344
00:20:44,625 --> 00:20:46,500
And so here's this little guy with glasses

345
00:20:46,583 --> 00:20:48,875
and they said, "Well,
what position do you wanna play?"

346
00:20:48,958 --> 00:20:50,500
And he said, "Middle linebacker."

347
00:20:50,583 --> 00:20:52,958
And they were looking
at this little guy going, "Um…"

348
00:20:53,041 --> 00:20:55,166
[coach] All right, Norton,
let's see what you've got.

349
00:20:55,250 --> 00:20:57,083
All right, everybody,
huddle up, here we go.

350
00:20:57,166 --> 00:20:59,208
[cheering]

351
00:20:59,291 --> 00:21:01,750
[Terry] And then they saw
how he could put a hit,

352
00:21:01,833 --> 00:21:04,916
I mean, even at a young age,
he could put a hit on people.

353
00:21:05,791 --> 00:21:08,000
[cheering]

354
00:21:16,666 --> 00:21:18,500
[cheering indistinctly]

355
00:21:19,666 --> 00:21:20,583
[player] And hut!

356
00:21:20,958 --> 00:21:23,500
[Terry] He ended up scoring
all these touchdowns for 'em

357
00:21:23,583 --> 00:21:25,208
and they won the championship

358
00:21:25,291 --> 00:21:28,750
and he led the team in tackles
and he was just this little guy,

359
00:21:28,833 --> 00:21:32,000
with that football helmet on,
and these glasses looking through it,

360
00:21:32,083 --> 00:21:33,583
but that was just him.

361
00:21:33,666 --> 00:21:36,625
He was just very humble,
very unassuming,

362
00:21:36,708 --> 00:21:40,541
but he just never quit and worked harder
than everyone else.

363
00:21:40,625 --> 00:21:43,333
[announcer] Norton with blockers
out in front of him,

364
00:21:43,416 --> 00:21:46,125
he could go all the way!
How about this?

365
00:21:46,208 --> 00:21:49,333
A 94-yard touchdown return.

366
00:21:49,416 --> 00:21:51,083
[Chris] I loved high school football,

367
00:21:51,166 --> 00:21:53,833
it was so fun playing,
Friday night lights,

368
00:21:53,916 --> 00:21:56,625
strap on the pads and helmets
with your friends

369
00:21:56,708 --> 00:21:59,125
that you grew up with,
like, your entire life

370
00:21:59,250 --> 00:22:01,208
and just playing
from the community

371
00:22:01,291 --> 00:22:03,708
that you've been a part of for so long.

372
00:22:03,791 --> 00:22:06,208
It was just, like,
such an honor to be out there.

373
00:22:06,291 --> 00:22:10,958
I was very average at a lot of things,

374
00:22:11,500 --> 00:22:14,375
but I always tried to be better

375
00:22:14,458 --> 00:22:17,250
than what came naturally to me.

376
00:22:19,416 --> 00:22:21,750
[announcer] And it's
the hard-hitting Chris Norton.

377
00:22:21,833 --> 00:22:24,125
[Chris] I could tackle,
that was the one thing

378
00:22:24,208 --> 00:22:26,916
I was really good at,
was just tackling people.

379
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,250
And so that's where I really,

380
00:22:29,333 --> 00:22:31,541
people kind of started
to recognize me

381
00:22:31,625 --> 00:22:32,958
for being a hard hitter.

382
00:22:34,166 --> 00:22:35,791
[announcer]
And what a hit out of bounds.

383
00:22:35,875 --> 00:22:37,916
He got cracked down by Chris Norton.

384
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,833
Because he was very
aggressive in football,

385
00:22:40,916 --> 00:22:43,166
that he felt that football
would be something

386
00:22:43,250 --> 00:22:44,833
that would just be more enjoyable,

387
00:22:44,916 --> 00:22:47,833
that he could go right
into as a freshman,

388
00:22:47,916 --> 00:22:50,041
work his way onto some special teams

389
00:22:50,125 --> 00:22:52,250
and have the opportunity to start playing.

390
00:22:52,333 --> 00:22:57,416
And last minute, I did an overnight visit
with Luther College,

391
00:22:57,750 --> 00:23:00,583
I just felt like
this is the right place for me.

392
00:23:00,666 --> 00:23:05,750
I remember just trying to prove myself

393
00:23:05,833 --> 00:23:09,291
at each game, each day,
and I wanted to be a starter.

394
00:23:14,291 --> 00:23:15,958
[loud thud]

395
00:23:16,166 --> 00:23:18,875
[dramatic music]

396
00:23:19,750 --> 00:23:23,250
One of the best football players to pass
through Bondurant-Farrar High School

397
00:23:23,333 --> 00:23:26,208
is struggling to feel
his limbs this afternoon.

398
00:23:26,291 --> 00:23:27,958
News channel 8's
Eric Hanson found out

399
00:23:28,041 --> 00:23:30,375
both his hometown
and his new college community

400
00:23:30,458 --> 00:23:31,875
are rallying around the teenager,

401
00:23:31,958 --> 00:23:34,416
who wasn't given much hope
of moving again.

402
00:23:34,583 --> 00:23:36,833
[Hanson] Last fall when Bondurant-Farrar

403
00:23:36,916 --> 00:23:38,958
needed a big tackle
or wanted to go deep,

404
00:23:39,041 --> 00:23:41,291
they called on number five, Chris Norton.

405
00:23:41,375 --> 00:23:43,083
[crowd cheering]

406
00:23:43,166 --> 00:23:46,875
He's just one of those guys that you knew,
if there was a collision someplace,

407
00:23:46,958 --> 00:23:49,291
there's contact, Chris Norton
would be involved with it.

408
00:23:49,375 --> 00:23:52,125
[Hanson] Norton had so many highlights,
high school Friday nights

409
00:23:52,208 --> 00:23:54,791
turned into Saturday afternoons
at Luther College.

410
00:23:54,875 --> 00:23:56,708
The kid who wore number five
in high school

411
00:23:56,791 --> 00:23:59,333
and 16 in college
was flown to the Mayo Clinic,

412
00:23:59,416 --> 00:24:03,041
where he was given a 3% chance
of ever moving again.

413
00:24:06,666 --> 00:24:09,083
[Chris] I thought,
hopefully I would just wake up

414
00:24:09,166 --> 00:24:12,208
from the nightmare
and it just kept getting worse.

415
00:24:14,416 --> 00:24:17,375
I remember waking up in such a fog.

416
00:24:17,875 --> 00:24:21,208
It was blurry and it was just hard

417
00:24:21,291 --> 00:24:24,583
to really make sense
of what was around me.

418
00:24:24,666 --> 00:24:26,958
Eventually the surgeon comes in

419
00:24:27,500 --> 00:24:32,500
and gives the news
of what they saw, what happened.

420
00:24:32,791 --> 00:24:39,166
Chris's surgery involved,
um, placing rods and screws

421
00:24:39,250 --> 00:24:42,791
in the cervical vertebra

422
00:24:42,916 --> 00:24:46,375
to help maintain them in alignment,

423
00:24:46,458 --> 00:24:50,333
while the bone grafting material healed.

424
00:24:50,416 --> 00:24:52,458
And so what we know is
when someone can't feel

425
00:24:52,541 --> 00:24:55,000
anything at all in their body,

426
00:24:55,083 --> 00:24:58,541
especially around the buttocks area,

427
00:24:58,625 --> 00:25:02,375
their chances of significant recovery
is quite low.

428
00:25:02,458 --> 00:25:06,208
They gave me a 3% chance
to ever regain

429
00:25:06,291 --> 00:25:09,625
any feeling or movement back
below the neck.

430
00:25:09,708 --> 00:25:12,333
He was my big brother,
someone I always looked up to

431
00:25:12,416 --> 00:25:14,666
and he seemed invincible to me.

432
00:25:14,750 --> 00:25:18,791
So to see him in a hospital bed,
I just, I couldn't believe it.

433
00:25:18,916 --> 00:25:22,375
[Chris] My parents' faces
of just concern and worry,

434
00:25:22,458 --> 00:25:24,875
but trying to stay strong for me.

435
00:25:25,333 --> 00:25:27,666
He was moving his arm
or doing something

436
00:25:27,750 --> 00:25:28,958
and I remember thinking,

437
00:25:29,041 --> 00:25:32,250
"Oh, my gosh,
he's got some movement."

438
00:25:32,333 --> 00:25:34,041
[Terry] Chris could move his left arm

439
00:25:34,125 --> 00:25:36,000
and he just kept moving it
over and over again

440
00:25:36,083 --> 00:25:39,000
and he didn't think I was noticing,
so he's winking at me,

441
00:25:39,083 --> 00:25:41,791
but he wanted to show me,
"Hey, I just beat the 3%."

442
00:25:41,875 --> 00:25:44,666
That little movement just gave me

443
00:25:44,750 --> 00:25:48,458
that huge boost of hope
that I'm gonna beat this,

444
00:25:48,541 --> 00:25:53,750
this is not--
I'm not gonna be part of the 97%

445
00:25:53,833 --> 00:25:56,083
that doesn't recover from this.

446
00:25:56,166 --> 00:26:00,000
We were not going
to let this change who we were,

447
00:26:00,083 --> 00:26:02,250
what we did, what we found joy in,

448
00:26:02,333 --> 00:26:03,666
we weren't going to do it,

449
00:26:03,750 --> 00:26:08,208
so we kind of
put our battle armor on that day

450
00:26:08,291 --> 00:26:12,333
and we suited up and we decided,
"You know what?"

451
00:26:13,458 --> 00:26:14,875
"There's no challenge too big

452
00:26:14,958 --> 00:26:17,875
that we can't conquer as a family."

453
00:26:19,583 --> 00:26:22,375
[EKG beeping]

454
00:26:22,708 --> 00:26:25,458
[Chris] That first night, you know,
I was shaken up,

455
00:26:25,541 --> 00:26:26,833
I couldn't sleep.

456
00:26:28,125 --> 00:26:31,125
Remember just crying in frustration.

457
00:26:33,166 --> 00:26:37,041
"This shouldn't be happening to me.
I should be back… in college."

458
00:26:37,125 --> 00:26:40,041
"I should be with my friends.
I should be with my teammates."

459
00:26:40,333 --> 00:26:41,333
"I shouldn't be here."

460
00:26:43,791 --> 00:26:45,041
"Why am I here?"

461
00:26:45,125 --> 00:26:46,250
"Why is this happening?"

462
00:26:47,041 --> 00:26:50,916
And not knowing those answers
was so frustrating.

463
00:26:51,916 --> 00:26:57,208
I remember my dad reading
Bible verses to me to try to,

464
00:26:57,291 --> 00:27:00,583
like, calm me down
and to put me at ease,

465
00:27:00,666 --> 00:27:02,583
you know,
"God has a bigger calling for you."

466
00:27:02,666 --> 00:27:04,208
Like, we'll get through this,

467
00:27:04,291 --> 00:27:06,250
but you just don't know that,

468
00:27:06,333 --> 00:27:08,250
you don't know if you're
gonna get through it.

469
00:27:08,333 --> 00:27:10,875
Is this gonna be my life forever?

470
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:12,375
Will I always be immobile?

471
00:27:13,291 --> 00:27:16,583
Could I ever have anything
that I once lived before?

472
00:27:18,666 --> 00:27:24,166
And the next day,
it was probably my lowest moment,

473
00:27:24,875 --> 00:27:28,250
was when my nursing staff
came in to bathe me.

474
00:27:30,500 --> 00:27:33,708
[nurse] All right, Chris, we're gonna
move down to your legs now.

475
00:27:37,166 --> 00:27:39,458
[Chris] And them
just pulling back the covers

476
00:27:40,375 --> 00:27:45,375
and seeing my legs there,
motionless and so far away.

477
00:27:46,708 --> 00:27:48,416
Them moving my legs,

478
00:27:48,500 --> 00:27:50,541
like they're moving somebody else's legs,

479
00:27:51,208 --> 00:27:56,333
bathing myself with washcloths
and not feeling it.

480
00:27:57,958 --> 00:28:00,333
And just feeling
so hopeless and vulnerable

481
00:28:01,333 --> 00:28:05,958
and being so exposed
to people you don't even know,

482
00:28:06,041 --> 00:28:07,458
how can this be my life?

483
00:28:14,458 --> 00:28:17,458
[Terry] His two sisters
just really rose to the occasion.

484
00:28:17,541 --> 00:28:21,166
Katie and Alex basically
cleared out his room at home

485
00:28:21,250 --> 00:28:24,583
and reduplicated
his room at the hospital.

486
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:28,791
Then there was just this
outpouring from everywhere.

487
00:28:28,875 --> 00:28:31,125
That was great to see
how many people really cared

488
00:28:31,208 --> 00:28:32,916
and see what they could do to help

489
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,250
and just wanted to know what was going on.

490
00:28:35,333 --> 00:28:38,125
Something that really
began to really help me is

491
00:28:38,208 --> 00:28:41,083
my family started a Caring Bridge page.

492
00:28:41,166 --> 00:28:44,125
[Alex] It reached hundreds,
if not thousands of people,

493
00:28:44,208 --> 00:28:46,375
we had no idea how it did,

494
00:28:46,458 --> 00:28:48,041
but they were touched by his story

495
00:28:48,125 --> 00:28:50,541
and just wanted to give
words of encouragement.

496
00:28:50,625 --> 00:28:52,708
So it was really, it was awesome.

497
00:28:52,791 --> 00:28:56,958
My dad, he would read
the posts from other people

498
00:28:57,041 --> 00:28:58,625
on that Caring Bridge page.

499
00:28:58,708 --> 00:29:00,333
Well, at night,
when he's lying in bed,

500
00:29:00,416 --> 00:29:05,750
that's when all those fears
and all that stuff started creeping in

501
00:29:05,833 --> 00:29:08,250
and I always wanted to end the evening

502
00:29:08,333 --> 00:29:12,333
on a positive note
with some uplifting things.

503
00:29:12,416 --> 00:29:14,333
All these people are posting these things,

504
00:29:14,416 --> 00:29:16,958
listen to this one here
that just came in.

505
00:29:17,041 --> 00:29:19,000
"Chris, there's no doubt in my mind

506
00:29:19,083 --> 00:29:20,791
that you will walk again."

507
00:29:20,875 --> 00:29:24,333
"Keep your eye on the prize,
take it one day at a time."

508
00:29:24,416 --> 00:29:27,500
"You are such an inspiration
and hopefully you will write

509
00:29:27,583 --> 00:29:30,000
a book, as your life would touch so many."

510
00:29:30,083 --> 00:29:33,291
"With my thoughts
and continued prayers, Sharon."

511
00:29:33,958 --> 00:29:38,458
And that just gave me so much courage

512
00:29:38,541 --> 00:29:40,666
that I can't let these people down.

513
00:29:40,750 --> 00:29:43,583
They're all cheering for me,
they're all rooting for me to keep going,

514
00:29:43,666 --> 00:29:45,958
like, "Chris, you can do this,
keep the faith,

515
00:29:46,166 --> 00:29:49,625
never give up."
And it just poured into me

516
00:29:49,708 --> 00:29:51,250
knowing that I can't give up.

517
00:29:54,750 --> 00:29:58,541
The moment that was
so impactful to me

518
00:29:59,250 --> 00:30:02,375
came on the fourth night
of my hospital stay.

519
00:30:02,458 --> 00:30:04,916
It's 4:00 in the morning, I can't sleep.

520
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,125
I'm so restless, frustrated.

521
00:30:07,208 --> 00:30:09,666
I'm just trying to move my body

522
00:30:09,750 --> 00:30:12,416
and just can't wait
till the sun comes up.

523
00:30:12,916 --> 00:30:16,458
And a physician comes in
to check my vitals,

524
00:30:16,541 --> 00:30:19,791
which someone comes in
and checks my vitals every two hours.

525
00:30:20,416 --> 00:30:24,416
But she did much more
than just check my vitals,

526
00:30:24,500 --> 00:30:28,875
she came to my bedside,
she got down on one knee.

527
00:30:29,791 --> 00:30:32,750
Chris, look me in the eyes.

528
00:30:32,833 --> 00:30:34,750
[Chris] She was kind of mean about it.

529
00:30:34,833 --> 00:30:36,750
I lock eyes with her.

530
00:30:36,833 --> 00:30:39,500
And she said, "My name is Georgia."

531
00:30:39,583 --> 00:30:43,458
"I'm from Wyoming, do you know
anyone from Wyoming?"

532
00:30:43,583 --> 00:30:45,000
I said, "No."

533
00:30:45,083 --> 00:30:47,875
I'm thinking,
where is this conversation going?

534
00:30:47,958 --> 00:30:51,833
Just leave me alone,
just let me be in my moment.

535
00:30:52,791 --> 00:30:56,875
And she said, "Well, people from Wyoming
don't tell lies."

536
00:30:57,750 --> 00:31:02,958
"And I'm going to tell you this, Chris,
you will beat this.

537
00:31:04,333 --> 00:31:06,708
You will beat this."

538
00:31:08,666 --> 00:31:10,916
And it was like,
she was talking to my soul.

539
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:13,375
Like, she just broke right through me.

540
00:31:14,416 --> 00:31:17,541
I've had hundreds,
if not thousands of people tell me,

541
00:31:17,666 --> 00:31:19,791
"Chris, you can do this,
you can beat this."

542
00:31:19,875 --> 00:31:23,708
But it was that moment
where I really needed it.

543
00:31:24,500 --> 00:31:29,666
And she was this angel
that came when I needed it the most,

544
00:31:30,041 --> 00:31:35,083
to give me the strength
even more so to keep going.

545
00:31:36,166 --> 00:31:39,791
It might've been over so quickly,
but it was so powerful.

546
00:31:39,875 --> 00:31:42,208
Everybody else checked the vitals
and left,

547
00:31:43,125 --> 00:31:45,041
where she did just a little bit extra,

548
00:31:45,125 --> 00:31:47,375
a little bit more
and you can do a little bit more,

549
00:31:47,458 --> 00:31:49,125
a little extra on everything that you do,

550
00:31:49,208 --> 00:31:50,583
what you're supposed to do,

551
00:31:50,708 --> 00:31:53,125
that's when you can make
the most significant impact

552
00:31:53,208 --> 00:31:54,875
and the biggest difference.

553
00:31:57,916 --> 00:32:00,333
[Deb] He'd been in the hospital
a couple of weeks

554
00:32:00,416 --> 00:32:04,583
and this is one thing
I really struggled with.

555
00:32:04,666 --> 00:32:06,458
It's like, I want him to date,

556
00:32:06,541 --> 00:32:08,916
I want him to be
married someday.

557
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:10,083
Is that gonna happen?

558
00:32:10,166 --> 00:32:13,750
Like, that was my…
I had a real fear about that.

559
00:32:13,833 --> 00:32:17,000
One of the occupational therapists,

560
00:32:17,833 --> 00:32:19,791
I shared that fear with her

561
00:32:19,875 --> 00:32:22,208
and she just looked at me and she goes,

562
00:32:22,291 --> 00:32:24,250
"Deb, he's gonna be fine.

563
00:32:24,333 --> 00:32:25,708
The right person will come along

564
00:32:25,791 --> 00:32:27,916
and they aren't gonna care about that."

565
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:29,000
As a physical therapist,

566
00:32:29,083 --> 00:32:31,291
it's my job to work
towards that common goal

567
00:32:31,375 --> 00:32:33,500
of improvements in function

568
00:32:33,625 --> 00:32:35,583
and improvements in independence

569
00:32:35,666 --> 00:32:37,166
and improvements in recovery.

570
00:32:37,833 --> 00:32:40,000
When Chris came to the rehab unit, um,

571
00:32:40,083 --> 00:32:41,916
he hadn't even been out of bed yet.

572
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,208
The primary goal,
for the first three days,

573
00:32:44,291 --> 00:32:47,208
was getting him out of bed, into a chair,

574
00:32:47,291 --> 00:32:49,333
a power wheelchair
that he could sit up in

575
00:32:49,416 --> 00:32:50,875
for a couple hours at a time.

576
00:32:50,958 --> 00:32:53,166
[Chris] And so the first day
I got in that wheelchair,

577
00:32:53,250 --> 00:32:54,833
I was in it for 30 minutes

578
00:32:54,916 --> 00:32:57,166
and I had to get out
before I got sick.

579
00:32:57,833 --> 00:32:59,833
And then the next day I went 45 minutes

580
00:32:59,916 --> 00:33:04,875
and each day I continually, gradually
improved my ability to just sit in it,

581
00:33:04,958 --> 00:33:07,125
not do anything and I couldn't drive it,

582
00:33:07,208 --> 00:33:11,041
but just to be able to be upright,
that was my therapy.

583
00:33:11,916 --> 00:33:13,291
It was difficult.

584
00:33:13,375 --> 00:33:16,833
And at that point,
about a month after his accident,

585
00:33:16,916 --> 00:33:19,916
um, he had feeling at around
the top of his shoulders

586
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:21,750
and a little bit going down his arms

587
00:33:21,833 --> 00:33:24,833
and a small amount
of strength in his arms.

588
00:33:24,916 --> 00:33:28,833
And fortunately over the ensuing
several weeks,

589
00:33:28,916 --> 00:33:31,541
that progressed as we wanted to see

590
00:33:31,625 --> 00:33:32,958
and hoped for it to see.

591
00:33:33,041 --> 00:33:34,416
Because he was an athlete,

592
00:33:34,500 --> 00:33:38,041
because he was in such good shape
and condition before his injury,

593
00:33:38,125 --> 00:33:40,333
he could tolerate more intensity.

594
00:33:40,416 --> 00:33:42,500
So we started doing
one hour of physical therapy

595
00:33:42,583 --> 00:33:44,500
in the morning
and one hour in the afternoon,

596
00:33:44,583 --> 00:33:48,083
which gave us the opportunity
to do a lot of different things

597
00:33:48,166 --> 00:33:50,625
and to really combine the compensation

598
00:33:50,708 --> 00:33:54,000
versus the recovery approach
at the same time.

599
00:33:54,083 --> 00:33:56,750
I'll never forget this,
it was the middle of the night,

600
00:33:56,833 --> 00:33:58,958
we're both, I thought, asleep,

601
00:33:59,041 --> 00:34:01,166
and I hear this "Dad, Dad."

602
00:34:01,958 --> 00:34:04,916
He said,
"The little things that I do extra

603
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:09,000
is gonna make the difference
between what I can and can't do."

604
00:34:09,083 --> 00:34:12,125
And I said, "Well, Chris,
that's actually true for all of us."

605
00:34:12,208 --> 00:34:14,333
I said, "Doing those extra things

606
00:34:14,416 --> 00:34:17,250
is what makes us
successful or not successful."

607
00:34:17,333 --> 00:34:20,166
And he said, "Well, I want you
to put a list up on the wall

608
00:34:20,250 --> 00:34:24,541
and make sure I do those things
every single day."

609
00:34:24,958 --> 00:34:27,000
And I said, "Well, Chris, it's 3:00 a.m.

610
00:34:27,083 --> 00:34:30,166
Can we wait till 7:00 to do that?"
[laughing]

611
00:34:31,166 --> 00:34:32,416
We'll start tomorrow, bud.

612
00:34:34,500 --> 00:34:37,125
Professionally, I might draw
from my personal experiences

613
00:34:37,208 --> 00:34:40,416
and say, "Typically, this is what we see,
or this is what we do,"

614
00:34:40,500 --> 00:34:43,083
and I always saw the look
in Chris's eyes right away

615
00:34:43,166 --> 00:34:45,791
that he wasn't typical
and he wasn't usual.

616
00:34:45,875 --> 00:34:48,750
So I had to refrain from saying
those usual words,

617
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:53,291
but usually the rehab setting is about
three hours of therapy a day,

618
00:34:53,375 --> 00:34:55,625
between physical therapy
and occupational therapy.

619
00:34:55,708 --> 00:34:58,291
He was definitely
always asking for more

620
00:34:58,375 --> 00:35:01,291
and wanting to do more
and when he did his

621
00:35:01,375 --> 00:35:03,625
four or five hours
of therapy through the day,

622
00:35:03,708 --> 00:35:06,041
he was also doing one
to two hours of therapy at night

623
00:35:06,125 --> 00:35:08,791
with his family,
which was pretty remarkable.

624
00:35:08,875 --> 00:35:13,083
I had to relearn how to move
different parts of my body

625
00:35:13,208 --> 00:35:15,041
with what was connected.

626
00:35:15,125 --> 00:35:18,375
Takes so much tedious work
to get those connections back

627
00:35:18,458 --> 00:35:22,625
and that I would fatigue
with my nerves, not my muscles.

628
00:35:24,083 --> 00:35:28,666
He was always looking
for more to do with therapy.

629
00:35:28,750 --> 00:35:34,458
He was always looking forward
to the next milestone,

630
00:35:34,541 --> 00:35:37,875
the next phase of his recovery
and the next accomplishment.

631
00:35:37,958 --> 00:35:41,125
[woman] Yeah, lifting your…
try to lift your stomach off and hold

632
00:35:41,208 --> 00:35:43,125
and depress it, yes.

633
00:35:43,208 --> 00:35:45,875
[Amy Sikkink] I've never seen
anybody's drive like his, ever,

634
00:35:45,958 --> 00:35:48,916
and we've had plenty of patients where…

635
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:52,041
He was driven
from the first day, for sure.

636
00:35:52,166 --> 00:35:53,416
I still talk to a lot of people

637
00:35:53,500 --> 00:35:56,458
that are going through
with their child's spinal cord injury.

638
00:35:56,541 --> 00:35:58,250
"When did Chris start moving his legs?"

639
00:35:58,333 --> 00:35:59,875
And that's something a lot of people

640
00:35:59,958 --> 00:36:01,708
with spinal cord injuries
really hang on to.

641
00:36:01,791 --> 00:36:04,666
Well, the number we kept hearing
was five or six weeks.

642
00:36:04,750 --> 00:36:06,958
Well, it was easy
during the first two weeks,

643
00:36:07,041 --> 00:36:10,875
we'd tell Chris, "Hey, it's still early,
your body's recovering from the shock."

644
00:36:10,958 --> 00:36:13,125
You start closing in
on that five or six weeks

645
00:36:13,208 --> 00:36:16,916
and I know Deb and I were feeling
like that collar was starting to tighten.

646
00:36:17,500 --> 00:36:19,708
[Deb] That's incentive, honey, I mean…

647
00:36:19,791 --> 00:36:21,916
[woman] So you might
wanna close your eyes.

648
00:36:22,750 --> 00:36:25,083
Even like a little sensation,
is it tingly?

649
00:36:25,166 --> 00:36:26,916
[Chris] Yeah, it's a tingling sensation.

650
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:32,000
I woke up with this new
sensation in my left big toe.

651
00:36:32,083 --> 00:36:33,791
Maybe it's like the feeling you get

652
00:36:33,875 --> 00:36:36,583
when you have the covers
over your feet and it slides off

653
00:36:36,666 --> 00:36:40,500
and you can feel your toes exposed
to, like, that brisk air.

654
00:36:40,583 --> 00:36:44,375
Well, my toe was exposed and I'm excited.

655
00:36:44,458 --> 00:36:46,833
This is huge news,
my parents are excited

656
00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:50,666
and we knew we would be
able to talk to the doctor

657
00:36:50,750 --> 00:36:55,541
right after we have the morning meeting,
which they call rounds.

658
00:36:55,625 --> 00:36:57,333
And I tell my doctor, I'm like, "Okay,

659
00:36:57,416 --> 00:36:59,458
there's something
happening in my left big toe,

660
00:36:59,541 --> 00:37:02,458
you've gotta check it out, it's exposed.

661
00:37:02,541 --> 00:37:04,750
I'm going to move it,
there's something going on here."

662
00:37:04,833 --> 00:37:08,916
He begins to go into this spiel
or a lecture

663
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:12,125
of how I'm experiencing
a phantom feeling

664
00:37:12,208 --> 00:37:15,166
and that these phantom
feelings happen a lot

665
00:37:15,250 --> 00:37:16,791
to people with spinal cord injuries,

666
00:37:16,875 --> 00:37:19,166
where they get these
made up sensations

667
00:37:19,250 --> 00:37:22,166
and feelings in their heads,
because they want it so badly.

668
00:37:22,250 --> 00:37:24,250
Well, can you just take my shoe off?

669
00:37:24,333 --> 00:37:26,666
'Cause I think there
is something happening,

670
00:37:26,750 --> 00:37:28,958
I don't think
it's a phantom feeling.

671
00:37:29,041 --> 00:37:31,000
I'm thinking, "You should
be excited about this,

672
00:37:31,083 --> 00:37:32,833
like, this is huge news, right?"

673
00:37:32,916 --> 00:37:36,375
And he refused to look at my toe.

674
00:37:37,083 --> 00:37:38,958
It's just a trick of your mind.

675
00:37:39,041 --> 00:37:43,041
Um… I know you really want
to feel something badly

676
00:37:43,125 --> 00:37:46,416
and I understand.
You will not be able

677
00:37:46,500 --> 00:37:49,083
to move anything in your legs ever again.

678
00:37:49,666 --> 00:37:50,875
I am sorry.

679
00:37:52,833 --> 00:37:54,541
[Chris] He says it so nonchalantly,

680
00:37:54,625 --> 00:37:58,000
like it's no big deal,
just matter of fact.

681
00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:01,625
But this was like everything to me…

682
00:38:01,708 --> 00:38:05,041
My everyday goal
was to get something in my legs

683
00:38:05,125 --> 00:38:11,041
and to move, and to hear that
from a doctor was just devastating.

684
00:38:11,125 --> 00:38:12,750
It just caught me off guard.

685
00:38:13,541 --> 00:38:16,250
'Cause I could see the look on his face

686
00:38:16,333 --> 00:38:18,958
and I just immediately teared up,

687
00:38:19,041 --> 00:38:20,791
and I turned
and I walked into the bathroom

688
00:38:20,875 --> 00:38:23,958
for just a second and I said,
"God, give me strength."

689
00:38:24,041 --> 00:38:25,708
[water running]

690
00:38:27,875 --> 00:38:28,875
[Terry sighs]

691
00:38:28,958 --> 00:38:31,208
Then I turned around
and walked right back out

692
00:38:31,291 --> 00:38:36,500
and I said, "Chris, no one is gonna ever
determine your outcome but you."

693
00:38:36,583 --> 00:38:38,916
I looked back at him
with tears in my eyes

694
00:38:40,041 --> 00:38:44,750
and I responded to that situation
with more determination than ever before

695
00:38:44,833 --> 00:38:47,708
that I'm gonna prove this doctor wrong.

696
00:38:47,791 --> 00:38:51,125
We did not like
any negative talk around him,

697
00:38:51,208 --> 00:38:53,041
it was only positive talk.

698
00:38:53,125 --> 00:38:55,666
It was only, this is what
we're gonna do to get better.

699
00:38:55,750 --> 00:38:57,833
This is what, this is the plan,

700
00:38:57,916 --> 00:38:59,750
it was nothing negative,

701
00:38:59,833 --> 00:39:01,833
and if you had something
negative to say,

702
00:39:01,916 --> 00:39:03,875
you better say it
in somebody else's room,

703
00:39:03,958 --> 00:39:06,291
'cause it wasn't gonna happen
in Chris's room.

704
00:39:06,375 --> 00:39:10,833
And not even a week later,
on Thanksgiving morning,

705
00:39:10,916 --> 00:39:13,375
I wiggled that exact left big toe

706
00:39:13,458 --> 00:39:15,208
he said I would
never move again.

707
00:39:15,291 --> 00:39:16,833
It was Thanksgiving morning

708
00:39:16,916 --> 00:39:19,333
and we were all excited
to get together.

709
00:39:19,458 --> 00:39:21,833
[Chris] Something that I wanted to do
right away

710
00:39:21,958 --> 00:39:23,875
was to prank him,
I love playing tricks,

711
00:39:23,958 --> 00:39:25,875
and I tell him to come over, I'm like,

712
00:39:25,958 --> 00:39:28,666
"Dad, can you do that pep talk?

713
00:39:28,750 --> 00:39:30,375
Can you yell at my foot again?"

714
00:39:31,083 --> 00:39:34,916
He loves, like, being a goofball
and just yelling at my feet.

715
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:37,541
He would just grab
my foot and just like,

716
00:39:37,625 --> 00:39:41,166
give it like a pep talk, like,
"Come on, like, wake up,

717
00:39:41,250 --> 00:39:44,375
move, move."
He would just yell at it, right?

718
00:39:44,458 --> 00:39:45,875
-[Terry] Let's move.
-[laughing]

719
00:39:45,958 --> 00:39:47,833
-[Chris] It's not working.
-[Terry] Let's move.

720
00:39:47,916 --> 00:39:50,250
-I need more. I need more out of you.
-Let's move.

721
00:39:50,333 --> 00:39:53,500
[Terry] I'm talking, being silly,
and all of a sudden that left toe wiggled.

722
00:39:53,583 --> 00:39:56,750
And I just about
flew out of my clothes.

723
00:39:56,833 --> 00:39:59,791
I just like jumped back
and I'm like, "Did you do that?"

724
00:39:59,875 --> 00:40:01,750
'Cause I thought maybe it was a spasm.

725
00:40:01,833 --> 00:40:03,208
And he goes, "What?"

726
00:40:03,291 --> 00:40:05,125
And so he goes, "Talk to him again."

727
00:40:05,208 --> 00:40:07,541
So I started talking to him again
and it wiggles again.

728
00:40:07,625 --> 00:40:11,208
Deb just started a combination
of crying and laughing.

729
00:40:11,791 --> 00:40:13,041
Oh, my gosh.

730
00:40:14,541 --> 00:40:17,541
It just… it was such a blessing.

731
00:40:17,625 --> 00:40:20,708
You know, it made our day.

732
00:40:20,791 --> 00:40:23,750
They had it all planned out
how they were gonna break that to us.

733
00:40:23,833 --> 00:40:25,166
We just couldn't believe it,

734
00:40:25,250 --> 00:40:27,583
but that's typical Chris fashion.

735
00:40:27,666 --> 00:40:30,250
And I was pumped, I was fired up.

736
00:40:30,333 --> 00:40:34,583
I was like, kind of like,
game day excited,

737
00:40:34,666 --> 00:40:37,083
where I was telling
my nurses and therapists,

738
00:40:37,166 --> 00:40:39,416
everybody that was there that day,

739
00:40:39,500 --> 00:40:44,500
"You go find that doctor
and tell him phantom this,

740
00:40:44,958 --> 00:40:47,916
as I wiggle my toe in his face."

741
00:40:53,708 --> 00:40:56,916
[Dr. Reeves] He began initially to have
some strength in his abdomen,

742
00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:59,791
his core muscles
that the therapists began to see

743
00:40:59,875 --> 00:41:03,708
in the therapy gym
and a few days to a week after that,

744
00:41:03,875 --> 00:41:06,458
several muscles in his legs
began to recover.

745
00:41:06,541 --> 00:41:09,666
I, as a tech,
am the second set of hands.

746
00:41:10,291 --> 00:41:13,708
So whatever Megan was doing on one side,

747
00:41:13,791 --> 00:41:15,875
I was supposed to reflect that
on the other.

748
00:41:16,583 --> 00:41:20,875
Once Megan felt comfortable,
which was pretty quick,

749
00:41:21,875 --> 00:41:24,500
she's like, "We're gonna stand him."
I'm like, "Okay."

750
00:41:24,583 --> 00:41:29,666
And next thing you know,
we get him up on his feet.

751
00:41:29,750 --> 00:41:32,291
[Chris] I'd have, like, three
therapists gathered around me,

752
00:41:32,375 --> 00:41:34,541
all supporting me,
I had leg braces on,

753
00:41:34,625 --> 00:41:38,500
I had ACE bandage wraps
all the way up my legs.

754
00:41:38,583 --> 00:41:40,750
And all this armor, really,

755
00:41:40,833 --> 00:41:42,958
to just be able to try to stand.

756
00:41:43,041 --> 00:41:45,375
To be upright, to be standing,

757
00:41:45,458 --> 00:41:48,666
it just gave me a sense of freedom.

758
00:41:49,666 --> 00:41:54,625
[gentle uplifting music]

759
00:41:56,833 --> 00:41:58,458
After that six-week mark,

760
00:41:58,583 --> 00:42:01,000
where I was able
to kind of initiate some steps

761
00:42:01,083 --> 00:42:05,666
with spasticity, I would really help
kick my legs up and forward

762
00:42:05,750 --> 00:42:09,875
and I just tried to use that
to try to move my legs a little bit,

763
00:42:09,958 --> 00:42:13,375
but I needed help with
someone moving my legs for me.

764
00:42:17,583 --> 00:42:21,125
Mayo facilities are top-notch,

765
00:42:21,208 --> 00:42:23,708
but more importantly,
the people are top-notch

766
00:42:23,791 --> 00:42:25,958
and that's what was
most important to me,

767
00:42:26,041 --> 00:42:27,875
where I wanted to be there so badly

768
00:42:27,958 --> 00:42:32,333
and I knew they'd give me
the best opportunity to recover.

769
00:42:32,875 --> 00:42:35,583
I don't care
what anybody else has to say,

770
00:42:35,666 --> 00:42:38,291
like, I'm walking out of this hospital.

771
00:42:38,375 --> 00:42:41,000
I just kind of had
that naive belief in myself,

772
00:42:41,083 --> 00:42:43,541
but I don't care,
you kind of need that.

773
00:42:43,625 --> 00:42:47,041
You kind of need that reckless,
abandoned belief in yourself

774
00:42:47,125 --> 00:42:48,666
that you're gonna overcome it.

775
00:42:50,875 --> 00:42:53,333
What was really amazing for me

776
00:42:53,416 --> 00:42:56,625
was that my friends
constantly visited me,

777
00:42:56,708 --> 00:42:59,958
not just friends, but community
members, family friends, family,

778
00:43:00,041 --> 00:43:04,125
you know, so many people just came out
just to be there with me.

779
00:43:04,250 --> 00:43:06,416
And that's just something
I'll never forget.

780
00:43:06,500 --> 00:43:09,583
It's not what they said
or what time they came,

781
00:43:09,666 --> 00:43:11,083
it was just that they were there.

782
00:43:11,166 --> 00:43:12,416
[all greeting Chris]

783
00:43:12,500 --> 00:43:15,916
[Chris] My friends would make
the drive from Luther College,

784
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:19,625
which is almost an hour
and a half ride each way,

785
00:43:19,708 --> 00:43:21,625
and they'd do it during,
you know, school,

786
00:43:21,750 --> 00:43:23,208
and they'd do it on the weekends.

787
00:43:23,291 --> 00:43:25,833
They just came and visited me
as much as possible

788
00:43:25,916 --> 00:43:27,833
and that just meant the world to me.

789
00:43:27,958 --> 00:43:30,375
The reason we went up to visit him,
a lot of people think

790
00:43:30,458 --> 00:43:31,708
is to make him feel better,

791
00:43:31,791 --> 00:43:33,500
but most of the time it was just because

792
00:43:33,583 --> 00:43:36,375
we wanted to see him and we always
felt better after we talked to him.

793
00:43:36,458 --> 00:43:38,666
[Tanner Douglas] As soon
as we walked in, it was, like,

794
00:43:38,750 --> 00:43:43,416
we were just sitting in the dorms.
There was never an ounce of sadness,

795
00:43:43,500 --> 00:43:45,541
or stress on his face,

796
00:43:45,625 --> 00:43:47,791
he's just happy to be
around all the guys.

797
00:43:47,875 --> 00:43:50,875
See, when you go to a hospital,
you think, you know,

798
00:43:50,958 --> 00:43:54,541
people are sick, you know,
kind of a heavy and somber mood,

799
00:43:54,625 --> 00:43:57,583
but whenever we went,
we tried to make Chris laugh,

800
00:43:57,666 --> 00:43:59,750
and to make him feel
like he's one of the guys.

801
00:43:59,833 --> 00:44:03,541
[Tanner] So we found the ugliest
sweaters we possibly could

802
00:44:03,625 --> 00:44:06,250
and brought them up and forced Chris

803
00:44:06,333 --> 00:44:08,958
into taking an ugly Christmas
sweater picture with us.

804
00:44:09,041 --> 00:44:11,291
-[laughter]
-[man] There you go.

805
00:44:13,583 --> 00:44:17,208
[Richie] We used to Skype him
into our party sometime.

806
00:44:17,333 --> 00:44:20,958
We'd all, like, turn the music down
and have Skype up

807
00:44:21,041 --> 00:44:23,041
and Chris would just
come in from nowhere

808
00:44:23,125 --> 00:44:24,875
and the whole room would go crazy.

809
00:44:24,958 --> 00:44:27,666
He was like a celebrity on campus,
I mean, it was crazy.

810
00:44:27,750 --> 00:44:30,875
Everyone always wanted
to know how Chris was doing.

811
00:44:30,958 --> 00:44:33,083
It was such a cool
community atmosphere.

812
00:44:33,166 --> 00:44:37,208
It's very unique to have
a core set of male friends

813
00:44:37,291 --> 00:44:41,458
who have stepped up
to help Chris not only recover,

814
00:44:41,541 --> 00:44:45,625
but get back to life and then live
as much of a normal life

815
00:44:45,708 --> 00:44:48,708
as he possibly can,
is just unbelievable,

816
00:44:48,791 --> 00:44:51,083
to see the support
that they have given him.

817
00:44:51,166 --> 00:44:53,208
And honestly, I feel it's a very,

818
00:44:53,291 --> 00:44:56,291
very important piece of his recovery.

819
00:45:01,583 --> 00:45:04,333
[Deb] I really felt like he had to go back

820
00:45:04,416 --> 00:45:07,333
to college in the fall,
because if he didn't,

821
00:45:08,708 --> 00:45:10,458
I just felt like
it maybe wouldn't happen,

822
00:45:10,541 --> 00:45:12,166
or something would change.

823
00:45:12,250 --> 00:45:15,333
So I'm just like, "Oh,
you're going back to college."

824
00:45:15,416 --> 00:45:17,625
He said, "I'm gonna come back
and I'm gonna finish

825
00:45:17,708 --> 00:45:19,500
and graduate."
And in our minds we're like,

826
00:45:19,583 --> 00:45:22,250
"Okay, man, you can't
really do anything

827
00:45:22,333 --> 00:45:25,166
for yourself right now
and that seems like a lofty goal."

828
00:45:25,250 --> 00:45:28,875
And never in his mind
or in his words was there any doubt.

829
00:45:28,958 --> 00:45:31,291
And I think that's one of the things

830
00:45:31,375 --> 00:45:35,291
that probably defines Chris
is just his determination.

831
00:45:38,208 --> 00:45:41,833
[Chris] I was very anxious
going back home in a wheelchair.

832
00:45:41,958 --> 00:45:46,041
I remember my first visit vividly,
because I'm going back

833
00:45:46,125 --> 00:45:52,041
to my old life, but a completely
different circumstance.

834
00:45:52,125 --> 00:45:55,458
And how are things
going to be now that

835
00:45:56,291 --> 00:45:59,583
I'm moving about in a wheelchair
versus my own physical ability?

836
00:46:00,583 --> 00:46:03,750
When I came back, it was
actually my birthday weekend

837
00:46:03,833 --> 00:46:06,125
and I was so excited
to have all my friends there

838
00:46:06,208 --> 00:46:09,375
and we were way late
on our reservations.

839
00:46:09,458 --> 00:46:11,708
And we're anxiously
trying to get me transferred

840
00:46:11,791 --> 00:46:14,375
into a vehicle and when
my friend was transferring me

841
00:46:14,458 --> 00:46:19,875
to the front seat,
his butt hit the lock button

842
00:46:19,958 --> 00:46:22,541
and he slams the door shut.

843
00:46:22,625 --> 00:46:24,875
They tried to get back in, they can't.

844
00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:27,416
And I instantly,
I look over to the ignition,

845
00:46:28,125 --> 00:46:31,125
I see the keys dangling there
and I'm just like,

846
00:46:32,250 --> 00:46:35,416
"Oh, my gosh, is this really happening?"

847
00:46:35,916 --> 00:46:39,000
Well, then they're like, "Hey,
just hit the unlock button."

848
00:46:39,833 --> 00:46:41,708
And I went to try to unlock it

849
00:46:41,791 --> 00:46:45,291
and my right arm was so weak
that from the front seat,

850
00:46:45,375 --> 00:46:49,083
I couldn't move my arm
just enough to hit the unlock.

851
00:46:50,541 --> 00:46:54,916
And that moment I just
wanted to break down crying.

852
00:46:55,583 --> 00:47:00,708
Like, I can't even unlock
the door of a vehicle.

853
00:47:00,791 --> 00:47:04,041
Everyone realizes,
"Oh, my God, Chris, it's his birthday

854
00:47:04,125 --> 00:47:07,208
and he's locked in this car
and we have no extra keys."

855
00:47:07,291 --> 00:47:08,416
The keys are in the car.

856
00:47:08,500 --> 00:47:11,041
Our buddies jump
in their car and speed off

857
00:47:11,125 --> 00:47:12,666
like 100 miles an hour going to find

858
00:47:12,750 --> 00:47:14,291
an extra spare set of keys,

859
00:47:14,375 --> 00:47:16,125
but it's still 20 miles down the road.

860
00:47:16,208 --> 00:47:19,250
And so at this point,
we're late for our reservation

861
00:47:19,333 --> 00:47:21,833
and Chris is just like,
he looks like a ghost,

862
00:47:21,916 --> 00:47:23,000
he was just beside himself,

863
00:47:23,083 --> 00:47:25,833
'cause he never wanted to be
the guy holding people up.

864
00:47:25,916 --> 00:47:27,750
So we decided to pretend that…

865
00:47:27,833 --> 00:47:31,375
Chris only had a couple
of seconds left to breathe,

866
00:47:31,458 --> 00:47:33,041
so he had like a minute left.

867
00:47:33,125 --> 00:47:36,000
[Chris] And he's like, "Do these
breathing exercises with me."

868
00:47:36,083 --> 00:47:38,666
And he's like… [breathing deeply]

869
00:47:38,750 --> 00:47:40,708
And we go through
this breathing routine

870
00:47:40,791 --> 00:47:42,625
and I just bust out laughing.

871
00:47:42,708 --> 00:47:45,833
That moment almost ruined my day,

872
00:47:45,916 --> 00:47:48,083
it almost ruined my whole night.

873
00:47:48,166 --> 00:47:50,666
Instead, we laughed about it,
we joked about it,

874
00:47:50,750 --> 00:47:52,958
and we moved forward
and had a great night.

875
00:47:55,625 --> 00:47:57,666
[Alex Peterson] Chris was gone
for all those months

876
00:47:57,750 --> 00:47:59,708
and then all of a sudden he comes back

877
00:47:59,791 --> 00:48:02,375
and it's like having
a newborn baby sit on your lap

878
00:48:02,458 --> 00:48:04,500
and be responsible for it
at 18 years old.

879
00:48:04,625 --> 00:48:06,541
From the beginning,
when he came back to campus,

880
00:48:06,625 --> 00:48:09,958
we were all Chris's caregivers,
everyone on the football team really,

881
00:48:10,041 --> 00:48:12,375
but especially the group of, you know,

882
00:48:12,458 --> 00:48:15,291
eight guys that were in our dorm.

883
00:48:15,916 --> 00:48:19,250
And a lot of times
that just meant like,

884
00:48:19,333 --> 00:48:21,333
you know, helping him brush his teeth

885
00:48:21,416 --> 00:48:24,958
or helping him get his shoes on
in the morning,

886
00:48:25,041 --> 00:48:26,375
helping him get ready for bed.

887
00:48:26,458 --> 00:48:30,166
It was kind of like,
we were all kind of single dads

888
00:48:30,250 --> 00:48:31,666
for Chris for a little bit,

889
00:48:31,750 --> 00:48:34,500
which was a really interesting
bonding experience.

890
00:48:34,625 --> 00:48:36,916
They're helping me push to class.

891
00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:38,625
Just help me with everything,

892
00:48:38,708 --> 00:48:41,416
just get me to anywhere on campus,

893
00:48:41,500 --> 00:48:43,250
anywhere in the town.

894
00:48:43,333 --> 00:48:47,000
I remember us all sitting together
and almost strategically planning out,

895
00:48:47,083 --> 00:48:48,916
who's going to take care of Chris,
which day,

896
00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:50,541
when he first got back to college

897
00:48:50,625 --> 00:48:54,083
it was, all of us had to come together
and grow up pretty fast,

898
00:48:54,166 --> 00:48:57,333
you know, because we had
his life in our hands.

899
00:48:57,416 --> 00:49:01,208
The transition for Chris
from his chair to bed every night,

900
00:49:01,291 --> 00:49:03,333
I can remember doing
that right away.

901
00:49:03,416 --> 00:49:08,166
You know, you stand him up
and he shakes.

902
00:49:08,250 --> 00:49:10,708
You can feel a person that you're holding,

903
00:49:11,625 --> 00:49:15,791
that can't control that
and you have his weight,

904
00:49:15,875 --> 00:49:20,375
and I think that moment is
super intimate between you two

905
00:49:20,458 --> 00:49:22,708
because he needs you,
physically needs you to do that,

906
00:49:22,791 --> 00:49:27,291
but also because
you can feel that difference.

907
00:49:27,375 --> 00:49:29,208
I mean, Chris and I were roommates before,

908
00:49:29,291 --> 00:49:32,708
but we were literally bed mates
for that first year

909
00:49:32,791 --> 00:49:36,000
'cause Chris would oftentimes
have trouble sleeping

910
00:49:36,083 --> 00:49:39,083
and it was helpful
if you had to scratch an itch,

911
00:49:39,166 --> 00:49:43,833
or if you had to move his arm
in a certain area.

912
00:49:43,916 --> 00:49:46,875
Uh, it was kind of like
a special club of all the guys

913
00:49:46,958 --> 00:49:48,625
who would help out Chris

914
00:49:48,708 --> 00:49:50,375
and we always used to play this game,

915
00:49:50,458 --> 00:49:52,791
"Who in this room
has slept with Chris Norton?"

916
00:49:52,875 --> 00:49:55,000
"Who in this room
has slept in the same bed?"

917
00:49:55,083 --> 00:49:57,833
And it was half of the guys in the room,

918
00:49:57,916 --> 00:50:00,958
like, "Yeah,
I've done the caregiver stint."

919
00:50:01,041 --> 00:50:03,291
So at first it was just like,

920
00:50:03,375 --> 00:50:05,875
you know, we have too many people
even to help out.

921
00:50:06,791 --> 00:50:09,708
Obviously,
school was really tough at first,

922
00:50:09,833 --> 00:50:11,666
I was taking 12 credits,

923
00:50:11,750 --> 00:50:14,291
I was trying to be
part of the football team.

924
00:50:14,416 --> 00:50:18,375
I just wanna talk to you guys
about being able to compete.

925
00:50:18,458 --> 00:50:23,208
There's nothing I miss more
than competition.

926
00:50:23,291 --> 00:50:26,000
[announcer] Honorary
pro-captain Chris Norton.

927
00:50:26,083 --> 00:50:28,625
[crowd cheering]

928
00:50:28,875 --> 00:50:32,583
[Del] I think a lot of
what makes Chris what he is,

929
00:50:32,666 --> 00:50:33,916
was his passion for football

930
00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:36,083
and I think that
that showed in how he played

931
00:50:36,166 --> 00:50:40,000
and it shows now in, you know,
how he still feels about the game.

932
00:50:40,083 --> 00:50:43,416
When you go and ask him
about that play, he says

933
00:50:43,500 --> 00:50:46,041
if he had to go back
and do it all over again, he would.

934
00:50:46,125 --> 00:50:49,166
That to me is one of the most
telling statements about him.

935
00:50:49,250 --> 00:50:52,500
I know Chris was super passionate about

936
00:50:52,583 --> 00:50:54,125
being a Luther football player,

937
00:50:54,208 --> 00:50:58,458
and so for us it was like,
we can go win for Chris.

938
00:50:58,541 --> 00:51:00,750
I mean,
that's all we can do at this point.

939
00:51:02,458 --> 00:51:05,333
[Chris] It's such a huge transition
to try to do schoolwork

940
00:51:05,416 --> 00:51:07,958
and reading and tests, papers.

941
00:51:08,375 --> 00:51:11,541
It was a lot. I was going
from early morning to late at night,

942
00:51:11,625 --> 00:51:15,208
but it was so fun,
I enjoyed just being there with everybody

943
00:51:15,291 --> 00:51:18,416
and having that sense of normalcy,
it was really great.

944
00:51:18,500 --> 00:51:21,083
So little by little,
he kept adding things in

945
00:51:21,166 --> 00:51:24,041
and then he started doing
workouts on campus

946
00:51:24,125 --> 00:51:26,291
and he had his equipment brought here

947
00:51:26,375 --> 00:51:29,333
and he would let us
go and take him to work out

948
00:51:29,416 --> 00:51:33,000
and that turned in
from a 20, 30 minute ordeal

949
00:51:33,083 --> 00:51:35,625
to twice a day, two, three hour ordeal.

950
00:51:35,708 --> 00:51:37,208
It was pretty incredible because

951
00:51:37,291 --> 00:51:40,333
you kept thinking, okay,
we're gonna hit a wall

952
00:51:40,416 --> 00:51:42,250
at a certain point and he never did.

953
00:51:44,291 --> 00:51:47,250
To the point where he started
asking to stand up

954
00:51:47,333 --> 00:51:49,458
and try to stand unassisted

955
00:51:49,625 --> 00:51:51,416
and when he first said
that was gonna happen,

956
00:51:51,500 --> 00:51:53,375
it was like,
we haven't seen this Chris,

957
00:51:53,458 --> 00:51:55,875
like, you're not even supposed
to be here, you know?

958
00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:58,250
And then he started doing it, man,

959
00:51:58,333 --> 00:52:00,958
and he's incredible in that way.

960
00:52:01,041 --> 00:52:01,916
[woman 1] Holy cow.

961
00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:04,625
[woman 2] You, Chris Norton.

962
00:52:04,708 --> 00:52:08,583
It's something
that I always note to myself,

963
00:52:08,666 --> 00:52:12,625
is like, how many times
they would go out of their way

964
00:52:12,708 --> 00:52:14,208
to make sure I was okay,

965
00:52:14,291 --> 00:52:16,666
go out of their way to help me out

966
00:52:16,750 --> 00:52:18,583
when it wasn't convenient for them.

967
00:52:18,666 --> 00:52:20,708
You know, it takes a lot of extra work
and effort

968
00:52:20,791 --> 00:52:22,708
to help me out
and to get anywhere,

969
00:52:22,791 --> 00:52:25,291
and they were just willing
to include me on everything.

970
00:52:25,375 --> 00:52:26,583
They didn't care.

971
00:52:26,666 --> 00:52:30,083
They just made me feel so comfortable
about doing anything with them.

972
00:52:30,166 --> 00:52:32,000
People would always go
tubing down the river,

973
00:52:32,083 --> 00:52:33,958
it was just kind of
the summer thing to do,

974
00:52:34,041 --> 00:52:35,958
we have such cold winters,
when we have summer,

975
00:52:36,041 --> 00:52:37,208
we gotta do something.

976
00:52:37,291 --> 00:52:39,125
So, you know, Chris,

977
00:52:39,208 --> 00:52:40,958
I don't remember
who came up with the idea,

978
00:52:41,041 --> 00:52:42,833
but Chris wanted to tube down the river.

979
00:52:42,916 --> 00:52:44,541
And with a team of football guys,

980
00:52:44,625 --> 00:52:46,708
we could always get Chris
wherever we wanted to go.

981
00:52:46,791 --> 00:52:51,000
There was no such thing
as a non-accessible building or space.

982
00:52:51,083 --> 00:52:52,750
So we put that to the test

983
00:52:52,833 --> 00:52:55,666
and the river was probably
a little too high at this point,

984
00:52:55,750 --> 00:52:59,000
but we took him inside
and got him on this giant

985
00:52:59,083 --> 00:53:02,583
inflatable tube
and of course, he burns like crazy.

986
00:53:02,666 --> 00:53:05,541
And so we slathered him in sunscreen,

987
00:53:05,625 --> 00:53:08,500
like 30 football guys
just floating down the river

988
00:53:08,583 --> 00:53:10,875
and Chris is just
the captain of the armada.

989
00:53:10,958 --> 00:53:12,500
-Are you guys ready?
-Yeah.

990
00:53:13,208 --> 00:53:14,875
As soon as we put him in the tube

991
00:53:14,958 --> 00:53:17,000
and we got moving down the river,

992
00:53:17,083 --> 00:53:20,666
it was like the whole thing
was just normal.

993
00:53:21,333 --> 00:53:23,625
And you could tell his face relaxed

994
00:53:23,708 --> 00:53:26,500
and he was just happy
to be out in the sun

995
00:53:26,583 --> 00:53:28,500
and hanging out with all the guys.

996
00:53:28,583 --> 00:53:30,708
[Alex Peterson] To put
all those distractions aside

997
00:53:30,791 --> 00:53:32,833
and be able to just be
with the guys for a day

998
00:53:32,916 --> 00:53:35,916
tubing on the river, I mean,
that's all you can ask for.

999
00:53:39,708 --> 00:53:42,416
I was very anxious
and nervous about dating

1000
00:53:42,500 --> 00:53:46,625
because I know there's…
I come with a lot of responsibilities.

1001
00:53:46,708 --> 00:53:51,625
I need a lot of help with a lot of things
that you should be independent on.

1002
00:53:52,000 --> 00:53:55,875
And to be with somebody
that would have to take on

1003
00:53:55,958 --> 00:53:58,958
a lot of that load was nerve-wracking.

1004
00:53:59,041 --> 00:54:01,583
I feel like I had
high standards for a girl,

1005
00:54:01,666 --> 00:54:02,750
I wanted the perfect girl.

1006
00:54:02,833 --> 00:54:06,541
I don't want to date anybody
until I found that one,

1007
00:54:06,625 --> 00:54:08,666
and would I ever find anybody.

1008
00:54:09,250 --> 00:54:11,791
And so I kind of went through college
not dating,

1009
00:54:12,500 --> 00:54:16,875
but then it all made sense
to why I was waiting

1010
00:54:16,958 --> 00:54:21,166
until I met Emily and when I met Emily,
everything changed.

1011
00:54:23,666 --> 00:54:25,541
[Emily Summers] I grew up
in Muscatine, Iowa,

1012
00:54:25,625 --> 00:54:29,041
it's kind of a smaller town,
best parents in the world.

1013
00:54:29,125 --> 00:54:33,208
They're so caring, loving,
taught us so many great values,

1014
00:54:33,291 --> 00:54:34,625
which is being kind to others,

1015
00:54:34,708 --> 00:54:37,458
doing what you can do
to help other people out.

1016
00:54:38,291 --> 00:54:40,208
Growing up,
I would say in high school,

1017
00:54:40,291 --> 00:54:42,625
I started really finding
who I was as a person.

1018
00:54:43,333 --> 00:54:46,208
I got involved with
a lot of different mentoring

1019
00:54:46,291 --> 00:54:49,208
and nonprofits
and different things like that.

1020
00:54:49,291 --> 00:54:50,833
And I just absolutely loved those,

1021
00:54:50,916 --> 00:54:53,458
I was completely hooked
on doing everything I could

1022
00:54:53,541 --> 00:54:54,750
to help other people.

1023
00:54:54,833 --> 00:54:57,708
So that's what life is all about,
challenges.

1024
00:54:57,791 --> 00:55:00,541
-Right.
-Absolutely, overcoming those challenges

1025
00:55:00,625 --> 00:55:01,958
and you always learn something

1026
00:55:02,041 --> 00:55:04,250
from each challenge
you go through and each obstacle.

1027
00:55:04,333 --> 00:55:05,208
That's right.

1028
00:55:06,041 --> 00:55:07,916
I just want to make a difference.

1029
00:55:08,041 --> 00:55:10,458
[Oprah] Well, this is what
everybody needs to know,

1030
00:55:10,541 --> 00:55:13,750
who has lofty goals
of making a difference.

1031
00:55:13,833 --> 00:55:16,000
Start in your own house.

1032
00:55:16,083 --> 00:55:18,125
[audience cheering]

1033
00:55:18,208 --> 00:55:20,000
[Emily]
So when I was in high school,

1034
00:55:20,125 --> 00:55:22,083
I started mentoring a girl named Whittley.

1035
00:55:22,166 --> 00:55:23,833
She ended up getting
taken out of her home

1036
00:55:23,916 --> 00:55:26,250
when she was 11 years old,
put in a group home.

1037
00:55:26,333 --> 00:55:29,916
The first time she was in the group home,
she got to spend Christmas with my family.

1038
00:55:30,000 --> 00:55:33,083
And I made her this scrapbook
with letters from family,

1039
00:55:33,166 --> 00:55:36,583
friends, her teachers.
She's sitting there crying,

1040
00:55:36,666 --> 00:55:39,833
11 years old, crying, and she goes,

1041
00:55:39,916 --> 00:55:42,500
"My heart has never felt like this."

1042
00:55:42,583 --> 00:55:43,958
That just broke my heart.

1043
00:55:44,041 --> 00:55:47,083
I'm like, "How have you
never felt this way?"

1044
00:55:47,166 --> 00:55:49,708
You know? How has somebody
not loved you enough

1045
00:55:49,791 --> 00:55:52,666
to make you feel special,
to help you feel love?

1046
00:55:52,750 --> 00:55:56,500
So that was a big eye-opening
experience for me,

1047
00:55:56,583 --> 00:56:00,416
so I decided to then
go to school for family services.

1048
00:56:00,500 --> 00:56:04,291
I knew that I wanted to
do something to help kids,

1049
00:56:04,375 --> 00:56:06,250
especially in foster care.

1050
00:56:10,583 --> 00:56:15,208
I met Emily at first, a little bit online.

1051
00:56:15,291 --> 00:56:18,166
We were on social media
and started talking,

1052
00:56:18,250 --> 00:56:21,291
saw some pictures of him,
thought he was really cute.

1053
00:56:21,375 --> 00:56:24,416
I was asking him
all these personal questions,

1054
00:56:24,500 --> 00:56:26,375
because I'm so curious

1055
00:56:26,458 --> 00:56:28,416
and just want to get to know people.

1056
00:56:28,500 --> 00:56:32,250
I love trying to figure out
who people are on the inside.

1057
00:56:32,333 --> 00:56:35,333
Eventually, we just kept conversing

1058
00:56:35,416 --> 00:56:37,958
and wanted to meet up.

1059
00:56:38,041 --> 00:56:40,250
Let's go, buddy,
we gotta meet them downtown.

1060
00:56:40,333 --> 00:56:42,375
-I'm not gonna go.
-[Richie] We were gonna go out

1061
00:56:42,458 --> 00:56:45,541
that night and Chris was like,
"Actually, I have a date tonight."

1062
00:56:45,625 --> 00:56:48,291
At first we're like, "No, come on, Chris,

1063
00:56:48,375 --> 00:56:49,458
come out with your guys,

1064
00:56:49,541 --> 00:56:51,666
like, we're gonna have a fun night."

1065
00:56:51,750 --> 00:56:53,000
He's like, "No, I'm serious,

1066
00:56:53,083 --> 00:56:55,458
I wanna see what this girl's all about."

1067
00:56:55,541 --> 00:56:57,291
When Chris was wanting to meet me,

1068
00:56:57,375 --> 00:56:59,625
he's like, "Why don't you
just come over to this house?

1069
00:56:59,708 --> 00:57:01,500
My friends are here." I'm like, "No,

1070
00:57:01,583 --> 00:57:04,041
I'm not going over to the house,
I don't know you."

1071
00:57:04,125 --> 00:57:09,500
So we met in Ames
at this hotdog stand, outside.

1072
00:57:09,583 --> 00:57:10,958
I had to get a feel for him

1073
00:57:11,041 --> 00:57:13,083
and make sure he's a trustworthy guy.

1074
00:57:13,166 --> 00:57:16,583
And then I'll never forget
when I'm waiting there,

1075
00:57:16,666 --> 00:57:19,000
looking for her to meet me at the spot

1076
00:57:19,083 --> 00:57:25,041
and I see her facing me,
coming across the street.

1077
00:57:25,125 --> 00:57:28,041
[gentle music]

1078
00:57:29,250 --> 00:57:31,291
I was just in awe.

1079
00:57:31,583 --> 00:57:34,333
My jaw probably was hanging down.

1080
00:57:34,416 --> 00:57:36,375
I couldn't believe how beautiful she was.

1081
00:57:36,458 --> 00:57:38,250
[Emily] So I met him there,

1082
00:57:38,333 --> 00:57:41,500
and instantly,
we just had a strong connection,

1083
00:57:41,583 --> 00:57:43,375
just started talking

1084
00:57:43,458 --> 00:57:46,458
and there was never
an awkward moment that night.

1085
00:57:46,541 --> 00:57:49,625
We just kept talking,
it was fun, it was easy.

1086
00:57:49,708 --> 00:57:53,500
[Chris] We just hit it off,
kept meeting up with each other

1087
00:57:53,583 --> 00:57:56,333
and it was just an instant connection.

1088
00:57:57,125 --> 00:58:01,125
[gentle music]

1089
00:58:10,166 --> 00:58:11,708
[imperceptible]

1090
00:58:16,208 --> 00:58:18,375
[Chris] It was love at first sight for me.

1091
00:58:18,708 --> 00:58:20,375
It's a real thing.

1092
00:58:20,458 --> 00:58:22,791
[Emily] Chris didn't act like
he was in a wheelchair.

1093
00:58:22,875 --> 00:58:25,125
He was very comfortable
with who he was.

1094
00:58:25,208 --> 00:58:27,458
I saw Chris
as who he was as a person

1095
00:58:27,541 --> 00:58:30,041
and eventually I didn't
even see the wheelchair.

1096
00:58:30,125 --> 00:58:33,166
And just right away,
I knew she was an angel,

1097
00:58:33,250 --> 00:58:36,500
that this was somebody that was special.

1098
00:58:36,583 --> 00:58:39,583
Emily was just super down to earth,

1099
00:58:39,666 --> 00:58:43,791
super, like, bubbly and loved life

1100
00:58:43,875 --> 00:58:46,250
and she's been great for Chris.

1101
00:58:46,333 --> 00:58:51,791
100% didn't see him as anything
less than the great guy that he is.

1102
00:58:51,875 --> 00:58:55,041
We quickly saw that she was special

1103
00:58:55,125 --> 00:58:57,208
and we knew that definitely
they had something

1104
00:58:57,291 --> 00:58:58,250
from the beginning,

1105
00:58:58,333 --> 00:59:00,833
so we welcomed her into our little tribe

1106
00:59:00,916 --> 00:59:03,250
and we haven't really
looked back ever since.

1107
00:59:05,541 --> 00:59:08,500
[Emily] It was about a year
before his college graduation

1108
00:59:08,583 --> 00:59:11,875
and Chris came up
with the idea of wanting to walk

1109
00:59:12,208 --> 00:59:15,416
to get his diploma,
and when he brought it up to me,

1110
00:59:15,500 --> 00:59:19,458
I thought it was a great idea. It's like,
"Let's do it, let's make it work."

1111
00:59:19,541 --> 00:59:22,541
[Chris] I told her about my goal
and she was helping me

1112
00:59:22,625 --> 00:59:26,708
make it happen
and just instantly was my sidekick.

1113
00:59:26,791 --> 00:59:29,500
[Emily] And he starts talking about,
"I'm gonna make it public.

1114
00:59:29,583 --> 00:59:31,625
I'm going to announce publicly
on social media

1115
00:59:31,708 --> 00:59:33,875
that I'm going do it."
I'm like, "Oh, gosh."

1116
00:59:33,958 --> 00:59:35,416
[laughing] This is real.

1117
00:59:35,541 --> 00:59:38,083
And so I knew if I could
just constantly talk about

1118
00:59:38,166 --> 00:59:41,416
this goal that I was gonna
have to stay committed to it.

1119
00:59:41,500 --> 00:59:43,708
I had to be accountable for this goal,

1120
00:59:43,791 --> 00:59:46,250
if I'm gonna talk about it,
I gotta back it up.

1121
00:59:46,333 --> 00:59:49,500
I'm going to have to
bust everything I've got,

1122
00:59:49,583 --> 00:59:52,416
every single day
and not take a day off.

1123
00:59:52,500 --> 00:59:55,583
It's not easy and it doesn't come fast,

1124
00:59:55,666 --> 00:59:58,500
but if you keep at it
and you keep working hard

1125
00:59:58,583 --> 01:00:01,208
each and every day,
you know, good results will happen.

1126
01:00:01,500 --> 01:00:03,791
[male anchor] And now
Chris can stand on his own

1127
01:00:03,875 --> 01:00:06,500
and he can walk
if somebody is helping him.

1128
01:00:06,583 --> 01:00:08,750
He started a foundation,
the money purchases

1129
01:00:08,833 --> 01:00:11,583
therapy equipment like this,
for rehabilitation centers.

1130
01:00:11,666 --> 01:00:13,750
Next year, Chris will graduate

1131
01:00:13,833 --> 01:00:17,708
and he tells the Des Moines Register
he plans to walk to receive his diploma.

1132
01:00:17,791 --> 01:00:19,625
[female anchor] He is
an incredible young man.

1133
01:00:19,708 --> 01:00:22,416
He is, he's making a difference
in a lot of people's lives.

1134
01:00:22,500 --> 01:00:26,375
And I cannot wait to see him
walk across the stage to get that diploma.

1135
01:00:26,458 --> 01:00:27,625
Nobody doubts that he will.

1136
01:00:27,708 --> 01:00:30,000
Of course, I'm the one that
kinda encouraged him on this.

1137
01:00:30,083 --> 01:00:32,500
I've told him many times,
"Sometimes you have to set goals

1138
01:00:32,583 --> 01:00:34,583
when you have
no idea how to reach them."

1139
01:00:35,041 --> 01:00:36,916
You set a goal, at the time,

1140
01:00:37,000 --> 01:00:39,791
I don't know how I'm going to get there,
but this is the goal.

1141
01:00:39,875 --> 01:00:45,208
[Chris] When I made the goal to walk,
I still needed leg braces.

1142
01:00:45,291 --> 01:00:49,666
I needed multiple people
to help me walk and take steps.

1143
01:00:49,750 --> 01:00:55,125
It was a lot of effort
to just go a few yards

1144
01:00:55,208 --> 01:00:59,750
and it just took a lot of hands
and help to do so.

1145
01:00:59,833 --> 01:01:02,208
At this point, we had no idea

1146
01:01:02,291 --> 01:01:04,208
how he was going
to walk across the stage.

1147
01:01:04,291 --> 01:01:06,583
He was walking in this big walker.

1148
01:01:06,750 --> 01:01:10,083
So he had, like, a lot that he had to do,
in order to take steps.

1149
01:01:15,041 --> 01:01:18,791
Well, first, Emily was
the one that saw this video

1150
01:01:18,875 --> 01:01:23,875
of a quadriplegic
who was able to walk out

1151
01:01:23,958 --> 01:01:26,208
on the football field of a Michigan game.

1152
01:01:26,291 --> 01:01:28,875
And she watched the video
and she found out

1153
01:01:28,958 --> 01:01:32,458
who trained him
to go from wheelchair to walking.

1154
01:01:32,541 --> 01:01:37,958
And it was this Mike Barwis,
at Barwis Methods in Michigan.

1155
01:01:38,041 --> 01:01:40,833
So she's like,
"We need to go meet him, like,

1156
01:01:40,916 --> 01:01:44,041
this guy could really help
you out in his program."

1157
01:01:44,125 --> 01:01:46,916
I was about to finish school
a semester early

1158
01:01:47,000 --> 01:01:50,750
and decided that
what a great way to just get away

1159
01:01:50,875 --> 01:01:55,083
from any kind of distractions
with friends or family

1160
01:01:55,166 --> 01:01:58,083
or school, and just relocate
to Michigan temporarily,

1161
01:01:58,416 --> 01:02:00,291
just to focus on my training.

1162
01:02:06,583 --> 01:02:10,458
So when Chris first came in, he said,
"I really wanna work on walking.

1163
01:02:10,541 --> 01:02:12,291
I have the graduation coming up."

1164
01:02:12,375 --> 01:02:16,083
He was committed to task,
he had a long road to haul…

1165
01:02:17,833 --> 01:02:22,250
Significant spasms, uh,
inability to maintain balance.

1166
01:02:23,125 --> 01:02:26,041
Couldn't really control
his contractions properly,

1167
01:02:26,166 --> 01:02:28,458
was not in a place to be able to walk,

1168
01:02:29,500 --> 01:02:31,958
but was willing
to pay the price to do it.

1169
01:02:33,666 --> 01:02:38,166
There were three to five hours a day
of rigorous work,

1170
01:02:38,250 --> 01:02:40,166
both mentally and physically.

1171
01:02:40,250 --> 01:02:43,333
You're talking about a guy
who everything in his body

1172
01:02:43,416 --> 01:02:45,833
and in his mind is telling him to quit

1173
01:02:45,916 --> 01:02:48,291
and you're asking him to go 10 more.

1174
01:02:48,375 --> 01:02:50,500
It's got to come down
to two major things,

1175
01:02:51,166 --> 01:02:52,666
God's will and your work,

1176
01:02:52,750 --> 01:02:54,375
but you got to put in the work,

1177
01:02:54,458 --> 01:02:56,541
'cause he's not just
gonna hand it to you.

1178
01:02:56,625 --> 01:02:59,000
And it's the same thing,
anything great in life you want,

1179
01:02:59,083 --> 01:03:00,416
you've gotta earn it.

1180
01:03:03,875 --> 01:03:06,833
But the level of commitment
that that takes is not ordinary.

1181
01:03:07,791 --> 01:03:11,750
It never will be,
and nobody can do it for him,

1182
01:03:12,166 --> 01:03:13,416
nobody can bail him out.

1183
01:03:14,375 --> 01:03:18,541
You can't step in his body
and change the circumstance.

1184
01:03:18,625 --> 01:03:21,125
The reality is he's gotta bear it.

1185
01:03:21,916 --> 01:03:25,125
Chris possesses a fortitude

1186
01:03:25,250 --> 01:03:27,708
that most men and women
who walk this earth

1187
01:03:27,791 --> 01:03:29,083
can only dream of.

1188
01:03:30,916 --> 01:03:35,791
And because of that,
where he ends up, limitless.

1189
01:03:42,541 --> 01:03:44,916
[Emily] When I moved to Michigan with him,

1190
01:03:45,000 --> 01:03:48,416
I was his full-time caregiver
and helped with everything

1191
01:03:48,500 --> 01:03:52,875
for over a year.
I was completely taking care of him,

1192
01:03:52,958 --> 01:03:55,583
taking care of myself,
that was definitely difficult.

1193
01:03:55,666 --> 01:03:57,458
Especially when you're in a relationship

1194
01:03:57,541 --> 01:04:00,333
with this person,
and you have to help them with things.

1195
01:04:00,416 --> 01:04:02,000
He doesn't want the help obviously,

1196
01:04:02,083 --> 01:04:04,458
he wants to be able
to do those things himself.

1197
01:04:04,541 --> 01:04:07,000
And then I'm helping him,
so it was a little frustrating

1198
01:04:07,083 --> 01:04:09,625
sometimes when I felt like
he wasn't appreciating it.

1199
01:04:09,708 --> 01:04:11,750
We got into arguments about that.

1200
01:04:11,833 --> 01:04:14,250
"I just wanna know
that what I'm doing matters

1201
01:04:14,333 --> 01:04:18,041
and you appreciate it"
and all of that, 'cause it was a lot.

1202
01:04:18,916 --> 01:04:21,541
[Chris] From sunup to sundown,
she was helping me

1203
01:04:21,625 --> 01:04:25,541
and it was a lot for her,
as anyone can imagine,

1204
01:04:25,625 --> 01:04:27,125
it was just nonstop.

1205
01:04:27,250 --> 01:04:31,333
Completely just dove in
to helping him make this goal possible.

1206
01:04:31,416 --> 01:04:34,250
He was working four to five hours
every single day.

1207
01:04:34,333 --> 01:04:36,708
Sometimes even more,
he would work out,

1208
01:04:36,791 --> 01:04:39,041
have this long four-hour workout
and he'd come home

1209
01:04:39,125 --> 01:04:40,750
and wanna do like two hours more.

1210
01:04:42,250 --> 01:04:46,625
Shortly before,
we got my brother's high school gown,

1211
01:04:46,708 --> 01:04:48,041
his graduation gown

1212
01:04:48,125 --> 01:04:51,708
and I would wear the dress
I was gonna wear.

1213
01:04:51,791 --> 01:04:55,750
So we would practice walking
and make sure, like,

1214
01:04:55,833 --> 01:04:58,625
we, you know, had the right shoes
and everything.

1215
01:05:00,208 --> 01:05:02,750
I feel like I'm a wizard
from Harry Potter.

1216
01:05:02,833 --> 01:05:05,000
[laughing]

1217
01:05:07,375 --> 01:05:09,000
[Emily speaks indistinctly]

1218
01:05:10,541 --> 01:05:13,375
Couple of weeks before,
I was stressing out,

1219
01:05:13,458 --> 01:05:16,625
I was freaking out,
I felt like I was regressing

1220
01:05:16,708 --> 01:05:18,666
and things were getting worse.

1221
01:05:18,750 --> 01:05:20,375
Was I going to be able to do it?

1222
01:05:21,416 --> 01:05:23,625
You're right there,
come on, pull it through.

1223
01:05:23,708 --> 01:05:25,041
You're so close, come on.

1224
01:05:28,166 --> 01:05:29,000
[Chris groans]

1225
01:05:30,375 --> 01:05:31,583
You wanna take a second?

1226
01:05:33,208 --> 01:05:36,666
And I remember him, like,
he just seemed so disappointed

1227
01:05:36,750 --> 01:05:39,916
and so sad and was
getting teary-eyed, too,

1228
01:05:40,000 --> 01:05:42,625
and he's just like, "Emily,
I don't know if I can do this.

1229
01:05:42,708 --> 01:05:44,375
I don't know if this is gonna work,

1230
01:05:44,458 --> 01:05:46,416
if I'll be able to walk across the stage.

1231
01:05:46,500 --> 01:05:48,250
I don't know how
I can make this happen."

1232
01:05:48,333 --> 01:05:52,458
And for me, I'm like instantly like,
"Chris, you can do this.

1233
01:05:52,541 --> 01:05:55,333
We're gonna do what we can,
we're gonna make this work."

1234
01:05:55,958 --> 01:06:00,000
[Mike] All of that pressure will fall
on your shoulders at some point.

1235
01:06:00,541 --> 01:06:04,291
And when it does,
you need somebody to help you stand

1236
01:06:05,041 --> 01:06:08,916
and we had a conversation,
I saw him struggling.

1237
01:06:09,000 --> 01:06:13,375
I saw his personality change a little bit

1238
01:06:13,458 --> 01:06:15,666
where he was,
you could tell he was sad.

1239
01:06:15,750 --> 01:06:18,291
He was feeling a little withdrawn,
he was a little depressed

1240
01:06:18,375 --> 01:06:20,791
and he was struggling with
what was about to happen

1241
01:06:20,875 --> 01:06:22,625
and whether or not he could achieve it.

1242
01:06:22,708 --> 01:06:26,083
It's no different than somebody
who spends their entire life

1243
01:06:26,166 --> 01:06:27,916
wrestling and they make the Olympics

1244
01:06:28,000 --> 01:06:30,750
and now they're going,
"What do I do now?

1245
01:06:30,833 --> 01:06:33,166
What if I don't win?"

1246
01:06:36,541 --> 01:06:37,541
What if you do?

1247
01:06:39,458 --> 01:06:42,166
You just got to go at it
as hard as you possibly can

1248
01:06:42,333 --> 01:06:44,208
and let the chips
fall where they may.

1249
01:06:44,750 --> 01:06:48,250
And if you're willing to do
everything you possibly can do,

1250
01:06:48,333 --> 01:06:50,416
then you have absolutely no regrets.

1251
01:06:51,416 --> 01:06:54,541
If you're unwilling,
for the rest of your life,

1252
01:06:54,625 --> 01:06:57,416
you'll think back and wonder,

1253
01:06:57,500 --> 01:06:59,666
"Could I have been greater?"

1254
01:07:01,000 --> 01:07:03,500
Because greatness isn't in me,
it's not in the air,

1255
01:07:04,041 --> 01:07:05,083
it's in him.

1256
01:07:06,583 --> 01:07:09,000
Truth is,
all he's gotta do is get it out.

1257
01:07:09,208 --> 01:07:12,625
[gentle music]

1258
01:07:13,916 --> 01:07:17,375
[Emily] We came back to Iowa
for the graduation walk.

1259
01:07:17,458 --> 01:07:21,375
Chris had another little plan,
that I didn't know about,

1260
01:07:21,458 --> 01:07:23,958
the day before
he walks across the stage.

1261
01:07:24,666 --> 01:07:27,333
He told me that we are
going to get an interview

1262
01:07:27,416 --> 01:07:30,958
so that I was gonna be
dressed nice and look nice.

1263
01:07:31,041 --> 01:07:35,208
He said we had to go to a restaurant
'cause the lady there he was close with

1264
01:07:35,291 --> 01:07:37,250
and she was going
to give him a graduation gift.

1265
01:07:37,333 --> 01:07:39,625
We were gonna go pick it up
and then do the interview.

1266
01:07:39,708 --> 01:07:43,416
So we went there,
then she led us into another room.

1267
01:07:43,500 --> 01:07:46,083
She's like, "Oh, it's back here."
I'm like, "Huh?"

1268
01:07:46,166 --> 01:07:48,000
That's a little weird, but all right.

1269
01:07:48,083 --> 01:07:49,958
She's like, "It's big."
I'm like, "Okay."

1270
01:07:50,041 --> 01:07:53,333
I started lining things up,
like having her family,

1271
01:07:53,416 --> 01:07:55,625
my family and friends there.

1272
01:07:56,750 --> 01:07:58,750
I wanted to propose her and surprise her

1273
01:07:58,833 --> 01:08:01,541
by having rose petals
on the ground saying,

1274
01:08:01,625 --> 01:08:02,708
"Will you marry me?"

1275
01:08:03,833 --> 01:08:06,875
-[Emily] Oh, my gosh.
-Come in here.

1276
01:08:06,958 --> 01:08:09,083
[indistinct talking]

1277
01:08:09,208 --> 01:08:10,875
There's no doubt in my mind.

1278
01:08:10,958 --> 01:08:13,416
You're the most amazing
person I ever met in my life.

1279
01:08:13,500 --> 01:08:16,875
Will you please marry me
and share the rest of my life together?

1280
01:08:16,958 --> 01:08:18,916
[Emily] Yes.

1281
01:08:28,666 --> 01:08:31,458
I could not believe that Chris
was gonna add that into it

1282
01:08:31,541 --> 01:08:34,458
when he had all of this stress
of the graduation walk,

1283
01:08:34,541 --> 01:08:37,625
like he was gonna add
the wedding proposal as well.

1284
01:08:38,583 --> 01:08:40,541
So it was such a special moment,

1285
01:08:40,625 --> 01:08:43,791
we, like, celebrated it
for a while with the proposal

1286
01:08:43,875 --> 01:08:46,166
and went to dinner
and everything, hung out.

1287
01:08:46,791 --> 01:08:50,375
And then it was like, go back
and get prepared for tomorrow

1288
01:08:50,458 --> 01:08:53,416
'cause we've been working
for this for the last year.

1289
01:08:53,500 --> 01:08:56,541
What was incredible
was that person that

1290
01:08:56,625 --> 01:09:01,083
was gonna walk me across
the stage would be my fiancée Emily.

1291
01:09:01,166 --> 01:09:03,291
I went to that graduation walk knowing

1292
01:09:03,375 --> 01:09:07,708
I busted myself for years
to make this happen

1293
01:09:07,791 --> 01:09:10,500
and if I trip and fall, so be it.

1294
01:09:19,000 --> 01:09:23,208
Graduation day, we wake up
extremely early in the morning

1295
01:09:23,291 --> 01:09:27,000
because the longer I'm upright
and, like, in my chair

1296
01:09:27,083 --> 01:09:30,791
and, like, active,
the better I'll do later on in the day.

1297
01:09:30,875 --> 01:09:33,333
Sometimes his body's, like, more shutdown

1298
01:09:33,416 --> 01:09:36,375
and it's… He can't take a step
and he really struggles.

1299
01:09:36,458 --> 01:09:39,000
So are we gonna get up there
and he's gonna stand up

1300
01:09:39,083 --> 01:09:41,041
and not be able to take a step?

1301
01:09:41,125 --> 01:09:44,333
[Chris] Yeah, just trying to get
my mind in the right place

1302
01:09:44,416 --> 01:09:45,458
but I was so nervous.

1303
01:09:45,583 --> 01:09:47,708
It was like a game day
where I'm just like,

1304
01:09:47,791 --> 01:09:50,750
had so much pent up energy and anxiousness

1305
01:09:50,833 --> 01:09:52,250
and I was just in the zone.

1306
01:09:52,458 --> 01:09:55,041
[Emily] Obviously, there are gonna be
a lot of people there

1307
01:09:55,125 --> 01:09:57,166
and you only get one shot at it.

1308
01:09:57,250 --> 01:09:59,583
And I was like,
"Oh, my gosh, that'd be terrible."

1309
01:09:59,666 --> 01:10:02,708
I would feel so bad for him,
if he wasn't able to like,

1310
01:10:02,791 --> 01:10:05,083
at least take a few steps
to get his diploma.

1311
01:10:05,250 --> 01:10:07,833
-[man speaking indistinctly]
-[students cheering]

1312
01:10:08,375 --> 01:10:10,833
[Chris] I remember approaching that,
the ramp.

1313
01:10:10,916 --> 01:10:13,625
[man] Madison Noel, magna cum laude.

1314
01:10:16,958 --> 01:10:19,333
[Chris] Getting up on the ramp
and then getting set up,

1315
01:10:19,416 --> 01:10:22,750
just being like, let's go,
I'm ready to do this.

1316
01:10:22,833 --> 01:10:24,500
[man] Christopher Norton.

1317
01:10:25,416 --> 01:10:29,416
[audience cheering]

1318
01:10:35,208 --> 01:10:36,500
[imperceptible]

1319
01:11:07,583 --> 01:11:09,875
[Emily] As he's taking a few steps,
I look up at Chris

1320
01:11:09,958 --> 01:11:12,875
and I'm just so happy
and so relieved,

1321
01:11:12,958 --> 01:11:15,833
and then just completely
in the moment with Chris.

1322
01:11:15,916 --> 01:11:17,666
[audience continues cheering]

1323
01:11:27,708 --> 01:11:31,708
[audience cheering louder]

1324
01:11:35,208 --> 01:11:37,333
[Emily] When you see someone
that you love so much,

1325
01:11:37,416 --> 01:11:41,625
work super hard
and then he's making the hard work

1326
01:11:41,708 --> 01:11:44,958
pay off and he's making
his goal and dream a reality,

1327
01:11:45,041 --> 01:11:46,791
like, there's nothing better.

1328
01:11:48,125 --> 01:11:52,458
[audience cheering]

1329
01:11:53,458 --> 01:11:57,958
[Deb] It was just such,
it was just pure joy.

1330
01:11:58,166 --> 01:12:03,125
When he was hurt, will he be
able to go back to college?

1331
01:12:03,416 --> 01:12:06,000
Will he graduate?
Will he meet somebody?

1332
01:12:06,083 --> 01:12:09,708
I mean, everything I had
just worried about,

1333
01:12:10,458 --> 01:12:12,375
it was all, it all happened.

1334
01:12:12,583 --> 01:12:14,083
And that was that moment.

1335
01:12:15,375 --> 01:12:17,166
Everything he'd gone through

1336
01:12:17,625 --> 01:12:19,958
and all the battles he's had to face

1337
01:12:20,250 --> 01:12:24,666
and to see that moment
where he had worked so hard for this,

1338
01:12:24,750 --> 01:12:28,958
and to see it come true,
it was just incredible.

1339
01:12:29,583 --> 01:12:31,833
[Mike] Watching that young man
walk across there,

1340
01:12:33,916 --> 01:12:35,833
come on, you can do
whatever you want to do,

1341
01:12:35,916 --> 01:12:38,166
but seeing a young man take steps,

1342
01:12:39,000 --> 01:12:42,291
with his future bride,
and accept his diploma,

1343
01:12:42,375 --> 01:12:44,250
when the world said
it was impossible,

1344
01:12:45,458 --> 01:12:46,708
that's pretty awesome.

1345
01:12:49,083 --> 01:12:53,416
[Chris] News stations from around
the world, magazines, newspapers,

1346
01:12:53,500 --> 01:12:59,041
like everything just flooded my emails,
asking for the story.

1347
01:12:59,125 --> 01:13:01,541
And it was just like, it happened so fast.

1348
01:13:01,625 --> 01:13:05,208
After a devastating accident,
he vowed to walk again

1349
01:13:05,291 --> 01:13:07,416
and he knew
where he wanted to do it, too,

1350
01:13:07,500 --> 01:13:09,208
his college graduation.

1351
01:13:09,291 --> 01:13:12,500
[interviewer] This'll be the most
inspirational story you hear all day long.

1352
01:13:12,583 --> 01:13:14,875
A college football player
paralyzed from the neck down

1353
01:13:14,958 --> 01:13:17,208
in his freshman year,
does the incredible

1354
01:13:17,291 --> 01:13:20,166
just four years later at graduation,
watch this.

1355
01:13:20,291 --> 01:13:24,458
[audience cheering]

1356
01:13:24,541 --> 01:13:26,833
Something big happened
leading up to that video

1357
01:13:26,916 --> 01:13:30,208
that we just saw.
Chris, did you pop the question?

1358
01:13:30,291 --> 01:13:33,708
[Chris] You know what,
I did, I was so nervous,

1359
01:13:33,791 --> 01:13:36,000
but I asked the love of my life
to marry me.

1360
01:13:36,083 --> 01:13:38,083
[interviewer] What's your goal
for this year?

1361
01:13:38,166 --> 01:13:40,833
Well, now after my graduation walk,

1362
01:13:40,916 --> 01:13:43,750
I guess do a walk for our wedding.

1363
01:13:44,750 --> 01:13:46,458
We'll have to get that in motion

1364
01:13:46,541 --> 01:13:49,125
and I'm always looking
for the next step

1365
01:13:49,208 --> 01:13:52,750
and always keep progressing.
My journey's far from over.

1366
01:13:52,833 --> 01:13:55,833
We thought maybe the flurry was over

1367
01:13:55,916 --> 01:13:58,000
and we get a call from
Good Morning America

1368
01:13:58,083 --> 01:14:01,208
and they say,
"We wanna fly you out, tonight."

1369
01:14:01,666 --> 01:14:03,125
[Robin Roberts] Four years later,

1370
01:14:03,208 --> 01:14:06,333
the 23-year-old takes the stage
at his graduation,

1371
01:14:06,416 --> 01:14:08,291
leaving his wheelchair behind

1372
01:14:08,375 --> 01:14:11,916
and proposing just one day
before his momentous walk.

1373
01:14:13,125 --> 01:14:17,166
The couple preparing now
for their most important steps yet,

1374
01:14:17,541 --> 01:14:18,750
down the aisle.

1375
01:14:19,583 --> 01:14:22,833
Aw, it is a pleasure
and an honor to welcome

1376
01:14:22,916 --> 01:14:25,666
Chris Norton and his fiancée,
Emily Summers.

1377
01:14:25,750 --> 01:14:27,291
Yeah, your mom and dad are here.

1378
01:14:27,375 --> 01:14:29,416
How proud are you of your son?

1379
01:14:29,500 --> 01:14:31,916
Extremely proud, we go back
four and a half years ago

1380
01:14:32,000 --> 01:14:34,750
when all he could do is
nod his head up and down.

1381
01:14:34,833 --> 01:14:37,083
So we've known
how hard he's worked

1382
01:14:37,166 --> 01:14:39,958
to get to that point
on the graduation stage.

1383
01:14:41,000 --> 01:14:47,250
We had no idea that it would go viral,
or that we'd be on national television.

1384
01:14:47,666 --> 01:14:50,083
[Chris] Graduation walk just took it

1385
01:14:50,166 --> 01:14:54,250
to a whole other level of just
inspiring millions worldwide,

1386
01:14:54,333 --> 01:14:56,416
not just locally and through my state.

1387
01:14:56,500 --> 01:14:59,500
[Emily] So that was really cool
and getting messages from people

1388
01:14:59,583 --> 01:15:02,416
about, like, "You've helped me
believe in love again."

1389
01:15:02,500 --> 01:15:05,125
And, um,
"I've been really struggling with this

1390
01:15:05,208 --> 01:15:06,958
and I know I can get through it

1391
01:15:07,041 --> 01:15:09,583
and I'm gonna continue
to work hard and you've inspired me."

1392
01:15:09,666 --> 01:15:12,916
Like that was the best
part about it, for sure.

1393
01:15:13,000 --> 01:15:17,375
This is what I was waiting for early on
those hospital days, when I kept praying,

1394
01:15:17,458 --> 01:15:22,250
asking God, like, "What could be
the meaning behind this injury?"

1395
01:15:22,375 --> 01:15:26,333
To seeing it coming to fruition
was amazing.

1396
01:15:33,791 --> 01:15:36,416
I never really knew much
about the foster care system

1397
01:15:36,500 --> 01:15:40,333
and what that entailed,
but Emily has such a huge heart for it.

1398
01:15:40,416 --> 01:15:42,791
She's so compassionate,
she loves children,

1399
01:15:42,875 --> 01:15:45,708
especially children who have
come from difficult situations

1400
01:15:45,791 --> 01:15:47,500
and difficult circumstances.

1401
01:15:47,708 --> 01:15:52,000
And so she introduced this
foster care idea to me

1402
01:15:52,083 --> 01:15:55,375
when someone she mentored young
a long time ago,

1403
01:15:55,458 --> 01:15:58,166
at high school,
really needed a place to go

1404
01:15:58,250 --> 01:16:00,625
in order for her to graduate.

1405
01:16:02,458 --> 01:16:07,125
I go to Chris, I'm like,
"Chris, Whittley just called me,

1406
01:16:07,208 --> 01:16:08,750
she has nowhere else to go,

1407
01:16:08,833 --> 01:16:12,166
she's gonna go to a group home
and age out of foster care.

1408
01:16:12,791 --> 01:16:14,416
I cannot let that happen.

1409
01:16:15,083 --> 01:16:17,125
Can we please become foster parents

1410
01:16:17,208 --> 01:16:19,291
and do what we can to help her?"

1411
01:16:19,375 --> 01:16:21,291
She already talked to me about it that,

1412
01:16:21,375 --> 01:16:24,125
if I'm gonna marry her,
that we have to do foster care.

1413
01:16:24,208 --> 01:16:27,041
And I said, "That's fine."
But I did not expect to

1414
01:16:27,458 --> 01:16:30,958
get thrown into it
right away before we even married

1415
01:16:31,041 --> 01:16:35,208
and to not only foster any child,
but a 17-year-old child.

1416
01:16:35,291 --> 01:16:38,333
[Whittley] Emily and Chris
did say yes to doing foster care,

1417
01:16:38,416 --> 01:16:40,958
but that came with agreements.

1418
01:16:41,541 --> 01:16:45,625
I, one, had to show them that
I could work on getting better,

1419
01:16:45,708 --> 01:16:50,125
show them I could work on
learning to love myself.

1420
01:16:50,250 --> 01:16:52,541
I could let go of the past.

1421
01:16:52,958 --> 01:16:55,041
That was very hard for me.

1422
01:16:55,125 --> 01:16:57,291
I didn't believe that I deserved love

1423
01:16:57,375 --> 01:17:00,041
until Emily and Chris
did foster care for me.

1424
01:17:00,125 --> 01:17:04,333
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

1425
01:17:04,416 --> 01:17:08,458
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

1426
01:17:08,708 --> 01:17:11,416
♪ Happy birthday ♪

1427
01:17:13,333 --> 01:17:15,750
[Emily] And when Whittley moved out
and I go to Chris,

1428
01:17:15,833 --> 01:17:19,791
I'm like, "Chris, I wanna continue to do
foster care. Let's just do it."

1429
01:17:19,875 --> 01:17:22,541
I get a message from our licensing agent,

1430
01:17:22,666 --> 01:17:25,500
that they have four girls
coming into care.

1431
01:17:25,875 --> 01:17:28,083
-Um… eight and under.
-Four.

1432
01:17:28,166 --> 01:17:29,875
Not three, four.

1433
01:17:30,125 --> 01:17:36,250
Well, I figured out that I actually knew
a few of them from a place I used to work.

1434
01:17:36,833 --> 01:17:41,250
And when I figured that out,
in my mind, my mind was set.

1435
01:17:41,375 --> 01:17:43,541
I'm not separating these siblings.

1436
01:17:43,625 --> 01:17:46,250
They're gonna stay together
and they're going to be in our house.

1437
01:17:46,333 --> 01:17:47,916
Chris, what were your thoughts?

1438
01:17:48,875 --> 01:17:54,125
I was like, "What?
That's scary, I don't know these kids."

1439
01:17:55,416 --> 01:17:57,083
Okay, taking in four kids

1440
01:17:57,166 --> 01:18:00,583
and we already have one
with some different challenges.

1441
01:18:00,666 --> 01:18:02,000
Different challenges.

1442
01:18:02,083 --> 01:18:04,875
Seemed a little crazy, okay?

1443
01:18:05,583 --> 01:18:08,500
[Chris] I was completely scared,
I'm thinking this is insane.

1444
01:18:08,625 --> 01:18:12,541
We going from one to five
is a big jump.

1445
01:18:12,750 --> 01:18:14,041
[Emily] Yeah.

1446
01:18:14,125 --> 01:18:16,666
[girls giggling]

1447
01:18:16,750 --> 01:18:18,583
[girls screaming]

1448
01:18:18,666 --> 01:18:20,291
-[Emily babbling]
-[girl laughing]

1449
01:18:23,625 --> 01:18:26,458
-[Emily] Whatever you do, don't smile.
-[giggling]

1450
01:18:29,583 --> 01:18:31,208
-[girls] I belong.
-[Emily] I belong.

1451
01:18:31,291 --> 01:18:33,041
-[girl] I'm loved.
-[group] I'm loved.

1452
01:18:33,125 --> 01:18:35,333
-[girl] I'm special.
-[group] I'm special.

1453
01:18:35,416 --> 01:18:38,833
It's an incredible experience,
all you have to do is really love them

1454
01:18:38,916 --> 01:18:42,666
and give them a great environment
and they just love you back.

1455
01:18:43,458 --> 01:18:46,333
They need that love, they need that home.

1456
01:18:46,416 --> 01:18:49,833
And it's just unbelievable
to give them that opportunity

1457
01:18:49,916 --> 01:18:52,125
and I'm so thankful
that we're foster parents.

1458
01:18:52,208 --> 01:18:55,708
I thought what a crazy idea,
like, what are we getting ourselves into?

1459
01:18:55,791 --> 01:18:57,750
But it's been nothing but rewarding

1460
01:18:57,833 --> 01:19:00,000
and there's so many kids
who need a home

1461
01:19:01,083 --> 01:19:04,208
and to be able to provide a home,
it's worth it.

1462
01:19:04,875 --> 01:19:09,875
[both sing] ♪ You'll never know, dear
How much I love you ♪

1463
01:19:10,916 --> 01:19:15,250
♪ Please don't take my sunshine away ♪

1464
01:19:23,041 --> 01:19:25,583
We are here at Abaco Golf Club

1465
01:19:25,666 --> 01:19:27,791
and this is where we're getting married.

1466
01:19:27,958 --> 01:19:31,125
Um, we finally have set a date,
you guys, April 21st.

1467
01:19:31,208 --> 01:19:34,333
-Finally, Mom, we did it. We did it.
-Seriously, she's been waiting

1468
01:19:34,416 --> 01:19:36,000
for a while, it's been a long time.

1469
01:19:36,083 --> 01:19:38,166
We've been engaged
for a little too long, I'd say,

1470
01:19:38,250 --> 01:19:39,791
but it's all right, we're ready now.

1471
01:19:39,875 --> 01:19:41,750
We were engaged
for the perfect amount of time.

1472
01:19:41,833 --> 01:19:43,416
-That's true.
-Everybody, so…

1473
01:19:44,041 --> 01:19:47,416
[Chris] So that's really tough for me
to walk with someone at my hip

1474
01:19:47,500 --> 01:19:50,291
versus being in front where
they can adjust my weight,

1475
01:19:50,375 --> 01:19:52,166
side to side, forward and back.

1476
01:19:52,250 --> 01:19:55,791
At the side,
there's a lot of things up to chance

1477
01:19:55,916 --> 01:19:58,375
and so that's been
quite the learning curve

1478
01:19:58,458 --> 01:20:00,166
to try to figure out and maneuver,

1479
01:20:00,250 --> 01:20:02,375
how can you even
walk with someone at your hip

1480
01:20:02,458 --> 01:20:04,250
that's not very stable like myself.

1481
01:20:04,333 --> 01:20:06,833
So there's a lot of work
that needs to be done,

1482
01:20:06,916 --> 01:20:10,291
but I'm working at it all the time.

1483
01:20:10,375 --> 01:20:13,625
And be in that exact spot
that we're gonna get married

1484
01:20:13,708 --> 01:20:16,583
and Chris is gonna walk me down the aisle,
it was very surreal.

1485
01:20:16,666 --> 01:20:20,416
Um, it made things just like,
okay, this is happening.

1486
01:20:20,541 --> 01:20:23,375
Chris, Alex asks,
"What motivates you to continue

1487
01:20:23,458 --> 01:20:25,875
working day after day?"
It's a good one.

1488
01:20:27,333 --> 01:20:31,375
When you're passionate
about just getting better and improving,

1489
01:20:31,458 --> 01:20:33,833
you know that takes a lot of hard work

1490
01:20:33,916 --> 01:20:35,250
and it's an everyday thing.

1491
01:20:35,333 --> 01:20:38,666
So if I want to get the results,
I want to walk down the aisle,

1492
01:20:38,750 --> 01:20:41,916
then I have to put in the work today
it's not just gonna come naturally.

1493
01:20:42,000 --> 01:20:45,666
So that's just something
that I just care about.

1494
01:20:45,750 --> 01:20:47,125
You want to make it happen.

1495
01:20:47,208 --> 01:20:49,125
You're gonna do what it takes
to make it happen.

1496
01:20:49,208 --> 01:20:51,666
Work as hard as you can
each and every day.

1497
01:20:51,750 --> 01:20:54,708
That's something five times
a week for three hours,

1498
01:20:54,833 --> 01:20:56,833
I'm still training.
Although it's been

1499
01:20:56,916 --> 01:20:59,041
almost seven years out from my injury,

1500
01:20:59,125 --> 01:21:00,750
it's still important to me

1501
01:21:00,833 --> 01:21:02,750
and it's important to Emily, too.

1502
01:21:02,833 --> 01:21:05,291
I'm gonna walk her down
the aisle some way, somehow,

1503
01:21:05,375 --> 01:21:07,916
and we're gonna go seven yards.

1504
01:21:08,333 --> 01:21:10,583
And I wanna walk with her side by side.

1505
01:21:10,666 --> 01:21:12,500
[gentle music]

1506
01:21:12,583 --> 01:21:15,666
[Emily] We are gonna get
married in eight months.

1507
01:21:16,208 --> 01:21:17,875
We can't do it right now at all.

1508
01:21:17,958 --> 01:21:18,833
We can't do it.

1509
01:21:18,916 --> 01:21:20,375
I guess that's having faith,

1510
01:21:20,458 --> 01:21:22,375
is setting a goal and you don't know

1511
01:21:22,458 --> 01:21:25,708
how you're gonna get there
and I know they're working out the details

1512
01:21:25,791 --> 01:21:27,750
to make sure it happens and I can't wait.

1513
01:21:27,833 --> 01:21:30,875
I'm excited because I'll know
he's thrown

1514
01:21:30,958 --> 01:21:34,541
everything he's got into doing it
and making it happen.

1515
01:21:34,625 --> 01:21:36,583
Personally, I don't care.

1516
01:21:36,666 --> 01:21:39,708
If he wants to take one step or two steps

1517
01:21:39,791 --> 01:21:43,375
or just stand up or whatever
he wants to do, it's fine.

1518
01:21:43,458 --> 01:21:49,125
I know it means a lot to him,
but he's got… he has his future wife.

1519
01:21:49,208 --> 01:21:52,708
I mean, he's going
to be married, to me that is the…

1520
01:21:52,791 --> 01:21:55,041
I don't care about the walking
at that point.

1521
01:21:56,458 --> 01:21:57,833
-How you doing?
-Good morning.

1522
01:21:57,916 --> 01:21:58,791
You must be Nathan.

1523
01:21:58,875 --> 01:22:00,625
-So nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you.

1524
01:22:00,708 --> 01:22:02,833
Thank you for being here, man,
we're so excited.

1525
01:22:02,958 --> 01:22:04,791
You know what would be
really neat on this?

1526
01:22:04,875 --> 01:22:07,333
If we can run this down,
how cool would this be, though?

1527
01:22:07,416 --> 01:22:08,875
If we could find one she loves

1528
01:22:08,958 --> 01:22:11,750
and then you could gift that
to her and put it in your home.

1529
01:22:11,833 --> 01:22:13,125
When it's all done, you're like,

1530
01:22:13,208 --> 01:22:15,125
"Hey, we got married
underneath the chandelier,

1531
01:22:15,208 --> 01:22:17,250
and now that's
a chandelier for your house."

1532
01:22:17,333 --> 01:22:20,541
Man, you're speaking her language.
I need you.

1533
01:22:20,666 --> 01:22:25,458
We'll be putting down a custom floor
that we had shipped in, custom made,

1534
01:22:25,541 --> 01:22:27,333
and we're actually vinyling the floor,

1535
01:22:27,416 --> 01:22:31,083
so every yard will have
a word from their Bible verse.

1536
01:22:31,166 --> 01:22:33,250
Almost it's unexplainable

1537
01:22:33,333 --> 01:22:37,875
and we wanna just give them
that moment to tell their story

1538
01:22:37,958 --> 01:22:39,291
and it's gonna be powerful.

1539
01:22:39,375 --> 01:22:43,208
Maybe, arguably the most powerful wedding
we've ever been a part of.

1540
01:22:43,291 --> 01:22:45,416
[Chris] I think something
that I've really talked

1541
01:22:45,500 --> 01:22:47,000
to other couples, married couples,

1542
01:22:47,083 --> 01:22:49,500
is that they always tell me and Emily,

1543
01:22:49,583 --> 01:22:52,916
"Enjoy the moment
and just really try to take it all in

1544
01:22:53,000 --> 01:22:57,833
and take a moment for yourself
to really reflect on this experience."

1545
01:23:00,958 --> 01:23:05,208
So typically, best man holds the rings.
What's the trust level here?

1546
01:23:05,291 --> 01:23:07,291
I can do it, I got this.

1547
01:23:07,958 --> 01:23:09,541
I'm gonna wear both of them.

1548
01:23:09,625 --> 01:23:11,375
Coach them up tonight.

1549
01:23:11,458 --> 01:23:14,916
The rehearsal was surreal
because it was the first,

1550
01:23:15,000 --> 01:23:16,750
kind of event of the wedding weekend.

1551
01:23:16,833 --> 01:23:22,083
And it just became
really visceral to us

1552
01:23:22,166 --> 01:23:25,083
and like a concrete moment,
whereas leading up to the wedding

1553
01:23:25,166 --> 01:23:26,708
it was all just kind of an idea,

1554
01:23:26,791 --> 01:23:29,250
and then we got there
and we looked around and we realized,

1555
01:23:29,333 --> 01:23:31,041
wow, this is happening.

1556
01:23:31,125 --> 01:23:33,208
Chris is gonna walk down the aisle,

1557
01:23:33,291 --> 01:23:35,583
we're all here together,
we finally did it.

1558
01:23:35,666 --> 01:23:38,000
And it was just kind of a moment of

1559
01:23:38,083 --> 01:23:41,750
so many things like relief, joy,

1560
01:23:41,833 --> 01:23:45,625
excitement, people from his community,
from Bondurant, people from college,

1561
01:23:45,708 --> 01:23:49,375
people from the football team,
people from Florida,

1562
01:23:49,458 --> 01:23:51,125
people all around are coming together

1563
01:23:51,208 --> 01:23:53,083
and their one connection
is they're celebrating

1564
01:23:53,166 --> 01:23:56,166
Chris and Emily.
It was a really special moment.

1565
01:23:56,250 --> 01:24:00,333
I think it's beautiful to reflect
and it's amazing to think about,

1566
01:24:00,916 --> 01:24:03,958
just seven years ago
and just how far I've come

1567
01:24:04,041 --> 01:24:06,208
in that time and to know that,

1568
01:24:06,291 --> 01:24:09,666
the power of faith,
the power of family and friends,

1569
01:24:09,750 --> 01:24:12,625
and just all coming together,
what it can lead to.

1570
01:24:12,708 --> 01:24:14,875
It literally led from
the worst day of my life

1571
01:24:14,958 --> 01:24:16,416
to the best day of my life.

1572
01:24:30,666 --> 01:24:34,291
[Deb] I think the one thing
that's touching my heart

1573
01:24:34,375 --> 01:24:36,708
are family and friends that are here.

1574
01:24:37,458 --> 01:24:39,625
They were with us this whole journey

1575
01:24:39,708 --> 01:24:44,000
and they're here
to celebrate this milestone.

1576
01:24:45,375 --> 01:24:47,750
It was really awesome
to be in the room with Chris

1577
01:24:47,833 --> 01:24:49,875
and actually put the suit on him,

1578
01:24:49,958 --> 01:24:52,833
you know, helping him with his shoes
and his jacket

1579
01:24:52,916 --> 01:24:54,791
and vest and everything
and making it perfect.

1580
01:24:54,875 --> 01:24:56,958
You know,
he's a little bit of a perfectionist, too,

1581
01:24:57,041 --> 01:25:01,166
so it was a lot of fun
to be able to get him, you know,

1582
01:25:01,250 --> 01:25:03,291
looking sharp and ready to roll.

1583
01:25:04,541 --> 01:25:07,125
[Deb] You know, when Chris was hurt
and we were at the hospital

1584
01:25:07,208 --> 01:25:11,666
and it hit me, you know,
is he going to get married?

1585
01:25:11,750 --> 01:25:15,250
Is he going to find someone?
I mean, what's his life gonna look like?

1586
01:25:15,333 --> 01:25:16,958
'Cause we just didn't know then.

1587
01:25:17,041 --> 01:25:19,250
And I wish I could have seen this day,

1588
01:25:19,333 --> 01:25:22,708
because that would have given me
so much comfort and so much…

1589
01:25:22,916 --> 01:25:23,833
[sighs in relief]

1590
01:25:23,916 --> 01:25:26,916
It's going to be okay,
but I didn't know at the time,

1591
01:25:27,000 --> 01:25:30,541
so you have to have faith
and, you know, we just hoped

1592
01:25:30,625 --> 01:25:33,958
and we prayed for that
and here we are, it's wonderful.

1593
01:25:35,375 --> 01:25:37,708
[Whittley] Emily and Chris's wedding day

1594
01:25:37,791 --> 01:25:40,750
was supposed to be
their most special day,

1595
01:25:41,625 --> 01:25:45,166
but I feel like it was
the most special day of my life.

1596
01:25:46,083 --> 01:25:49,333
Seeing them have true love
made me feel hope

1597
01:25:49,416 --> 01:25:51,541
that I would be
able to find love someday.

1598
01:25:52,791 --> 01:25:55,166
I think something I've been
really thinking a lot about,

1599
01:25:55,250 --> 01:25:58,583
knowing that no matter
what we go through in life,

1600
01:25:58,666 --> 01:26:00,625
we are gonna get through it together.

1601
01:26:00,708 --> 01:26:04,208
So for me to know that,
I have so much peace.

1602
01:26:08,166 --> 01:26:11,625
Hello, how are you?

1603
01:26:12,041 --> 01:26:13,666
What do you think, sweetheart?

1604
01:26:13,750 --> 01:26:17,041
[Chris] I really consider her to be
the real life Wonder Woman.

1605
01:26:17,125 --> 01:26:19,208
She can just do it all.

1606
01:26:19,291 --> 01:26:24,666
She brings so much hope and love to me
and to everyone she encounters.

1607
01:26:24,750 --> 01:26:26,666
And it's just to know that I'm marrying

1608
01:26:26,750 --> 01:26:28,750
that kind of special person

1609
01:26:28,833 --> 01:26:33,541
and that together,
that we're gonna be a great team

1610
01:26:33,625 --> 01:26:35,458
and that no matter
what happens in life,

1611
01:26:35,541 --> 01:26:38,500
we're stronger together
and we'll always be together.

1612
01:26:40,000 --> 01:26:42,916
Give him a goal, he's gonna crush it.
Seven yards, nothing.

1613
01:26:43,000 --> 01:26:44,833
You know, that's just his mentality.

1614
01:26:45,916 --> 01:26:48,416
[gentle music]

1615
01:27:26,083 --> 01:27:27,958
[Chris] I think what got me the most

1616
01:27:28,041 --> 01:27:31,875
when seeing Emily
come down the aisle towards me,

1617
01:27:32,000 --> 01:27:36,000
that I'm the lucky guy
that gets to marry her.

1618
01:27:36,166 --> 01:27:39,666
She's committing herself
to me and myself to her.

1619
01:27:39,750 --> 01:27:41,750
It was just, it was overwhelming

1620
01:27:41,833 --> 01:27:44,458
to think this is actually happening.

1621
01:27:49,375 --> 01:27:54,750
[sweeping orchestral music plays]

1622
01:28:11,750 --> 01:28:13,958
Based on the vows
you have shared before God

1623
01:28:14,041 --> 01:28:16,708
and these witnesses,
by the authority committed to me

1624
01:28:16,791 --> 01:28:19,375
as a representative
of Jesus Christ and his church,

1625
01:28:19,458 --> 01:28:21,333
I now pronounce you husband and wife.

1626
01:28:21,458 --> 01:28:23,333
Chris, you may kiss your bride.

1627
01:28:23,416 --> 01:28:27,416
[cheering]

1628
01:28:40,875 --> 01:28:43,833
[Chris] Over the course of our lives,
one way or another,

1629
01:28:43,916 --> 01:28:45,958
we all get hit and knocked down.

1630
01:28:47,125 --> 01:28:50,416
What I discovered is that
we all have the ability

1631
01:28:50,958 --> 01:28:53,541
to stand back up and to stand back up

1632
01:28:53,625 --> 01:28:55,416
stronger than ever before.

1633
01:29:00,166 --> 01:29:01,750
My spinal cord injury

1634
01:29:02,250 --> 01:29:06,000
didn't completely ruin my life
as I imagined it would.

1635
01:29:06,125 --> 01:29:09,500
[dramatic music]

1636
01:29:14,416 --> 01:29:19,166
In fact, I found a life and a purpose
that's worth living for.

1637
01:29:23,875 --> 01:29:26,500
I'd like to challenge
each and every one of you

1638
01:29:27,666 --> 01:29:31,375
to stand up to the obstacles
and challenges you're facing.

1639
01:29:35,458 --> 01:29:38,750
To take it one step at a time.

1640
01:29:41,875 --> 01:29:43,541
When I hear people say

1641
01:29:43,625 --> 01:29:47,500
they can't,
what they really mean is they won't.

1642
01:29:49,666 --> 01:29:52,916
You know, what I've learned
the last seven years

1643
01:29:53,000 --> 01:29:56,166
are applicable to each
and every one of you.

1644
01:29:57,375 --> 01:29:59,666
Anything is possible.

1645
01:30:04,541 --> 01:30:07,041
[gentle music]

1646
01:30:26,625 --> 01:30:29,791
What do you want for Christmas,
the biggest thing that you said?

1647
01:30:30,416 --> 01:30:32,875
-To be adopted.
-What would that mean to you?

1648
01:30:33,583 --> 01:30:36,583
It would mean that
I actually belong to someone.

1649
01:30:36,666 --> 01:30:39,291
Guess what's on
December 11, 2018?

1650
01:30:40,125 --> 01:30:42,625
-What?
-We're gonna adopt you.

1651
01:30:42,750 --> 01:30:45,083
We already have court scheduled.

1652
01:30:45,166 --> 01:30:46,708
We got it all planned.

1653
01:30:46,833 --> 01:30:48,541
I'm going to cry.

1654
01:30:48,625 --> 01:30:52,000
♪ There's a road ahead
And I'll walk down it ♪

1655
01:30:52,083 --> 01:30:55,083
-I love you guys.
-We love you.

1656
01:30:55,166 --> 01:30:58,583
♪ I've got so many places to go ♪

1657
01:30:58,666 --> 01:31:02,125
You guys think right now,
we're here to share a story,

1658
01:31:02,208 --> 01:31:04,250
but it's actually
much more than that.

1659
01:31:04,500 --> 01:31:08,083
In only eight days, we are adopting you.

1660
01:31:08,166 --> 01:31:12,708
You will be our daughters,
we will be your mom and dad forever.

1661
01:31:15,583 --> 01:31:20,791
♪ You're a miracle
I need and forever family ♪

1662
01:31:26,708 --> 01:31:30,041
♪ Now I know
What is in front of me ♪

1663
01:31:30,125 --> 01:31:33,125
♪ So I'll step into my destiny ♪

1664
01:31:33,250 --> 01:31:34,875
♪ And when I'm losing sight ♪

1665
01:31:34,958 --> 01:31:38,083
♪ I know that you're my way back home ♪

1666
01:31:38,166 --> 01:31:40,166
[yelling]

1667
01:31:40,416 --> 01:31:41,666
[Chris] Go, go, go.

1668
01:31:41,750 --> 01:31:45,375
♪ I couldn't only know ♪

1669
01:31:45,458 --> 01:31:48,833
♪ You gotta put one foot
In front of the other ♪

1670
01:31:48,916 --> 01:31:52,208
♪ I got two hands
We can carry each other ♪

1671
01:31:52,333 --> 01:31:57,291
♪ Ooh, you're the miracle I need ♪

1672
01:31:57,375 --> 01:32:00,416
♪ My forever family ♪

1673
01:32:00,833 --> 01:32:06,500
♪ Better than I was or I'll ever be ♪

1674
01:32:06,916 --> 01:32:10,166
♪ Better you and me ♪

1675
01:32:10,250 --> 01:32:12,458
♪ I love our family ♪

1676
01:32:12,541 --> 01:32:15,875
Daddy, the first thing
when you get your license,

1677
01:32:15,958 --> 01:32:18,541
you're gonna drive us
to get us ice cream.

1678
01:32:18,625 --> 01:32:19,916
That's right.

1679
01:32:20,291 --> 01:32:21,541
Hey, girls.

1680
01:32:21,625 --> 01:32:22,666
[girl] What?

1681
01:32:22,833 --> 01:32:24,166
Guess what we're doing?

1682
01:32:24,375 --> 01:32:25,208
[girl] What?

1683
01:32:25,291 --> 01:32:27,291
We're going to Disney World.

1684
01:32:27,375 --> 01:32:30,166
[girls screaming]

1685
01:32:32,708 --> 01:32:36,625
♪ You're the miracle I need ♪

1686
01:32:36,708 --> 01:32:40,125
♪ You gotta put one foot
In front of the other ♪

1687
01:32:40,208 --> 01:32:43,333
♪ I got two hands
We can carry each other ♪

1688
01:32:43,416 --> 01:32:48,041
♪ Ooh, you're the miracle I need ♪

1689
01:32:48,416 --> 01:32:51,125
♪ My forever family ♪

1690
01:32:53,541 --> 01:32:58,916
We love, all of us,
all of us, we are the Norton family.

1691
01:32:59,041 --> 01:33:01,833
[people clapping]

1692
01:33:10,000 --> 01:33:11,208
I gotta go run some errands,

1693
01:33:11,291 --> 01:33:14,541
Emily's got me running to Target,
so peace out.

1694
01:33:15,416 --> 01:33:16,875
Talk to you guys later.

1695
01:33:17,250 --> 01:33:18,208
It's been real.