“I didn’t understand what had happened to me.”
“I consciously knew that I had a really serious accident — that I’d broken my neck, that I was quadriplegic, but I had no idea what that meant,” Dave Jacka, 44, explained to Stillmotion‘s Patrick Moreau. In the wake of a horrific motorcycle crash, Jacka was left reeling, struggling with the fact that his adventurous soul was now trapped in an almost immovable body.
“You know, I was still 6’3″ and bulletproof, and I could do anything physically,” he said. That’s how he felt right up until he entered the rehab center. When he arrived and was left in a room with nothing to do but stare at the ceiling, the reality of his situation weighed on him like a ton of bricks.
He was 20 years old at the time of the accident, and until that point, there was nothing he couldn’t do. After that, however, he couldn’t even get in and out of bed without help from his parents and sisters.
Jacka was left with high-level quadriplegia, which meant that he could not move anything below his armpits from that day forward. He still had slight mobility in his biceps and wrists, which he used to regain some independence.
Growing tired of relying on everyone else, he set one goal: to get himself into bed at night without anyone’s help. Doctors said it’d be impossible, but Jacka didn’t take no for an answer. After months and months of effort, he finally learned how to maneuver himself in a way that surprised everyone.
Improvement aside, he knew his doctors were right when they said he’d never walk again. With that in mind, he decided to fly instead.
The next time you say to yourself, “I can’t,” remember what you’re about to see in this video.
Although he struggles down here on the ground, Dave Jacka is unstoppable when he’s in the sky.
His story is proof positive that nine times out of 10, inability is a state of mind. To learn more about Jacka’s incredible journey, check this out.
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