MMA fighter Ryan ‘Chaos’ Curtis suffered a broken back, broken neck and dislocated spine during a training session in January last year.
The damage was classified as the most severe that can happen to a spinal cord, and he underwent emergency surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
He was left with no movement in his legs or his left arm, but has since made remarkable improvements on the road to recovery.
“One year ago, I woke up in a bed with a broken neck and my whole body was paralyzed,” he said.
“I remember when the accident happened, I cared about nothing else except being able to hold my daughter again.
Former MMA fighter Ryan ‘Chaos’ Curtis a year after his accident
“I didn’t care about walking, fighting, money, status, none of it. I just wanted to hold her again.
“When you are close to death, that is when you find out what you really care about. Family has always meant everything to me.
“I always worked hard for more, still do, and always will, but I always knew what I already had was enough.”
The father to a three-year-old girl is currently in Colombia for stem cell treatment and believes he has been transformed mentally and emotionally since the incident.
“The loneliest I’ve ever been, but with the most people around my bed I’ve ever had,” he said.
“Exercise was always my therapy. So, to have to lie with myself and my thoughts 24/7 in a bed for about six months until I got some mobility back, was challenging to say the least.
“One year later, I’ve been transformed into something mentally and emotionally far beyond what I was this time last year.
“Think about it this way, I am still so young, and I have been blessed to receive my toughest challenge this early on.
Ryan Curtis suffered severe injuries during a training incident one year ago
“That gives me the confidence to know, no matter what happens in life, I am untouchable. I have never changed who I am as a person. My character never changed.
“When I was stripped down to nothing, the most vulnerable, the most insecure, the most afraid, the most alone I have ever felt, I was still the same person at my lowest as I was when I thought I had everything.
“I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will never be able to repay all of you for everything that was done for me this past year and still to this day.
“I have always tried my best to help people regardless of what can be done for me, so I’m so appreciative of it all. Destiny will always bow its head to unbroken will,” he added.
