Original subtitles

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(insects chirring)

(panting)

(exhales)

Day of finals.

Here we are, it's 7:30 in the morning,

just getting our last touches.

Gonna hit the can gap, make my way down,

and, uh, see...

see how I feel this morning. It's pretty early,

but I feel pretty confident.

Think of all the Rampages I've done,

I feel more comfortable this year than I ever have.

Annette: I was very much in love.

We had Natalie. She was almost two.

She was beautiful and healthy,

and I was pregnant again.

Mike: I was so excited. I had such a great summer playing basketball.

I felt like I was at the top of my game.

Cynthia: I was just another girl living life in LA

with my daughter, trying to make ends meet,

going from school, picking her up.

(birds chirping)

Tobias: I had graduated school

and was getting ready to do music and jewelry and ski,

and I thought, well, I'll take one last trip.

(wind blowing)

Annette: My doctor happened to be out of town.

I had other things happen at the hospital,

but basically, I went in to have Anna.

Jesse: Usually, I surf alone, but that day, I told my friends

to come meet me at the beach.

(indistinct chattering)

Samantha: We ordered pizza, had dinner.

Paul: I just wanna warm it up to this drop in right here, you know?

Vanessa: I was in the car with...

the love of my life.

Wish me luck. (sighs)

Morgan: There was scaffolding up in front of the house.

They were like, we go up on the scaffolding.

It's a really pretty view.

(laughs)

Paul: Bike good?

Who wouldn't want to go to look at the pretty city lights?

Xander: One o'clock in the afternoon, bright, sunny day, big intersection.

I wasn't going very fast.

(grunts)

-Paul: Whoa! (laughs) -(yelling)

Russel: We were playing horseshoes up on the beach,

and it got hot, so I was like...

I wanna jump off the boat and jump in the water.

Oh yeah, people dive off that rock!

(laughs)

-Yeah! -Jump!

Mike: A defender came in front of me.

My legs got taken out from underneath me.

I laid the ball up, fell on my back,

and made the layup, which was great

'cause that would've made my story kinda lame.

Announcer: This is 29-year-old Paul Basagoitia.

Announcer 2: This guy is such a legend in the sport.

He's done so much in the slopestyle world.

The first guy to ever win back-to-back Crankworx Slopestyle titles,

and he's got a very unique line.

Nobody's riding this far rider's right except for Paul Bas.

Man (over PA): Three, two, one...

Jesse: Pulled inside of the barrel, when I came out,

the wave hit me in my back, and...

I thought it was deeper than it was.

Vanessa: I remember taking off my seat belt,

turning around to get something from the trunk,

when I saw him cutting the wheel back and forth.

Sam: Hit a lip too far back and it flipped me

into almost like a backflip.

Sarah: I was walking and a tree just fell on me.

Patrick: I was holding onto my mom's hand,

but the force knocked me down.

The tire went completely over me.

She put the wrong chemical in the epidural.

-It burned my spinal cord. -And that's when we launched off the overpass.

I dove off the back of the boat and hit the bottom of the river.

I fell out the window and hit the ground 30 feet.

Paul: Shit! (grunts)

(spectators exclaiming)

Paul: Aah, fuck!

Announcer: Holy smokes! Paul, just inches off of his line,

causing him to come down into the bushes.

Paul (groaning): I can't move feet-- move my feet!

Medic: Hang on, we got medical here, hold on.

-Hold on. Breathe. -(Paul exhales)

Medic: Okay, talk to me.

-Paul: I can't move my feet! -Medic: Hold on, hold on.

Don't move, don't move. Watch that...

Watch that right arm.

Nichole: I'm here, baby.

Man: Okay. We're gonna roll you over, Paul.

-Nichole: Be strong, babe. -(helicopter whirring overhead)

-You got it. -Medic: We got you, Paul.

-Nichole: Should we strap his neck? -Medic: Ready? On three.

-Ready? One, two, three. -Paul: Oh, that hurts.

-Medic: Take him out. Take him out. Take him out. -Nichole: You're okay, babe.

Medic: Nice and easy, nice and easy, nice and easy, good.

(helicopter thrumming)

(monitors beeping)

(voices chattering nearby)

Doctor 1: We've got this nasty burst fracture,

obliterated T12 with a large fragment back into his canal.

His cord is just trapped,

and all the ligaments back here are all torn.

Doctor 2: Is he moving anything?

Doctor 1: It's an incomplete injury,

so he's got some movement in his proximal legs.

The distal legs, he doesn't have any movement.

He's got some sensation.

Wanna take this bone out and just do a corpectomy?

We could take that down,

evacuate the blood, get you to where you need to be,

leave a drain in afterwards.

I'll just put a cage in there,

and lock him in posteriorly as well.

Morgan: I guess I knew that I couldn't move, but...

I didn't know...

that I had a spinal cord injury. I had no idea what...

a spinal cord injury entailed or the...

things that would come with my life after that.

They had told my family and my boyfriend at the time

that I was never gonna walk again, but no one had told me yet.

I don't know why no one told me. I don't know.

I guess it's really hard to tell someone that.

First thing that you hear when you open your eyes

after a spinal cord injury is,

"You're never gonna walk again."

And I was just like, fuck you.

What do you mean I'm never gonna walk again?

Like, "Well, we're not gonna say never,

"but your five percent chance is pretty slim,

"and at the five percent chance, it's not going to be

the same way that you walked before."

I just kind of woke up and...

was in my new body.

Doctor: Nichole, so we just finished up the surgery.

From here on out, it's gonna be a rough road.

He'll have some problems with bowel and bladder function,

sexual function.

There is a solid chance that he's not gonna walk again.

(bike clatters)

(clatters)

(clatters)

(monitors beeping rhythmically)

Paul: Day four.

Really tough.

Never in a million years thought I'd be here, but...

if it wasn't for you guys,

I wouldn't be...

trying how I am right now.

You guys have been a huge support.

-Use your legs as best you can. -Nichole: Just stand, baby,

-you got it. -One, two, three.

Nichole: Stand, stand, stand. Push, push, push.

Paul: Want to see if I'm stable?

-Nichole: Yeah, it's okay. -Man: I've got his left side here, Mike.

Nichole: You're okay, babe. Push.

Physical Therapist: Okay, nice. Now, we're sitting.

Perfect.

And here we go.

Samantha: Breaking my back I thought was similar to breaking your arm,

spraining an ankle.

You put a cast on it, you get better.

I didn't understand that neck meant quadriplegic.

I didn't understand that back meant paraplegic.

I thought the people that were in wheelchairs

were born like that.

I had no idea that you could become paralyzed.

I had gotten an iPad, and I remember looking it up

and just pulling up a chart where it literally tells you your whole entire spine

and then seeing paraplegia, this is what it is.

This is the spinal cord chart, and that's about it.

(staple remover clicking)

Nichole: It's gonna get better, babe.

Paul: Just wanna lock bands, get these legs moving, and just...

help people in the future with, you know,

the same situation, and hopefully I can...

be the guidance for someone else.

When you see somebody in a wheelchair in public,

you just see them struggle getting from point A to point B.

The real struggle is

what goes on behind closed doors.

When they started telling me more about

the injury and what it really meant

to be paralyzed, and not to be able to feel your body,

not being able to use the restroom by yourself,

it's everybody's worst nightmare.

It's 3:00 in the morning,

and, uh, this is what I have to go through.

Ten o'clock at night, 12 o'clock at night,

three o'clock in the morning, six o'clock in the morning.

(breathes deeply)

(breathes slowly)

(breathes deeply)

(inhales sharply)

(breathes deeply)

(urinating)

(knocking on door)

Not a good time.

Sam: I hated my fiancée seeing me.

I think the first thing I said to her--

'cause we were due to get married in April,

and I was hurt in September,

and I remember when she got to the hospital,

I remember just laying there. I couldn't...

really grab her hand or anything, and...

I remember saying to her, "You're not marrying me."

Like, "You're not marrying a vegetable."

Paul: My girlfriend's been sleeping in that corner

on that bed for the last two weeks.

It kills me.

Ron: I went from being a hotshot tank commander

to being like an overgrown baby.

I had to get my ass wiped for me. I had to get bathed.

I had to get clothed.

I can't even-- Humbling isn't even a word.

It was, it was, uh...

I wanted to die. I had-- I felt like, why am I living?

If I can't be the same person that I was before, why am I still here?

I wanted them to like do something to just... end my life.

I just couldn't-- I didn't see how I could continue living like that,

or like this.

Today felt like it was the very first day that...

reality actually set in.

I'll never be back on my bike or walking.

(voices chattering nearby)

Aaron: There were a lot of little

boxes that they put us in.

Time frames, what to expect when.

Six months, really great.

Twelve months, definitely getting some stuff back.

Eighteen months to two years, you're maxing out.

They told me that I would make

my most progress within two years.

Right away, it was in this gym, was working towards being...

not necessarily out of the wheelchair, just being...

the best I could be in this situation.

-Want some music? -Maybe.

-(music playing) -Nichole: Use all the power have, babe. You can do it.

And then just as you come up, just keep bringing

your hips forward and your chest up.

And the hips kind of follow the chest.

Just up and forward.

Nichole: You got it, you got. Use those legs.

Physical therapist: As you feel, start walking, hands forward.

This is him.

-He's got it. -Nichole: Nice job, babe.

Good. Good!

Paul: Two wheels was my life.

Started riding a bike without training wheels when I was two years old.

My dad would just give me one good push,

and I was able to maintain that speed.

I remember going into the bike shop

with my mom and purchasing my first BMX racing bike.

Getting out of school, the first thing I would do

is go to this vacant lot.

All the teenagers would go out there and build jumps.

That's all I wanted to do.

I wanted to compete, and I wanted to race.

Announcer: Basagoitia moving to the front!

The Flash dropping one in the first turn! Hasslegrave going down!

Paul: I loved training,

working hard, and getting the results.

I was the best in my age group in the world, at 10 years old.

Today was a huge accomplishment for me.

It was the first day

that I got out of bed by myself.

Super emotional about it because

every morning, that's like the hardest thing for me is to,

you know, get out of bed because,

you know, the night before, you're always dreaming

about riding and hanging out with your friends,

living a normal life, and then you wake up.

Reality sets in.

I get choked up even thinking about it, so...

I'm gonna keep plugging away and do my best.

Woman: You wanna keep your elbows in.

Man: We're gonna take you in backwards here,

so in the first row.

Whoa!

-Man: Don't be alarmed. -Okay.

Woman: Yeah, you're good.

Jesse: If I could've gone home

right away, I would, but...

you have to do certain things to be able to get ready for that.

Steph: It blew my mind.

I went from being so independent

to just starting all over again,

to the days that I don't even remember, as an infant.

-Woman: Grab your...(indistinct) and meet you on the other side. -Okay.

-Man: Coming down. -(ramp whirring)

I went to my rehab hospital and I said,

how many people have walked out of your hospital?

He said not many. And I said, well, add me to that list

'cause I'm not leaving here till I walk again.

Paul: First day at Craig.

-Are you excited? -Yeah.

-Are you? -Paul: I'm, um...

I'm a little nervous, but I'm excited.

I'm hoping to see some progress

and maybe walk out of this place.

(voices chattering nearby)

All right, let me see what you can do with this foot.

Okay.

(conversing indistinctly)

Where do you feel that? Okay.

Steph: The team that was working with me told me

they can't tell me what my life is gonna be like

because every spinal cord injury is so different.

Some people do have some movement. Some people don't have movement.

Some people have sensation, some people don't.

Vanessa: Once I heard that there was

no two spinal cord injuries alike,

and that you shouldn't compare yourself...

Tobias: Everybody's a snowflake.

Every individual and their injury

is different and acts and reacts differently.

So, there's no way for any one person to understand

how another person is experiencing this injury.

There's not one person here at the hospital that's not in a wheelchair, and, uh...

matter of fact, there's people here a lot worse than I am.

And it's, um, quite scary, you know?

Everybody is literally here...

for the same reason, and...

and in this case, it's...

you know, because you're paralyzed.

Annette: They were having me do a lot of things

to work in the wheelchair.

And I was like, no, I just wanna walk.

I only want to be doing therapy for my legs.

I don't want to transfer.

I don't want you to tell me in a wheelchair.

I have to go to the refrigerator and take out a dozen eggs.

I was getting so... frustrated by them, like,

we want to teach you how to diaper your baby at the wheelchair--

like, it was always the wheelchair level.

Samantha: They would tell me to get out of my chair and get on the floor,

and then get back into my chair.

This is how you're gonna put on your pants.

This is how you're gonna get in the shower.

And I feel like I still needed time to process things...

(voice breaks): ...and grieve a little bit.

(elevator beeps)

(elevator beeping)

(phone buzzing)

Woman (on phone): Paul, it's your mom. I'm just calling

'cause I heard the bad news.

Have Nichole give me a call,

and let me know how you're doing, please.

Bye.

Paul: I haven't spoken to my mom in years.

We don't see eye to eye on things,

and when I get back home, we can try to fix things,

but right now, it's not the time.

Growing up wasn't easy.

In 1995, my parents bought this motel.

Pretty beat up, the roof was about to fall off,

but it was their dream.

My mom would take me all around the US

while my dad was at home working,

and raising enough money for us to do these races.

My mom pushed me to the max.

I would do four to five races every week.

The days I wasn't doing so well,

she would yell at me, scream at me.

As a child, you don't want to hear that from your own mother.

But she always wanted me to be the best.

Every time we would come back from the races,

my dad was drunk, my mom was upset.

Once my parents got divorced,

everything just stopped.

My mom ended up taking over the hotel.

My dad was like, all I want is one room

until I'm able to figure out my shit again.

He worked so hard to get that hotel

and help me with my BMX career.

Told my dad, I'm like, hey, I'm gonna be next to you

whether the situation is good or bad.

We lived together in room 120

for a good three years.

(speaking Spanish)

-Hi, brother! -(laughing)

Paul: Just make sure the brakes are on.

-Got your brakes on? -Paul: Yeah.

(sighs) Okay.

-Thanks for dinner, it was good. -All right.

(speaking Spanish)

Paul: Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow, buddy.

Watch it out, it's ice.

Okay.

Dude, I've never, ever seen my dad cry.

Never once in my life.

Nichole: My mom says he's been crying all week for you.

Yeah. (exhales) That was tough.

-Nichole: You're okay. -I know. I'm just saying it was tough.

Like, 'cause you know, like...

I don't know. You just know it's serious when he's crying, you know?

My dad's been through a lot of shit--

Nichole: I know, but this is the first time he's seen anything for you.

I know. I just know right when he saw me the first time in the wheelchair,

-he was devastated-- For sure. He was... -Cried a little.

And that's why it took him so long to come visit me

because he didn't wanna see me in a wheelchair, you know?

Or in this situation.

-(sniffles) -Nichole: Baby...

-Toughen up. -I know. I'm just saying...

-I'm tough-- No, I'm tough. -Nichole: You're gonna prove--

Told you I was gonna be emotional when I saw my dad.

-Nichole: But your dad-- -And I was good. I was good all day.

I was fine, until he...

"No, no, no. Oh..." I don't know.

-Nichole: Love you so much. -I love you, babe.

Why is it everybody other than me

loves being in my wheelchair.

(Paul chuckles)

Watch this.

Nichole: It's obviously easy for me to say,

"Hey, let's move on," but...

the reason I do act like that is to encourage him.

Paul: I wanna see what you got.

Nichole: If he sees that I'm happy,

I'm hoping he will try to be happy.

I have to be the rock.

-(laughing) -Paul: Gosh.

When you become injured

or your life changes drastically,

it doesn't only stop your life,

but it stops everyone else's around you.

You realize that these people like my fiancée Elise

and friends and...

um, family,

they do it without even...

you know, blinking an eye.

This young kid from the neighborhood came by,

and he looks into the car, he's like, you're paralyzed?

I said yes, and I showed him my handicap sign, my plaque.

He's like wow, you don't look paralyzed.

So, once this young kid leaves,

she's like, "Mom, you're not paralyzed."

And I was like, I don't know where you've been,

but I'm paralyzed Brianna.

She's like, no, Mom. She's like,

you can move your legs a little bit.

She's like, someone who's paralyzed can't move at all.

She's like, so I don't see you as paralyzed.

So, when she said that to me,

something just shifted in my mind where no matter what

I'm going through physically, emotionally,

she just sees me as Mom,

as a complete person,

and her love is unconditional,

and that just gives me strength to keep on moving forward.

Nothing will ever change how I feel.

You're my life,

and...

nothing will ever change.

You're my one and only, my end all be all.

This is nothing for me.

This makes me love you even more because I know how much you...

the strong person that you are, and I love it.

So thankful for you.

Annette: Nothing had changed for him.

I would've felt it. I would feel other people's eyes on me

differently than they were.

You can sense it. You know...

this person loves me.

Paul: My babe's leaving me tomorrow!

I don't want to, babe.

Paul: Going to be very sad.

No, don't talk about it. I'm sad, too.

Paul: Reality: gotta go back to work.

Talk about last night.

What? No.

(Paul chuckles)

Paul: What do you mean?

What part of last night?

What happened last night?

Hmm...

Can you give me... (mumbles)?

(laughs) No. What happened last night?

-I'm not talking about that. -(laughs) What?

Okay, hand me that... (mumbles)

-Okay, you tell me what happened... -No.

...and then we'll discuss about the Starbursts.

Uh-uh.

Nichole: Take that towel off.

(sighs)

If...?

Nichole: (laughs) If what?

-Two for two? -Oh my God.

Here's the three questions people wanna ask when you're in a wheelchair:

How did you get hurt?

Will you ever walk again?

Can you have sex?

Not as easy as it once was or as...

normal or romantic

or that kind of thing, you know.

Being with someone and being intimate with someone involves so much,

it involves so much more than just, you know, sex.

When people say that, sounds like, "Oh, so then you can't have sex."

(inhales) No!

That is the only part of my life I would say is

better than everything, than it ever was before.

It made me more-- less...

inhibited, I guess, less afraid,

and made me understand my body more.

And so, for me, that was the only plus I got.

(chuckling): Sorry to put it that way.

(phone line rings)

Nichole (over phone): Hi, babe.

You won't believe what just happened to me.

Nichole (on phone): Why?

(mutters): Come on.

(sighs)

-(urinating) -(sighs)

Yes!

-Yeah. Yeah. -(urinating continuing)

-Woo! -Nichole (over phone): Ah!

-(laughs) I'm about to cry. -Oh my God.

Paul: It was the best piss I ever had in my life.

Nichole (over phone): I'm so happy, baby.

-Love you. -Okay, love you, too.

-Bye. -Bye.

Yeah!

(flushes)

("Atomic Man" by Portugal. The Man playing)

Steph: I'll never forget that moment.

Picking up a French fry, slowly bringing it to my mouth, and when it made it to my mouth,

I cried. I was like, wow, like, I could beat this. I can do something.

♪ You're feeling tired, I know three's a crowd ♪

♪ But if I bring along a friend ♪

♪ It'll be fine for now... ♪

Aaron: I stacked those gains like LEGOs.

I was able to stand in water, with full bracing.

I was able to regulate blood pressure.

I was able to give my dad a hug on Father's Day.

I just started to really break it down

into those tiny, incremental

improvements, which were huge.

♪ After you, Hell should be easy ♪

Vanessa: I got a lot more shoulder movement, bicep,

and also wrists, so that was a huge thing.

Had I not done the E-stim,

I do not think I would've gotten the wrist function back.

I first started out just being propped up to stand in a standing frame.

And then I went to the parallel bars,

and I was moving one leg, another leg.

♪ Oh, oh, oh! ♪

♪ Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪

Then, I had a walker.

After the walker, I went to my forearm crutches.

From forearm crutches, I walked out of the hospital,

had my wheelchair for long distances.

♪ After you, Hell should be easy ♪

♪ After you, I don't know what I believe in ♪

♪ After you, Hell would be easier... ♪

Physical Therapist: So, you're picking up your trailing limbs a little early.

Paul: Last day at Craig.

I was hoping to walk out of this place,

but, uh, obviously, that's not gonna happen.

Keep plugging away and try my best,

and, hopefully, get back on my feet here soon.

♪ I'm the moon that pulls ♪

♪ The tides that take the sand ♪

♪ I'm atomic man... ♪

Paul: Good, home sweet home.

(Nichole speaks indistinctly)

(loud cheering)

Paul: I'll take some, thank you very much.

I love every single one of you guys.

(laughing, chattering)

Tobias: The major thing that happens with a spinal cord injury is

a metamorphosis.

You change, there's no choice.

You're not the person that could do all the things that you could do before.

And when you're in a hospital, there's a bubble of hope.

There's a bubble of possibilities that...

that you'll walk again, that you'll rehabilitate yourself,

and you also are surrounded by people whose common goal it is

to get you as better as possible, as quickly as possible.

And then when you leave that environment,

and you go back to the world...

well, the bubble bursts.

Nichole: Leaving Paul is really hard for me.

I mean, I still have to go to work every day

and live my life, too.

It's stressful leaving him in such a delicate state.

A bunch of friends stepped up and helped modify my house a little bit.

We had to put a ramp in the front to get in the front door.

Where do you want this guy, Paul?

Uh, you can put it right here.

-Right here? -Yeah.

We had to cut a hole in the wall so I can get

from the front door to my room in the back.

They redecorated my entire room.

They switched my mom's side of the house,

and it was now my side of the house 'cause it was bigger.

But when no one's around is like when reality really sets in.

Steph: It was my first time looking at my bedroom

from a totally different level.

And I looked around, and I was like,

whoa, this is my life.

This is what it is right now.

And I remember bending over my chair,

and I couldn't even pick myself back up

'cause I didn't have the arm strength.

And I just bawled my eyes out

in the corner of my room 'cause I didn't wanna look at it,

I didn't wanna go further into the room.

Tobias: It becomes a lonely place.

I would go to the window

because I knew that was the time of day

when I could get sunlight through the window.

(brakes thump)

Cynthia: It was hard to see my house

the way that I left it the day of my accident.

All my things were still in place,

but I knew that this is where I needed to be.

I couldn't stay in the hospital. I needed to move on.

I need to start moving on with my life.

Paul: The things I miss the most,

the day to day things that we do that we don't realize--

especially around the house, you know, like mowing the lawn, um...

doing house repairs, cleaning around the house.

And then, of course, like, you know...

going out and building jumps.

And I used to love going out and scouting new lines...

It was literally just Cam and I enjoying that great time,

and it sucks because we don't do that anymore.

Paul: Let's see you go from one end to the other, Cameron.

Cameron: Peter Pan?

(Paul laughing)

Highlight of my day, Cameron, always.

-Good! -(laughing)

I met Cameron when I was 15 years old.

The first time riding with Cameron,

I was so blown away, what he was doing on a mountain bike.

He was doing all the tricks

on a mountain bike that I was doing on a BMX bike.

So Cam and I, we became more than just riding buddies.

You know, we just started becoming best friends.

I got on his bike, was like,

wow, this actually feels kind of good, you know?

Cameron: Yeah, PB.

Paul: He was like, how do you feel about

entering a mountain bike contest?

Had zero money, so I ended up working as a plumber,

and I saved enough to buy a plane ticket to Whistler.

I had never, ever hit jumps that big in my entire life.

Must've been at least 10,000 people that year.

I was like, holy shit, this the real deal for sure.

Announcer: Put your hands together for Paul Basagoitia!

(cheers, applause)

Paul: I was there on Cameron's bike, it wasn't even my bike.

I'm talking to myself. I'm like, man, Paul, this is the time to shine.

At the very last obstacle,

I had no idea that I was gonna backflip onto it

and then tail whip off it.

(cheering)

I was so shocked that I just did something

that I had no idea was gonna work.

I don't even own a mountain bike yet!

I remember Cameron running to me, gave me the biggest hug.

That's when I knew it was a big deal.

(cheering)

I would thank my sponsor, but I don't have any sponsor, really.

Going to Crankworx the second year,

I didn't want it to be a fluke.

Paul: I'm so stoked! I mean, last year I came out here,

no sponsors nothing,

and then I won, and then I did the same thing.

I can't believe I repeated it. I just can't believe it.

(crowd cheering)

To defend my title was one of the best feelings I had in my mountain bike career.

-I was not a fluke. -(cheers and applause)

Before he got hurt, we started riding a lot more

and I had my riding buddy back and like, I was like,

man, dude, we're gonna load up bikes before we know it,

and just like it never happened and...

Trust me, I think about that every day. (laughs)

I can only imagine, bud.

Never in a million years I thought

I would be paralyzed, you know?

We've all taken crashes and...

what do we do? We hit the ground, we get back up,

you know, and this time, it was definitely different.

I'll devote any amount of days

that you want to go and ride, and just, uh...

I know that it's...

it's tough, but whenever you're ready.

That day will come, man.

Yeah.

Be good though.

-I'm here any time you need me, bud. -(whispers): Thanks, man.

I lost a lot more than...

just my ability to walk.

Like, I lost my friends and my whole life that I had.

I lost everything.

Everything.

Patrick: Most people injure themselves when they're older.

There's this transition period

that you go through,

and I can't say that I've ever

felt a... sense of transitioning, you know?

Like, this is all I've ever known.

I do definitely get bouts of frustration

and bouts of depression.

Ron: I was so depressed...

so lost that I wouldn't even put...

There was no reason to even get dressed in the morning.

You know, why'd you choose me, to happen to me?

I got two kids and... all that stuff.

You know, I was coaching their soccer teams

and having fun with them, and I was like...

I was like thinking, man, life's over, dude. I can't do nothing, you know?

I sat there and laid in my bed in my room,

day up, day night, you know?

Wouldn't get up, wouldn't get in my wheelchair.

Just laid there, you know, pissed off.

I didn't even know if I could finish high school.

Just to go back

and be amongst all my friends.

You know, they're out there surfing and skating

and partying and having a good time.

What am I gonna be able to do that even will allow me to have fun?

Your friends are telling you to get out and go do something,

and you're laying there and you physically

can't get out of bed.

And then they don't understand why you just lay there.

Mentally, you're just drained and it just drains your whole entire body.

I mean, depression, it is the worst thing.

(chattering)

Woman: All right, here we go.

Annette: You can't imagine the different world you live in,

walking and not walking.

Oh, Annette, we have all these different groups,

and you can still do the things you wanna do.

No! I can't even get to the soccer field the way I wanna get there

because someone blocked the gate last week.

I mean, literally, some guy just blocked the one entranceway.

Nobody could find him. No one knew where his car was.

That stuff happens to me all the time.

I just wanna live my regular life,

and not have it be a drama for all the people around me.

Where's the guy? Who has the key? Where did he go?

Oh no, how are we gonna get her in?

We gonna throw her over the fence?

Does someone have to carry her? Then my husband's frustrated.

Then my kids are like, they gotta go to the game. You know, I just...

That's the kind of thing that makes me feel bad.

As a human being, I'm in the way, I'm a problem.

(sighs)

(lively chattering)

-Paul: How's it going? -Man: Nice to meet you.

Paul: Thanks for coming out, appreciate it.

Auctioneer: Three hundred bucks!

Auctioneer: 300! 320!

-Man: Got 600 for it! -600! Yeah!

Whoo!

-Man: 800! -(cheering)

-900! -A thousand bucks!

(cheering)

-Yeah, baby! -Yeah!

-My turn! -Paul: Yes!

-A great big hug, man. -A big hug, man. (laughs)

-Dude! (growls) -(laughs)

Paul: Thanks, buddy.

Cameron: Dude, you're an animal.

-You're an animal, dude. -Thanks, man.

-You All right? -I'm good. I just can't balance.

I just can't balance. But thanks, buddy, I appreciate it.

Man (over PA): Everybody come out to... (indistinct)

(cheering)

Man: Yeah, buddy!

Love you guys!

Once again, there's no way I'd be able to do this without you guys.

This fucking injury sucks, I'm not gonna lie.

Hate it. Everyday, I cry. I wake up, I'm devastated,

but you guys keep me plugging away

and trying my hardest to get back on my feet, and I will.

So, I'll see you guys, and thank you.

(applause, cheers)

(breathing deeply)

(exhales)

(exhales)

(exhales)

(exhales)

("Down On Me" by Souls playing)

-Howdy! -How you doing?

What happened?

-Broke my back. -Oh!

Mountain biking.

Yeah, fracture... (continues indistinctly)

♪ Whole wide world ♪

♪ Down on me ♪

♪ Oh, down on me ♪

♪ Down on me ♪

♪ Looks like everybody in ♪

♪ Whole wide world ♪

♪ Down on me ♪

♪ Oh, down on me ♪

♪ Down on me ♪

Paul: My career in mountain biking

was living every kid's dream.

♪ Whole wide world down on me ♪

♪ Oh, down on me ♪

♪ Down on me ♪

Woman: The winner is...

All: Paul Basagoitia!

(crowd cheering)

♪ Oh, down on me ♪

(cheering)

♪ Looks like everybody in this whole wide world ♪

Paul: It's unreal. It seems like we're rock stars.

It's pretty good, pretty good living, that's for sure, man.

Man (over PA): Paul Basagoitia, out here from Reno, Nevada!

(crowd cheering)

Bills.

American Family Insurance. Bills.

They love me.

Craig Hospital, big bill.

(exercise machine rolling)

Ron: I just trained like crazy, all the time, every day.

About eight to 10 hours a day of my life

for about a year and a half

went into improving my condition, doing everything

I can to defy anything that any doctor ever told me.

(panting)

(zipping)

Paul: Nichole and I, we actually went to high school together.

She was one of those, like, girls that are like, oh man...

What do you think about Nichole Munk?

Never really thought I had a chance with her because

she was all about cheerleading, so...

she was always hanging out with football players,

basketball players and stuff, and, uh,

that definitely wasn't really me.

The first time we actually hung out

was five years after we graduated from high school.

Paul: Good thing I can do this, huh?

(exhales)

Nichole: Do you want me to drive, babe?

I got it.

Paul: When I got hurt,

she made it very clear that we're gonna do this together.

I don't know how many other girls would've stuck around, you know?

But she stayed.

There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about that accident.

At least you, like, weren't concussed--

I kind of wish I was. I wish I was knocked out,

so I don't remember any of it.

-Nichole: No because-- -The problem is, I know everything.

I know, word by word, I remember everything

like it was yesterday. That's the shitty part is...

I deal with this every single day

because I remember it so clearly.

-There's the site. -Nichole: Holy.

Oh.

Rampage Strait! What up?

-How you doing, dude? -Cool. How you doing?

-How's it out there? -Pretty good, man.

-Good to see you, man. -Yeah, it's pretty good.

Where I caught my pedal, huh?

Right here, yeah,

and then you landed...

there.

Cliff's not even that tall.

-Nichole: Yeah. -I guess going--

You were going fast though.

Going 50 miles per hour.

Sam: Even though it's given me so much,

I go through the emotions weekly of...

I hate that sport. You know, I hate...

that I dedicated my life to it and it did this to me.

(sighs)

(electricity humming)

For 10 years straight,

I did everything that I could to walk again.

We put all of our resources into it.

I fought...

as hard as I've ever fought for anything.

Man (on video): Let go.

(breathing deeply)

Like a pump.

(exhales)

Get rid of the CO2 effectively,

influencing the chemistry of the body.

(breathing deeply)

We do 30 breaths.

(breathing deeply)

Paul: Jessy, what's up, buddy?

(Jessy speaking over phone)

If you have any sensation below your injury,

man, that's, that's huge.

(Jessy speaking)

Paul: I'm able to walk around with two AFO braces, two canes,

and I'm also able to pedal a stationary bike as well.

I have my core, I have my quads,

so that's how I'm able to get around.

But what's holding me back to walk is my glutes.

So, if you take the canes or the crutches away from me,

I just fall down.

(Jessy speaking)

Oh wow.

(Jessy speaking)

Woman (on video): While some recipients

claim to receive great benefits from stem cells,

these treatments are not available past clinical trials in the US.

However, overseas...

Xander: Summer of 2015, I started a medical trial.

I was patient zero.

The science that they were using on me

had me standing up, weight-bearing.

I had regained movement and control of my hips.

I still have control of my hips now.

I used to be paralyzed from the ribs down.

My body is... way different than it used to be

because of this trial specifically.

But the trial unleashed a whole new world

of so much pain, so much spasticity, so much...

so many symptoms that,

for years, I was lucky to never have.

Do I wanna be the first guy in space? No.

I'll wait until, like,

space travel is...

is pretty safe and everyone's doing it.

There's this website where it shows

every single trial in the world,

and I went one day, I spent four hours

going through 800 different trials,

looking at them, reading them,

and I found two. I found two that I was like,

oh, this sounds good.

And then I sent them to my doctor, and he's like no.

(laughs)

Bray: Probably what you did was got back nerves in the early phase

that were injured but not dead.

The ones that were actually damaged completely died off,

and they're likely in the process of

re-enervating or regrowth.

How do we speed up that recovery?

-You don't. -You don't?

You don't think stem cells would help that out or--

-Well... You know-- -What's your take on that?

It's something that could be considered.

I'd kinda wanna know where you really are at before we did that,

because you may be in a phase of rapid regrowth by yourself.

You're finding out that one of the big problems is that

there's a whole lack of information out there.

You kind of get lost in this mix

of who knows all this stuff properly.

Paul: I'm finally hearing about stem cells,

and I still have to get the right answers.

I gotta know a little bit more about embryonic

and adult stem cells.

So, I'm kind of just going day by day

and learning on my own.

I'm lower level, I'm T12,

and I don't have glutes.

I got my quads, I got some hamstrings.

So I'm able to get around with canes, you know,

but if I go get this treatment,

and it fires up just my glutes?

That's life-changing for me.

Everything got better after my first treatment--

like skin color, like muscle tone.

I'm considering adult stem cells.

It's coming out of your bone marrow, it's all you. It's natural.

Adult stem cells are not good enough

for a treatment for spinal cord injury.

Embryonic stem cell treatment is, by far, the way to go.

Woman: The chances with embryonic are

if that embryo has a DNA pattern of cancer,

you can be putting a disease back into your body.

I would by far tell you that if you were gonna do it,

-do it with your own cells. -Right.

At your age, you're still making decent stem cells.

Paul: There's been so many people that showed

huge progress getting stem cells,

and then I watched a documentary last week,

and this dude goes backwards, you know?

He lost the function of his bowels and bladder...

It made him worse.

Samantha: I got a stem cell treatment in Germany.

I did get nerve pain,

which doctors say it's good,

but...

it's not an easy thing to live with.

Also, very expensive.

On paper,

there's nothing that says that it works.

When I first got injured, they said that

there would be a cure in five years.

And then when that five years passed,

they said there'd be a cure in five years.

I've been injured for 21 years,

and I've heard that four different times.

This is spinal cord injury, the unknown.

Being in that unknown zone is...

there's nothing scarier.

Paul: Dr. Hans Keirstead, he's been

part of the whole stem cell research from the beginning.

In 2002, he actually made a paralyzed rat

be able to walk after injecting

embryonic stem cells into the spinal cord of the rat.

That is incredible.

Paul: If you were in my position, what would you do?

I'd be very leery of...

99.9% of the overseas work.

If you're down in Mexico,

making a treatment that's unregulated,

who knows if its actually safe

or efficacious?

Now, this treatment that we developed, is it ever gonna

effect 100% a cure? No, it won't.

You gotta get in there soon.

The treatment, I designed it

to be used within weeks, not years.

(turn signal clicking)

Nichole: Did you really think that...

it would 100%?

I mean...

I worked my ass off to get to that 100%,

but, I mean...

Nichole: Absolutely. Yeah, that's never in question.

I'm not gonna change my mindset, you know, regardless.

Nichole: He wants to be walking with no crutches.

I want him to realize he's come so far

and he's upright and he is walking.

I don't care to run a mile in under seven minutes.

I just wanna take a shower standing up, just little simple things.

End of the day, I just wanna have independence.

I don't think I ever thought

that I could possibly die this way

without ever taking another step.

I mean, I just...

I don't--

I don't know,

but I guess it's possible.

I mean, it's possible that could be it for me.

I still think, in my dreams,

I'm walking.

Man (on video): For this journey,

we focused on fetal stem cells,

arguably the most contested

and controversial form

of stem cell therapy to date.

I didn't even know that even existed until basically

you brought that to my attention.

Warren (over phone): It's just crazy how...

Man (on video): They use the stem cells from an unborn fetus,

the mother's going to have an abortion anyway.

After the abortion, rather than discard that fetus,

they harvest the stem cells.

Paul: What we need is the neuron cells,

so fetal stems cells, you're able to get that neuron cell.

I know it's only been a couple weeks,

but have you seen any gains from this treatment?

(Warren speaking over phone)

Paul: Man, that's amazing.

If I can get my glutes to fire back up,

that would be life-changing for me.

(Warren speaking)

Paul: If you mention the word stem cells,

everyone's like, oh, you're nuts.

Second off, if you tell them what kind of stem cells,

fetal stem cells, people are gonna be like...

now, you're really crazy.

And then to top it off, to tell them

you're gonna go to Tijuana, Mexico, to get it?

Oh man, I don't even wanna have that conversation with people.

Nichole: I just can't watch it. I don't wanna watch it.

-I really don't. -Paul: Until you watch

this documentary, you should have an open mind about it.

But right now, you're so one-sided because

all you're thinking of is,

you're gonna go get stem cells by aborted fetuses,

but it's not like that.

I would've never thought that--

and I'm sure you didn't either-- that we'd be in a position

where we actually have to make a tough decision

based off of something that's really fucked up.

-It's hard to explain-- -You know, but the thing is

here's what's always gonna happen,

and this is always what you're gonna say.

"Well, you're not in my position,

so you don't understand."

-And you know that's true. -Absolutely.

Sam: No one in your immediate corner

ever understands exactly.

They don't mean to not und--

but no one understands, like, how...

difficult some things are, or how...

what you go through every day, as much as they try to.

Everybody thinks there's no hope for this injury.

I truly believe there is.

Nichole: I'm willing to try whatever it is

to get out of where we're at right now,

because it's been terri-- it's...

mentally, like, it's not fun.

You're not a pleasant person to be around.

I'm pretty committed. I already put the deposit in,

and I'm heading down there for sure.

You're gonna go to Tijuana with me?

Nichole: We're literally in a strip mall.

Fucking stem cells.

-At least that place looks nice. -(laughs) Really?

It looks like Frankie's Spa in Reno.

Like we should be getting pedicures,

not stem cells.

(running water)

(shuts off water)

Paul: It hasn't even been a week since the stem cell treatment.

It's funny 'cause every morning, I'm like, okay,

is there gonna be a new muscle group to fire back up?

And it's not like that. It's gonna take months

to see any sort of gains,

and hopefully I see some gains with muscle.

You know, I wanna see my muscle groups to start firing back up

and to get stronger and hopefully start

wiggling some toes here soon.

I'm kind of heartbroken.

The only thing that the whole procedure really did to me

was drain my bank account.

Nichole: You don't want two canes?

No, I want to look like I'm doing better

when I go see my sponsors.

-Nichole: Good call. -(Paul laughs)

Paul: 99.9% of people

told me don't do it, but I think I'm better off

failing, opposed to never trying.

Whoa!

Victor: Paul!

-Paul: Victor. -It's good to see you.

-You, too, man, how you doing? -I'm doing all right.

-How you doing? -Not bad, man, not bad.

So stoked to see you, man.

Paul: I think what helped me progress

to one cane was time.

Yeah, maybe you progress the most

in the first two years, but I don't think

it's over on that second year.

I think there's still time to get better.

I've seen it in other cases.

Took Christopher Reeves five years to be able to move a finger.

It took this one girl I follow on social media,

and it took her seven years to...

get out of a wheelchair and start walking with crutches.

Well, it was three years in that I got my bladder back,

and that was when I was pregnant with Ingrid.

I'm three years out and I'm still improving.

I just started being able to move

my lower left leg, my knee.

I went to physical therapy and occupational therapy...

all growing up and...

I started this...

physical, intensive physical therapy

at this place called Project Walk...

when I was 10.

Fast-forward eight years,

when I was graduating high school,

I walked across the stage

at my graduation.

The more I go through this injury, the more I realize that

no one knows anything, and I just...

I just chip away at every day of trying to...

get a little bit better.

Just remove the concept of time

with this injury.

This isn't a broken bone where 12 weeks,

I can cut a cast off and start getting on with life.

This is a lifestyle.

This is a new way of living and being.

Woman: Thank you so much for answering my boys

when they sent you messages.

All good. I love the support.

-You guys are great. -Woman: And they just...

-They're so happy that you answered them. -Yeah.

-Hey, it was finally nice meeting you. -He told his whole class...

And what a hero you were. It was awesome to them.

Thank you, man, I appreciate that.

And they saw you and they were so nervous.

They walked around you a couple of times.

-(laughter) -Aw.

Paul: The last 14 years I've been coming to Crankworx,

I've been competing at some type of event,

so it's kinda weird coming here and...

kinda just watching.

-Good luck. -It's like a kid at a candy store

and walking out with no candy.

Good man. Gonna win it this year?

Last time I did pump track, it was you and me, man.

Annette: The reality is that there's

human suffering. That's the thing.

I was actually mad at myself

for knowing that reality

and not accepting my own. Like not saying,

that I'm gonna be subject to that, too.

I'm gonna be subject to the laws of nature

and other people making errors.

I'm gonna be subject to suffering.

This was my first real suffering.

It was...

I can't say I handled it brilliantly.

I think it was just more shocking, and before,

suffering was always something that I thought about...

maybe it'd happen mostly to someone else,

or I think the things I'd been through

really were more adversity,

and adversity is something you can overcome.

You can pull up your bootstraps, you can get through it.

But suffering is something that you endure.

Paul: Last week, a kid found out that I was in Mexico

and got stem cells, and he said,

"I'm on my way next month to get it done.

What do you think?"

I told him, hey...

Don't do it.

I feel like I'm not

improving that much, you know, or at all.

To a point that...

At least to a point that I would be able to walk

without any assistance, you know?

I think you're improving. I mean,

and it's probably easier for me to say you're improving

than it is for you to, you know,

like you wanna be improving

more and faster, but--

To be honest with you,

I'm definitely second guessing

the future and my outcome.

That makes me choke up a little bit.

I've just never heard you say...

maybe, this is it for me.

-Like, that's... -I know.

Paul: We always want more.

As humans, we always want more, no matter what the situation is.

I used to be the strongest person to walk into the room.

I don't know, like I'm... I'm weak.

Patrick: You're definitely allowed to be sad,

and you're definitely allowed to get depressed and you're...

you don't have to fight those feelings,

but you do have to be open to...

change, and you have to be open to...

figuring out how to move on.

If I had gotten frustrated and resisted everything

that was a challenge,

it would be my entire life. I would be frustrated

and annoyed and depressed and...

that's just no way to live, you know?

If you sustained a spinal cord injury and you survived,

you've got a second chance.

This is your second...

your second ticket...

on the same train of life, right?

So, you shouldn't waste it.

(chatter, laughter)

Paul: Before this injury,

I would always tell myself I would...

probably take my life if I was ever paralyzed.

I'm so glad that

I was able to overcome that.

-Nichole: Still taking photos? -Paul: I'm a perfectionist.

-Nichole: We have tomorrow-- -Paul: I need to get that right photo.

Nichole: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to do that.

-(laughing) -Paul: Life is not guaranteed.

(sighs)

Tobias: Just because I accept my situation, doesn't mean

this is it.

It doesn't mean that I can't change it

or control it

or move past it.

And so that's the beautiful part about acceptance.

It's not admitting defeat.

It's empowering yourself to move forward.

Aaron: I've given all of myself to this process,

and I respect my injury. I know my body works

hard for me. I know I have a spinal cord injury.

It's gnarly.

I'm surrounded by it every day. I live it every day.

And my mantra is gratitude.

I really accept it for what it is

and the limitations that it has, and that's okay.

I actually feel I'm still a whole person,

a valuable person. That hasn't changed.

My value is equal.

I still believe that I can walk. I still have hope.

So for me to accept it means that I'm giving up

that hope to walk again.

I've learned to live with it.

I've learned to live with my disability.

Every day is a challenge.

But no, I can't say that I've accepted it.

I still have a 5% chance.

I try to be thankful

for what I do have,

and understand that

I did love my sport and that's why I was doing it.

I just have a whole a different outlook on what I feel

is important in life now.

(crowd cheering)

Get that seven!

Announcer (over PA): As we look to the top,

Cam Zink, a husband, a father of two.

This is the steepest line in the history of Rampage.

A 63 degree angle slope after he lands this massive cliff drop,

and here he comes.

-(air horn blowing) -(cheering)

Zink over the edge!

-There he is! -(cheering)

You did it, Zink!

(cheering)

Paul: My life's not half as exciting as it was, that's for sure.

I think I'm okay with it. It's time to move forward,

move on.

Announcer: Your eyes are not deceiving you.

Paul Basagoitia, Paul Bass on set. Paul, welcome my friend.

Good to see you guys.

Such hallowed grounds behind us here.

It's hard to come back sometimes.

Last year, it was really hard for me to come back,

but this year, it feels good to be back.

I have not accepted my injury 100%,

but I do appreciate where I'm at in life.

Last week, I was so upset that I couldn't go wakeboarding

or wakeskating with all my friends,

and I was just on the boat,

watching my friends have a good time.

Something just clicked in my brain. It was like,

well, at least I was able to get in that boat.

I just put my hand in the water...

feeling the temperature,

the texture,

and I feel a connection to the people that can't do that.

Jesse: Came up with an idea about surfing again,

and made a surfboard where I can lay down on my stomach,

and then...

they push me into a wave down at Cardiff Reef in San Diego and...

Samantha: I had rode the Jet Ski by myself,

and that's where I felt my...

sense of normalness come back.

True feeling of independence again.

Russel: At first, I'd go out to support groups

and talk with other injured SCI patients, you know?

I like to go to concerts, baseball games,

you know. I do more stuff now than I did when I walked.

One thing for me was driving.

Put all the windows down, feel the wind in your hair.

Hell yeah. (laughs)

Patrick: I love playing rugby.

I'm a quadriplegic, but I can...

absolutely wreck someone's day

in my rugby chair.

I had no idea what I was doing,

calling all these girls. "Hey, do you wanna dance?"

And they're like, sure? In a wheelchair? Sure?

Five years later, it's...

a dance company I never thought I could have.

I kicked off my music career.

I started riding a bicycle again, but on my terms.

I would go ride to ride,

just pedal the damn thing.

Cynthia: I never thought that I would be a human robot

back in the '80s when I was watching Robocop.

(laughs) And I was like, oh my God!

You want me to show you? (laughs)

It's amazing to stand and to look at

your friends at eye level.

I make a big deal about it because for so many years,

I've been used to people kind of looking down on me.

(cheering)

(breathing deeply)

Paul: If you could take a pill

and wake up tomorrow morning and be completely healed,

what's the first thing you would do?

I don't know. (laughs)

I don't wanna ruin the drama, but I have no clue.

The first thing I would do is go to the beach.

Yep. It's crazy 'cause...

the last time I was at the beach and I was able

to feel the sand between my toes,

I remember walking off and running back

just to feel it one more time.

The first thing I would think to do and the first thing I'd...

try to do is just give my mom a big hug, standing up...

'cause I've never done that before.

(voice breaking): I would run and never stop.

Just like...

just like Forrest Gump.

Have everybody run with me.

I'd run with my mom, I'd run with my dad.

My brother.

I would run.

♪ This world ♪

♪ We can ♪

♪ This love ♪

(bike bell ringing)

♪ It isn't good ♪

-Paul: You like Europe, babe? -Nichole: I do.

You like Amsterdam?

What's your favorite part so far of Amsterdam?

I like the buildings.

-Paul: Cruising. Look at these places. -Nichole: Wow.

-Paul: Sweet. -Nichole: Beautiful.

Paul: Some mansions.

What do you like about it?

Here how I'm biking and everyone just thinks

I'm your average Joe, which I love.

♪ Book of poems ♪

Sweetie (laughs). Don't!

I'll hold onto your shoulder like this, now pedal.

I'm gonna do the work?

You gotta deserve your drink.

I-- I am, I'm very deserving of drinks.

♪ This world ♪

♪ We were ♪

♪ This world ♪

♪ We heard ♪

♪ This world ♪

♪ We can ♪

♪ This love ♪

♪ This world ♪

♪ We won ♪

♪ This world ♪

♪ We heard ♪

♪ This world ♪

♪ This love ♪

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