03/12/2025
Tom Traded in His Wheelchair for a Harley
I want to share a story that continues to inspire me every day. When I first met Tom, he was in a wheelchair. His journey to that point had been filled with hardship—cancer, heart disease, the loss of a loved one, and relentless chronic back pain. Pain had taken so much from him—not just his mobility, but his freedom, his joy, and even his patience at home with his wife.
Tom had once been someone who ran 6-7 miles a day on his lunch break. When he joined my program, he was searching for more than just relief—he wanted his life back. One of the biggest turning points for him was learning to understand pain in a new way. He came to realize that all the different pains he felt weren’t separate, random experiences but part of the same underlying process. And most importantly, that pain—while very real—didn’t have to control him.
He committed himself fully to the tools and strategies we worked on together. By the third week, he was walking up to three miles again. By the fifth week, he was back on his Harley, riding to class without noticeable pain. The freedom he thought was gone forever? He found it again.
Tom’s journey is a testament to what’s possible when we shift how we approach pain. He not only regained his mobility—he regained himself. And now, he shares his story with others who are where he once was, proving that even after walking through dark valleys, the view from the other side can be breathtaking.
(story & picture shared with permission)
