The man is Larry Edel of Colo.
Larry was rushed to Mary Greeley Medical Center that tragic day and sent from there to the trauma unit at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, where he spent over a month in intensive care. He battled for his life, fighting double pneumonia and coding twice. Looking back on those critical days, Larry didn't see being in the intensive care unit as the biggest hurdle he had to cross. It was not being able to see his two boys for over two months. Logan, his oldest son, was 3, and Colby, his youngest, was just 2 months old.
"The lack of normalcy was also a big hurdle," Larry's wife, Amy added. "Larry couldn't communicate for a month. He went from being this strong vibrant man, who in my opinion could move a mountain, to someone who couldn't move or do anything for himself."
Larry's accident happened in March of 1990, and he couldn't move his arms until late July of that year. "I couldn't do anything," said Larry. "Someone had to feed me, move me, shower me, there was nothing that I could do. Everything was a very-very slow process."
After many surgeries and hours upon hours of therapy, Larry had a great accomplishment. "Larry's therapist called," recalled Amy, "and wanted to make sure I was present at Larry's next therapy. He said that Larry had a surprise to show me. I was still in denial, and as I drove to Des Moines, I was thinking he had taken a step or was standing again. When I got to the therapy room the therapist told Larry to show me what he could do. Larry rolled over and sat up by himself. I remember thinking, 'That's it?' but then it hit me, and I realized how far he had come and what he had gone through to get to this point. It was a huge step."
When asked how long it took him to come to terms with being paralyzed, Larry said, "Everyone was worried about me because I never cried. I never came across that I had lost so much until late into my therapy. Even to this day, it is sometimes hard to come to terms. I loved to farm and farming with tractors, and now I can't. I get so frustrated at times when I know what needs to be done and I can't do it."
"Sometimes I would say I wish things were back to normal," said Amy. "But things have changed, and our 'normal' has just changed, too."
Before Larry's accident, he was a 3rd degree black belt in the American Taekwondo Association and had been teaching classes since 1983 in the towns of Iowa Falls, Nevada, Ames and Hubbard. With no movement of his legs and limited movement of his arms, Larry continued training after his accident, and become a 6th degree Master Instructor. He owns and continues to teach at the ATA Black Belt Academy in Nevada. When asked what pleases him most about teaching, Larry responded, "I've got a lot of great students and families that I've met through the years. It gives me great joy to see how my students have succeeded in life and to see if they can still use some of the teachings I've helped form."
Larry has also gone back to school since his accident. He went from farming to getting his bachelor's degree from Iowa State in accounting. "One of my biggest accomplishments was getting back to making an income and supporting my family," said Larry.
Do people treat him differently since his accident? "Some people do, not everyone," he answered. "I understand that people may not know what it's like to be in a wheelchair. Some people want to help, and some just want to stay away. Being paralyzed is not contagious," he added.
Amy continued, "People need to realize it's O.K. to come up to someone in a wheelchair and ask what happened. It's good if people can learn from someone else's accident and not end up in a wheelchair themselves."
"Take one day at a time," is the advice Larry would give to someone who may have just become paralyzed. "Never give up and always keep loving family and friends around you," he added. "If it wasn't for the love and support from Amy, my life would be a lot more challenging for me. She is the one who is the hero."
Along with the love of Taekwondo, Larry has not let his wheelchair keep him from his love of boating and fishing. "There's always a way to do things," he said. After researching what kind of boat would fit a wheelchair, Larry and Amy became co-captains of a pontoon boat, and they enjoy boating several times a year.
Larry is an amazing man. He went from not being able to hold a toothbrush and brush his own teeth to training two world champions, several top-10 competitors and several amazing students. Whenever you see Larry, he is always smiling and asking about you and how you are. Watching him teach, you can see how much he cares for his students and their parents. In return, his students treat him with respect and honor.
The words on the arm patch that Larry received when he became a Master Instructor are: Honor, Loyalty, Knowledge, Vision, Respect, Humility, Gratitude and Nobility. Larry lives by these words and has used these words to come back from a tragedy.
If you look into Larry's face and not at the wheelchair he sits in, you will see a brave man who hasn't given up on life. His smile and laughter light up a room and truly give you the courage to think that, no matter what happens, life is worth living.
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