Man Ditches Wheelchair 12 Years After Accident, Learns To Walk Again - WOWT

The group Mike McIntyre belongs to are all members of the FAST diet. Since getting a membership he has lost 90 pounds.

McIntyre's group has lost more than 5,000 pounds altogether. Some groups in Omaha have reported losing more than 60,000 pounds.

Encouraging stories rarely begin with happiness and cheer, Mike McIntyre's story is no different.

Nowadays you can find people yelling out, 'Go Mike,' or offering words of encouragement as he walks laps around the gym, but it wasn't that long ago he was wheelchair-bound. McIntyre struggled to do anything more than wiggle his toes.

More than 12-years ago McIntyre needed surgery. That surgery ended up leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

'There was once I thought about taking my life,' said McIntyre. 'That's when I started seeing a psychiatrist.'

At that point McIntyre had already been in his wheelchair for years. Over that time he had gained weight. At his heaviest McIntyre tipped the scale at 347 pounds. While his psychiatrist was helpful, he also challenged McIntyre to walk again. A challenge that McIntyre refused to go unmet.

'I'm a type A personality,' explained McIntyre as he walked around the gym nearing the two mile mark. 'I rise to a challenge, I don't take a challenge lying down.'

In May McIntyre was still using a wheelchair as his only way of getting around. On Thanksgiving day he walked nearly three miles with his canes. Some days he ditches the canes and tries to walk a little bit further than he has in the past.

Mike McIntyre has a new goal, now that he's walked he wants to walk a 5K without any canes. A goal that seems likely with each passing day.

McIntyre said he's feeling better every day. He's also shedding weight. He's began to workout with a group on the FAST Diet. The group he works out with meets at the UNMC Student Life Building. As a whole the group he's involved in has lost 5,000 pounds. He alone accounts for 90 pounds of that, however, he's down a total of 120 pounds since he first began walking.

'It takes gumption, but you can do it,' said McIntyre who decided to share his story so others could find their own reason to change. 'You can challenge your own body, you've got to do what you can to improve your own life. If I can do it, why can't anyone else?'

McIntyre said he hopes to walk in his first 5K sometime in the Spring or Summer. If he stays on track he may walk his first 5K within a year of learning to walk. He still has challenges because he can no longer feel one of his legs, which has forced him to learn tricks to keep himself from falling. McIntyre said the challenges with walking won't stop him from achieving his latest goal.

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