From Paralysis to Purpose: Jason Cooper on Recovery, Faith, and the Documentary Adversity

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Welcome to Stories Worth
Hearing.

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I'm your host, John Quick.
Today's guest is Jason Cooper, a

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man whose story is now reaching
even more people through the

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documentary Adversity,
Adversity, The Jason Cooper

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Story.
Jason's life changed in an

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instant after a serious car
accident left him paralyzed.

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The doctors told him he would
never walk again, But what

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followed became a story of
determination, faith,

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discipline, and refusing to let
adversity have the final word.

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Today, Jason is not only
walking, he is training others,

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inspiring people through his
testimony, and sharing what he

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learned during one of the
hardest chapters of his life.

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This conversation is about
resilience, purpose, and what

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happens when someone refuses to
quit.

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Jason Cooper, welcome to Stories
Worth Hearing.

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Thank.
You well, take me back to the

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accident, I guess.
I think one of the most

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fascinating things I've just
learned of your story, I don't

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know, maybe a couple weeks ago.
And it's probably one of the

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most inspirational stories I've
ever read or seen in the in the

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last while.
But take me back to the

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accident.
What happened?

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Tell the viewers what exactly
happened and then we'll talk a

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little bit about what you're up
to today.

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OK so basically my name is Jason
Cooper I'm CPC for incomplete

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quadriplegic for those who don't
know what quadriplegic mean mean

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I was paralyzed in my arms and
my legs all four limbs was

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completely paralyzed.
Only thing that I was able to be

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to move was my eyes.
At at the time of my rate I was

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a 17 year old I'm from Laura,
Mississippi.

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I was just just a normal day.
I wake up at 5:00 AM and work

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out every morning.
I've been doing that since I was

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four years old.
So I got up that morning, I

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worked out early morning, took a
shower where I got ready to go

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to school.
Normal day at school all had

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walkthroughs because it was
Thursday and our team heard

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about and our coach was telling
us about the week after we was

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going to play a rival team.
But they're they was playing on

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the Thursday and we were just
going to go see them and just

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see exactly what type of style
they play and stuff like that.

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It was Taylorsville.
So once we got out of football

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practice, me and my friend KV we
he'd say he was going to ride

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with me to be able to get to the
game because he didn't have a

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ride to the game.
So as we left football practice

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and we went to my aunt's house
was it wasn't too far about

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about like 10-15 minutes away
from the school.

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Once we got to Montgomery house,
we got freshened up, you know,

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dressed up and stuff to be able
to meet our team back at the the

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store where everybody meet it
because I wasn't going to drive.

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I was going to ride with other
my coaching some other players

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and stuff.
So then again, we lived there.

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We went to another one of my
friend's house, Donovan, they'll

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pick up him and my friend
Conneris, but they they didn't

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go because I was going to ride
with some more people or

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whatever.
So we didn't pick them up and we

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was headed to the game.
And you know, as we crossed the

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intersection real known highway
Hwy. 11 from over in a community

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called Beaver Metal and we came
over from Hwy. 16, we was headed

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back towards Hodderburg.
And as we was headed back

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towards Hollaburg, it just start
raining out of nowhere as we

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were on the top of the hill and
it was raining very, very hard.

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Like it was running Mississippi
raining hard in different spots.

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Like it doesn't rain over the
entire Mississippi.

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So yeah, we got a lot of rain to
be able to come down.

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So as I got to the top of the
hill, I was already riding

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breaks as I was going down the
hill because it was so much

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rainfall and stuff like that.
So I mean, I could bear like see

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it like everything that was in
front of me was kind of foggy,

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but I could be able to see
because I had my defrost on my

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windshield.
So I can see.

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But as we was going downhill and
I was riding brakes and I just

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hit a unlevelness of like the
road.

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And that was my first time
hitting like on on level of the

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road or whatever.
So as I hit that unlevel of the

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road, it was probably a pothole,
probably about 3 or 4 feet, 3 or

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4 feet like right there in front
of me.

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And I didn't see it.
So once my truck right the right

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side of my truck tire hit that
pothole or whatever, it snatched

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the wheel away from me.
And as I came out of that

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pothole, I snatched the wheel
back and I immediately I'm

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already riding brakes at this
point.

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This shook me so bad to where I
just stomped on brakes and once

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I stopped on brakes and somebody
told me a lot of people have

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told me that when it rains,
there all comes up on the

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surface of the road because the
oil trucks went three years ago.

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And I'm not the only person that
has wrecked right there in it,

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that area.
It has been people that have

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died there.
So then again, when once I lost

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control of the vehicle, once I
stepped on brakes and I can see

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the back of my truck fishtailing
like on the side of me.

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And I mean probably like 3
seconds after that I just seen

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the tree in front of me and I
blacked out and I had my Rick

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and I woke up and I see you.
Yeah, Tell me what it was like

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when you first woke up and they
told you you're paralyzed.

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Take me back to that moment.
What did what was it like?

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What did you feel?
Could you speak at that time?

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Tell me.
Tell me what it was like when

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you're hearing from a doctor
saying you're paralyzed.

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I can speak.
The first thing I see it was I'm

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ready to go to my football game
because it was that Friday, my

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friend, Breast cancer gang.
I was real pumped up about that

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my senior year.
I worked my entire life up until

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that point to where I was
getting ready to go to college

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for my senior year.
Yeah, like I said, I woke up and

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I was just ready to go.
I had my coaches and my mom.

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My mom was right here and my dad
was on the other side of me and

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my coach was just around the
room and there was this second

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head that was like, well, he's
awake and stuff like that.

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And my mom, like my mom was
speechless.

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My dad was.
I'd rather say if anybody had to

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be the most devastated ill to my
dad, because my dad know how

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much how hard I worked my entire
life.

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My whole family did, but my dad,
I, yeah, my, my dad rested a lot

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into me as well as my mom did
too.

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But yeah, just seeing my dad
face and stuff like that, I

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didn't really, I knew I was
messed up, but I didn't know I

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was messed up that bad.
And I'm thinking like, you know,

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I had the boots on for my blood
pressure, whatever.

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I'm like, man, I probably broke
my leg or something because I

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remember I had a rig, but I
didn't know what happened in the

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rig.
And yeah, I had blacked out once

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they got to the hospital, stuff
like I said, my mom, my dad or

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whatever.
And the doctor came in and he

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was like, well, can I speak to
the parents of Jason?

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And he had already talked to my
mom and my dad before I went in.

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He had already told them.
That's why they was already

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devastated because they knew
what was about to come.

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I just didn't know.
And it was a different doctor

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that came up from there, Doctor
Clotter Book to be exact.

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And he came in there.
He was like, well, we did our

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analysis on, you know, or
whatever, and we looked at you

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at yeah, you, you messed up
pretty bad.

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I was like, yeah, I was telling
him.

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I was telling him.
I was like, no, I'm not messed

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up.
I probably got like a broken leg

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or some.
I didn't have no cast on it.

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I just had a neck brace in
there.

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You got to be actually insane to
tell a neurosurgeon that he's

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crazy.
So then again, yeah, like I was

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just steady denying and denying
it because he never tell me.

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He was like, well, is there's no
good way that I can break this

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team, but you can't move.
I was like, I can't move.

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What are you talking about?
And out I didn't try to move.

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Nothing to the end.
I was like, man, I can move.

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Like, bro, like I'm good, Sir.
Thank you for your you know,

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thank you for taking care of me
and seeing about me and stuff.

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And I'm like, OK, he was like,
OK, but I'm telling you like,

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you can't move right now.
And I'm like, right now I'm

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like, OK, you probably got me
doped up on me, so you just say

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it right now.
He was like, no, let me just

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explain to you.
He's like something you're

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paralyzed.
And I was like, wait.

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And he told me that I instant I
can move nothing but my eyes.

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I tried so hard to move my arms
and it was like my body was like

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my body was basically dead and
I'm like, well, like all I can

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do is just look down on my arms
like, you know how how do you

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see it?
You have sleep paralysis or

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something like that.
Like basically you like you

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alive, but you can't really
move.

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That's how my body was like I'm
like, I know I can function, but

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it's like I can't move.
So it's like I was stuck the IT

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didn't really hit me once I left
me once I was there and I see

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you like once I got out, I see
you and I was on a regular bed

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and stuff because I had my
family and friends and people

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from different states that I
played basketball and football

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and stuff to come see me and
stuff.

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When I got away from family and
I got transferred from Forest

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General Hospital to Methodist
Rehab in Jackson, where a lot of

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I was a youngest person.
I was a 17 year old.

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Everybody there was 40 and
police.

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So I'm seeing all this for the
first time.

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People with Halos scope patience
people would have for their

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school go like I'm seeing all
this like all this, like this is

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all these disabilities and stuff
like this for the first time and

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being a 17 year old.
And like I said, you can be

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playing basketball, playing
football and just living in life

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and be at the top of your career
and stuff like that.

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To the point to where like I
felt like, OK, why am I here?

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Like I was playing football on a
Thursday and then the next day

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is just OK.
Decide is life can change

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really, really quick.
Like unexpectedly because I was

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expected to go to a game, but it
didn't happen that way.

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But yeah, it didn't hit me until
I got to rehab.

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So I sent out the older people
and patients and stuff like

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that.
And yeah, basically that that's

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how it hit me.
It hit me once I left there and

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went to rehab October the 18th
and went with the older people.

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Wearing stuff like that.
You just feel like I didn't

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belong there just because I'm
the youngest.

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But also I have no friends, so I
mean, yeah.

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So talk to me a little bit about
going from, you know, being

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paralyzed legs and arms to, you
know, basically walking and

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working out and doing all the
things that you probably

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normally used to do.
That's a huge accomplishment.

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You know, it's almost, some
would say a miracle, right?

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Going from being paralyzed to
being able to walk and work out.

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Talk to me a little bit about
the space in between those two

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bookends.
How the heck did you do it?

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Was it a mental thing?
Was it a mental and miracle

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thing?
I'm sure you had to be in

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rehabilitation like multiple
times a day.

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Talk to me a little bit about
that process.

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First of all, it wasn't me, it
was God.

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First of all, I became very
spiritual and very religious

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when I got to the point to where
I, I had a time with MI Rick to

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where I actually met God.
So I as a athlete and stuff, you

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know of God, but I didn't know
about him.

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So I met, I met to where one
day, October the 19th, my first

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day of having therapy there at
Methodist Rehab, I didn't have

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therapy, I didn't even think, I
didn't have any doctors.

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I just wanted to be left alone
in my room.

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I told her, move my mom from my
room to another room, that

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that's when depression hit me
for at least two hours that day.

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And because like I said, I've
been 17 and all these emotions

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and you know, all your dreams
and aspirations and stuff, all

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that just wondering through your
head and I'm given one of the

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most critical traumatic injuries
there.

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Anybody can help on earth.
Like there's not like you break

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an arm or break a leg and you'll
be back in six months or three

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00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:31,720
months.
Like they there's no time to

221
00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:33,600
say.
It's just within God's really

222
00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:36,720
hands.
October the 18 I had some time

223
00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:38,680
with myself.
I'm sitting in the dark room,

224
00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:41,480
curtains, clothes.
I'm just sitting there, man,

225
00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:43,720
just everything wandering
through my head.

226
00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:48,040
And then I just had this thing
where you know, and people say

227
00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:50,960
where I'm pretty sure you seen a
commercial with like the devil

228
00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:52,920
is on one side and God is on the
other side.

229
00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:57,680
But God wasn't in my ear.
So the devil was talking to me

230
00:12:57,680 --> 00:12:59,040
and stuff.
And he was like, man, you know,

231
00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:01,280
you're not going to make it or
this is it.

232
00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,560
You work for nothing like you.
You're not going to come out of

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00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:08,160
this like you're not, you're
just not like you just believe

234
00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:11,280
me, God is not real.
Like this is just you.

235
00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:17,200
At that time I was some like he
was very like he was very

236
00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:20,440
convincing, very persuasive to
the point to where like I wasn't

237
00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:23,600
about to jump over to his side.
But I'm seeing like, you know,

238
00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:27,600
there it with my mentality from
before my rig being hard

239
00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:29,840
working.
Now I just turned 24.

240
00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:32,960
It was today the 6th, today the
6th, right?

241
00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:37,560
Yeah, I just turned 24 two
years, I mean, 2 days ago.

242
00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,200
So my birthday is more support.
Thank you.

243
00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:45,160
So like I said, I've been
working out, yes, 2 days ago

244
00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:47,040
made 20 years I've been into
fitness.

245
00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:51,600
So that's a big accomplishment
for a 24 year old.

246
00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:53,640
So that's all of my life that
I've been into.

247
00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,760
So all the discipline and you
know, all the being ruthless and

248
00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:00,640
relentless mentality and stuff.
I've been had that since I was a

249
00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:02,520
kid.
So I've been able to walk.

250
00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:05,920
But yeah, like I said, like
something like my mentality, my

251
00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,160
own understanding of mentality.
So I was telling me just wait,

252
00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:11,240
just hold on.
Not really give in to what he's

253
00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:14,880
saying, you know, 'cause there
may be a way out of it when, you

254
00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:18,520
know, people tell you that it's
not at all.

255
00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,680
I waited for Paul about 5-5
minutes.

256
00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:27,040
Then the room is closed, the
doors closed, the curtain is

257
00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:30,000
closed.
That whole entire day was very

258
00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:34,120
cloudy.
And you know, the curtains open

259
00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:39,160
on my left side of my room and
God, that was when God came to

260
00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:42,840
me and the sun was shining dead
like in my face, like not on my

261
00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:46,560
body, just in my face.
And I was like, actually, I

262
00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:48,640
couldn't cover my hand because I
couldn't move my hands and my

263
00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:51,240
legs.
But I was like just flinching my

264
00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,640
like flinching my heads and
stuff to where I can see what

265
00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,800
was God telling me like this did
like you have a purpose and like

266
00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:01,640
this injury.
So like you have to, I'm going

267
00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:04,760
to give you the tools for it.
You just have to trust within me

268
00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:08,360
like that the that good will
come out of it.

269
00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:12,400
So ever since October 18th,
2019, that's when I really

270
00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:17,680
became more of surrendering like
last year in 2025, that was my

271
00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:21,520
year of surrender.
Well, I just give like and I had

272
00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:26,920
two rigs I had, I had another
rig, but it wasn't bad though.

273
00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:29,640
It was just a little Fender
Bender basically.

274
00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:35,000
But yeah, if, if I say it, it's
been going on for a long time so

275
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:36,320
far.
It's like my mentality and

276
00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:39,680
stuff.
But like I said, I've trusted

277
00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:43,560
God my whole entire process and
my whole entire journey.

278
00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,000
So I'm not going to, I'm not
going to stop doing that.

279
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,840
I still pray everyday that I get
up and stuff.

280
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:52,040
I'm just glad to just be me.
I'm better than what I was.

281
00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:56,000
If I really, if I'm being honest
with you, if I could, I go back

282
00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:59,360
and do my Rick again today
because I know how good like God

283
00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,640
I'm being to me, how much he's
built me now to where like even

284
00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:06,840
today I went to the gym and I
was just came from New York a

285
00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:10,120
week ago and I wasn't lifting no
weights.

286
00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:13,120
Like I, I lived out like one
time I was in New York out of

287
00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:17,720
like 7 days and I came back and
the first day I tried, I went

288
00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:22,320
because my PR is 4th.
So I went into the gym and I put

289
00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:26,200
3 plates on there and people
just, you ought to see the

290
00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,320
reactions of people looking at
my body in the way it's sculpted

291
00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:33,480
to the weather like bell like
like everybody say it's ACL

292
00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:37,160
injury or, but I don't have a
brace on or like, you know, my

293
00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:39,360
ankle or something like that.
And then when I tell them the

294
00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:41,960
spinal cord injury, it'd be so
wild and stuff.

295
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,360
And my mom was telling she was
like, you really haven't woke up

296
00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,560
to the fact that like you're
very, very rare.

297
00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:50,400
Like what you doing has never
been done before within the

298
00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:54,200
amount of time that you've been
here back from your record with

299
00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:55,840
them.
And I was like, I didn't believe

300
00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:57,840
it for anything.
Like we've seen a specialist

301
00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:01,640
from Flowood and my neurosurgeon
was the best neurosurgeon in the

302
00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:03,480
state.
And they was telling me like,

303
00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:06,079
you know, like if you watch my
trailer, it was like, man, like

304
00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,760
you have something a lot of
people don't have, like it's

305
00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:14,079
never been done before.
So basically I'm just I don't, I

306
00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:18,280
don't have a limit.
So even like I said, even today

307
00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:25,000
I squatted 365 like 20 times.
I did 2 reps of 10 and people in

308
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:30,440
the gym was just looking at me
like like no belt, no knee

309
00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:33,720
wraps, no nothing.
Just just me just squatting.

310
00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,080
And people like, I just don't
understand like how like what

311
00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:41,560
like I ever meant like grown
older men and men and dudes

312
00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:45,160
being jealous of me because my
body is like so sculpted.

313
00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:46,720
Like I just got an athletic
body.

314
00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:50,920
I've been like there for years.
But like I said, mental

315
00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:54,040
mentally, it's a mental thing
with spanica with any disability

316
00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,720
is mental.
I think a lot, and I say that

317
00:17:56,720 --> 00:18:01,680
because of some effect is COVID
is around the time that I really

318
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,680
built, started building my
mentality way stronger.

319
00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:10,280
So a lot of people see the
physical side of a spinal cord

320
00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:12,200
injury.
You know, it's just there is

321
00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:16,360
nothing moving but mentally
like, OK, I'm going to put it

322
00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:19,960
like this.
So I was AC three, I was AC3C4

323
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:25,120
and my injury is at the top of
my neck.

324
00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,320
So it's one of the most critical
injuries on earth for a spinal

325
00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:32,720
cord injury or whatever.
So what I did was I took my word

326
00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:37,000
ethic and I took the physical
therapy and the medical side and

327
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,440
put it together with my
mentality and I created

328
00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:44,040
different workouts that are put
me through pain and that are

329
00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:48,760
like still have that relentless,
ruthless Dr. And what I do is I

330
00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:51,480
started the way I started moving
my bodies to scratching.

331
00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:54,520
And a lot of people don't think
of that.

332
00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:57,080
A lot of people don't know that,
but I started scratching and the

333
00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:01,240
way that I started scratching is
there's regular scratches on man

334
00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,080
on my leg and leg out.
I have my cousin.

335
00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:07,120
This was when I wasn't moving in
the thing at all.

336
00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,640
I had my little cousin Hayden,
He was stretching me and I what

337
00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:16,040
I do is and I close my eyes and
I will visualize myself pushing

338
00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:18,080
my leg in and out even though I
couldn't.

339
00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:23,320
But I was just a real
visualization of me just moving

340
00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:27,760
my leg in and out.
And I was training my mind that

341
00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:31,120
my body was making my body move.
This repetition, repetition,

342
00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:33,960
repetition.
And I wasn't moving for probably

343
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,640
about two weeks.
Yeah, my cousin.

344
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,760
And we had a camera on the side
of I have my little cousin.

345
00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:42,000
He was telling like, probably
you move your legs.

346
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,600
And I was like, really?
Because I have my eyes closed.

347
00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:47,880
And he was like, yes, like look
back at the film and we looking

348
00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:50,160
at it.
And I was actually like moving

349
00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:52,520
my legs just a little movement
at the time.

350
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,400
And it was too scratching
because I haven't pushed my leg

351
00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:57,800
into me and I try to push my leg
out.

352
00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:01,440
So once I've seen that little
movement, it encouraged me.

353
00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,640
It's just a man thing.
It's mental but.

354
00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:09,600
I have to send those signals
from my brain down to my body.

355
00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:13,400
So the way that I would do that
was I'm a visual, like I'm a

356
00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,280
visualize it first, then I'm
just going to put my body

357
00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:20,400
through puria.
So then again, I've, I've become

358
00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:25,120
so mentally strong and so stable
mentally.

359
00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:29,240
So to the point to where my
neurologist and the specialist

360
00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:33,800
told me that my mind is at least
a decade ahead of my body.

361
00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:37,320
Bye.
So they something that I've

362
00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,480
worked myself out of injury
phase.

363
00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:43,600
It's just my body recovering and
trying to catch up with my mind.

364
00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:47,880
So a lot of you think that I'm
no, I'm, I'm very strong.

365
00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,400
Matter of fact, I'm too strong
for my body because my therapy,

366
00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:53,400
I got kicked out of therapy four
times.

367
00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,600
I peeked out of therapy four
times because I did therapy.

368
00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,200
I worked out at home and I
worked out at the gym.

369
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,960
I put myself back in the gym.
The therapy was like, well,

370
00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,480
there's nothing more that we can
do for you.

371
00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:09,320
You just everything they give
me, I make them printed out what

372
00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:13,200
I struggle with and I go home
and practice it for countless

373
00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:14,920
hours.
And like I said this same way I

374
00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,320
did a football and basketball.
If I have trouble doing

375
00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:19,680
something, I think a lot of
people, they don't really take

376
00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:25,080
accountability for what they're
doing wrong or they're wrong and

377
00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:27,760
they don't want to fix it
because they don't want to be

378
00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,400
like they don't want to learn
from it.

379
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:33,760
Me, I love learning.
I'm excited about learning.

380
00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:36,920
So as much as I want to learn
about myself, about my body,

381
00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:39,360
it's hard.
It's hard to beat me because I

382
00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:42,720
work out still two to three
times a day with my injury.

383
00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,960
Like I just, it is mental.
I think a lot of other men

384
00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:50,520
within this world, they have the
tools to be able to be

385
00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:55,400
successful, but they don't have
the mental strategy to be able

386
00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:57,720
to get there.
And I got both.

387
00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:02,880
So I got screened power like my
neurologist, the specialist, he

388
00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:07,720
was even telling me like when he
walked in the room and he was

389
00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:09,640
telling my mom, he's like, you
know, where's your son?

390
00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:11,880
And Jason?
He thought I was a brother, but

391
00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:13,520
I don't have a brother.
I have two sisters.

392
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,440
And he came in the room, he was
like, you know, where's your

393
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:17,800
son?
Where's Jason?

394
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:22,280
And and now walking form
crutches and my form Chris is on

395
00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:25,720
the back of the chair.
And as I was getting ready to

396
00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:28,080
talk, I said, I'm right here.
He was like, no, I'm looking for

397
00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:30,320
your brother.
And my mom's like he doesn't

398
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:32,880
have a brother.
And she's like, well, well,

399
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,120
where is Jason?
He was expecting me to be in a

400
00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:37,240
power chair.
That's what they all were

401
00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:40,400
expecting.
He's checking my info and

402
00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:42,320
everything.
And I told him my birthday,

403
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:43,520
Social Security, stuff like
that.

404
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:45,000
He's like, bro, it really is
you.

405
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:49,200
Like, I was expecting you to be
way, like, way worse.

406
00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:53,000
Way, way worse, worse.
So now that I'm being opened up

407
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,560
to this new world of people with
disabilities and actually

408
00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:01,760
looking from myself to other C3
and C4 spinal cord injuries is

409
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:05,280
unbelievable because it's like,
I basically feel like a

410
00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:07,560
superhero for people to have
disabilities.

411
00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:10,200
Yeah.
So you got to there's a

412
00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,200
documentary coming out,
Adversity on Your Life.

413
00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,120
I watched the trailer of it.
I'll put the trailer link in the

414
00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:19,120
podcast description.
Tell me a little bit about that

415
00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:21,240
documentary and how it came to
be.

416
00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,640
It's pretty exciting and when
maybe we could expect that it'll

417
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:28,920
be out for people to watch.
It should be out this spring, so

418
00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:32,400
we're waiting on tubing and
other some more networks are

419
00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:34,760
interested in it.
A lot of people.

420
00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:36,480
I just had a couple of my
friends last night.

421
00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,000
I was like, bro, can we see the
full documentary?

422
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,760
Because I had it and they was
like, I was like, bro, I cannot

423
00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,280
show it to you.
I cannot show it to you.

424
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,200
There's like, bro, come on, bro,
like tell me about it.

425
00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:54,280
But adversity in and like I
said, I'm the type of person of

426
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,600
my word means everything.
That's what my dad taught me.

427
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:00,680
So if I give you my word that
I'm going to do something, I'm

428
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:04,440
going to do it.
Adversity came about just to a

429
00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:07,440
thought of my head.
I was like, no, my, my mom, she

430
00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:12,320
gave me something very powerful
that I looked at and wanted to

431
00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:15,600
change the world at it.
I'm the type of person I'm, I'm,

432
00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:18,440
I'm like a ninja turtle.
I like to I don't like the

433
00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:21,880
spotlight.
I like to person, but I've been

434
00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,360
like that all my life.
I work hard, don't say too much,

435
00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:28,320
keep my head down and just not
really just get too boudy.

436
00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:30,880
I treat everybody with respect
and how I want to be treated.

437
00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:34,680
My mom told me she was like,
well, you know, this happened to

438
00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:35,280
you.
Whatever.

439
00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:37,360
You see, a lot of people, they
have spinal cord injuries.

440
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,680
They're very shy.
They don't want to talk.

441
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:43,960
I've been on that type of side
of the world to where people,

442
00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,440
they have disabilities.
They're very, they feel like

443
00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:49,560
they're not human and that what
causes a lot of them to be

444
00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,600
depressed and angry and stuff
like that.

445
00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:55,640
And my mom was like, you have a
story.

446
00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,360
I go out and tell it.
And that moved me in a way to

447
00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:03,000
where she was like you and I
told her I said, mom, I don't

448
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,120
have the tools.
And she was telling you got the

449
00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:08,880
tools.
You know, you still have your

450
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:13,000
arms and your legs not missing
in the limbs or you have a man

451
00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,200
and you need to take with your
man 1st.

452
00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:20,120
And that pushed me to be able to
not only do content for the

453
00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:24,520
people they have disabilities
and non disabilities, but I also

454
00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:26,760
have a son too.
I have a warn you.

455
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:32,040
So to be able to be my son's
hero and show him that

456
00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,720
everything that man tells you
that it's impossible is

457
00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,840
possible, It just takes somebody
delusional enough to complete

458
00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,080
it.
And I'm that want to be

459
00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:43,400
delusional enough to achieve the
impossible.

460
00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:47,760
So if I said if I can be a role
model for my son and be his

461
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:52,160
superhero, to show him that your
dad can defy all odds, you can

462
00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:53,760
too.
So there's no limits.

463
00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:57,360
I don't limit myself to what I
can do now and stuff.

464
00:25:57,640 --> 00:25:59,640
I don't.
I'm the type of person I don't

465
00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:02,200
say I, I can't.
I just say I'm not ready.

466
00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:06,680
And to say that you have to be
bold enough to be able to have

467
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:09,240
the mentality to be able to
complete something when you

468
00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:13,400
don't even know about it.
So I like to study myself,

469
00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:17,360
evaluate myself and correct
myself when I'm wrong and hold

470
00:26:17,360 --> 00:26:21,640
myself accountable for all my
wrongs to be able to be a better

471
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,040
person.
And I always be better than a

472
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,000
lot of people mentally,
physically and emotionally

473
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:31,640
because I take time with myself.
I pray a lot and I like cleaning

474
00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:35,920
up my problems to be able to,
you know, just do bigger stuff

475
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:38,280
and everything.
But the biggest thing that I

476
00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,800
have for this year, my quote is
that you don't have losses their

477
00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:45,440
lessons and I don't I don't have
losses.

478
00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,360
I everything that's within the
loss is a lesson if this if you

479
00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:51,360
want to find it.
A lot of people lose and they

480
00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:56,320
don't want to find what is wrong
and how they lost and they just

481
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:58,840
try to move on through life.
But you still got to go over

482
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:02,040
that hump.
So I'm very strategic as a 24

483
00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:03,480
year old.
I know how to get around

484
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:08,040
problems and figure out ways of
life because I mean when I was

485
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:11,560
in high school and elementary
and middle school I worked out

486
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,040
for sports mainly but I worked
out for life.

487
00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:17,040
Like for stuff like this to
happen to a person or a young

488
00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:20,480
person at that life haven't
started yet and continue to be

489
00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,800
able to get up and work out at
5:00 AM.

490
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:27,280
And you know with move do the
day to life like I just got done

491
00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:30,240
around my 4 wheel while ago.
I still ride 4 wheel horses,

492
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:32,720
hunt, fish, all these other
things.

493
00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:35,440
I'm no different than you.
So if I can put my mind there to

494
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:37,680
be able to do what you do every
day, I'm unstoppable.

495
00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:40,840
It's awesome.
Well, folks, I'll put the link

496
00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:44,200
to the documentary trailer in
the podcast description.

497
00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,040
Jason, your story is so
inspirational.

498
00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:52,040
Going from paralyzed, can't move
your arms and legs to what you

499
00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:54,000
are today is pretty
inspirational.

500
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:56,400
I think that you're probably
inspiring more people than you

501
00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:58,880
realize.
Folks, go check out the trailer

502
00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:01,800
and when that when it comes out,
we'll be the first.

503
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:05,120
And that front row Jason
watching your documentary 30

504
00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:06,640
Minutes here has gone by in a
flash.

505
00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:09,120
Jason, you had any last minute
thoughts here before we head

506
00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:12,240
off?
I'm not really just stay tuned

507
00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:15,240
for the full documentary or
watch the trailer to be updated

508
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,680
on everything.
So I appreciate you for having

509
00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:19,600
me here today.
Awesome.

510
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:21,840
Well, Jason, we wish you nothing
but success, your true

511
00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:24,240
inspiration, and you're welcome
back anytime.

512
00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:26,400
Thanks for coming on the show.
Yes, Sir.

513
00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:26,880
Thank you.