An Ohio man was paralyzed from the belly button down on Christmas Eve 2007, when a car accident caused by another driver fractured his T-12 and L-1 vertebrae. He was told he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. The man's brother was also a survivor of the accident and a member of the University of Michigan football team. The strength and conditioning team at the University volunteered to assist with the paralyzed man's rehabilitation, and in September, he walked out onto the field at the University of Michigan's football game.

That Christmas Eve night, a car ran a stop signed and collided with the family's SUV, sending it spiraling into a ditch. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene. The future Michigan football player sought to free his brother, who was trapped in the wreck, and in doing so tore his rotator cuff. The family learned the brother had suffered a spinal-cord injury and was paralyzed.

Many stories like this one do not have the added element of a Big 10 football program. However, the team's connection to the family allowed his to reicieve unique and top notch physical training, which has allowed him, over the course of years, to regain his ability to walk.

Car accidents can be very serious — this case shows an accident that was fatal to member of the wreck and seriously injured some other passengers. The action of running a stop sign had serious physical and emotional consequences for the victims, and their lives would never be the same. Fortunately, despite the other tragedies in the story, this man has regained his ability to walk and can serve as an inspiration to other spinal-cord injury victims.

Source: Ann Arbor.com, "From 'never' to walking: Brock Mealer will lead Michigan football team onto field Saturday," Pete Bigelow, Sept. 2, 2012