Day of finals.
Here we are,
it's 7:30 in the morning,
just getting our last touches.
Gonna hit the can gap,
make my way down,
and, uh, see...
see how I feel this morning.
It's pretty early,
but I feel pretty confident.
Think of all
the Rampages I've done,
I feel more comfortable
this year than I ever have.
Annette:
I was very much in love.
We had Natalie.
She was almost two.
She was beautiful and healthy,
and I was pregnant again.
Mike: I was so excited.
I had such a great summer
playing basketball.
I felt like I was
at the top of my game.
Cynthia:
I was just another
girl living life in LA
with my daughter,
trying to make ends meet,
going from school,
picking her up.
Tobias:
I had graduated school
and was getting ready to do
music and jewelry and ski,
and I thought, well,
I'll take one last trip.
Annette:
My doctor happened
to be out of town.
I had other things
happen at the hospital,
but basically,
I went in to have Anna.
Jesse:
Usually, I surf alone,
but that day, I told my friends
to come meet me at the beach.
Samantha:
We ordered pizza,
had dinner.
Paul: I just wanna warm it up
to this drop in right here,
you know?
Vanessa:
I was in the car with...
the love of my life.
Wish me luck.
Morgan:
There was scaffolding
up in front of the house.
They were like, we go
up on the scaffolding.
It's a really pretty view.
Paul:
Bike good?
Who wouldn't want to go to look
at the pretty city lights?
Xander: One o'clock
in the afternoon, bright,
sunny day, big intersection.
I wasn't going very fast.
Paul: Whoa!
Russel:
We were playing horseshoes
up on the beach,
and it got hot, so I was like...
I wanna jump off the boat
and jump in the water.
Oh yeah, people
dive off that rock!
-Yeah!
-Jump!
Mike:
A defender came in front of me.
My legs got taken out
from underneath me.
I laid the ball up,
fell on my back,
and made the layup,
which was great
'cause that would've
made my story kinda lame.
Announcer:
This is 29-year-old
Paul Basagoitia.
Announcer 2:
This guy is such
a legend in the sport.
He's done so much
in the slopestyle world.
The first guy
to ever win back-to-back
Crankworx Slopestyle titles,
and he's got
a very unique line.
Nobody's riding
this far rider's right
except for Paul Bas.
Man:
Three, two, one...
Jesse:
Pulled inside of the barrel,
when I came out,
the wave hit me
in my back, and...
I thought it was
deeper than it was.
Vanessa:
I remember taking off
my seat belt,
turning around to get
something from the trunk,
when I saw him
cutting the wheel
back and forth.
Sam:
Hit a lip too far back
and it flipped me
into almost like a backflip.
Sarah:
I was walking and a tree
just fell on me.
Patrick:
I was holding onto
my mom's hand,
but the force knocked me down.
The tire went
completely over me.
She put the wrong
chemical in the epidural.
-It burned my spinal cord.
-And that's when we launched
off the overpass.
I dove off the back of the boat
and hit the bottom of the river.
I fell out the window
and hit the ground 30 feet.
Paul:
Shit!
Paul:
Aah, fuck!
Announcer: Holy smokes!
Paul, just inches
off of his line,
causing him to come
down into the bushes.
Paul:
I can't move feet--
move my feet!
Medic:
Hang on, we got
medical here, hold on.
Hold on. Breathe.
Medic:
Okay, talk to me.
-Paul: I can't move my feet!
-Medic: Hold on, hold on.
Don't move, don't move.
Watch that...
Watch that right arm.
Nichole:
I'm here, baby.
Man:
Okay. We're gonna
roll you over, Paul.
Nichole: Be strong, babe.
-You got it.
-Medic: We got you, Paul.
-Nichole:
Should we strap his neck?
-Medic: Ready? On three.
-Ready? One, two, three.
-Paul: Oh, that hurts.
-Medic: Take him out.
Take him out. Take him out.
-Nichole: You're okay, babe.
Medic:
Nice and easy, nice and easy,
nice and easy, good.
Doctor 1:
We've got this nasty
burst fracture,
obliterated T12 with a large
fragment back into his canal.
His cord is just trapped,
and all the ligaments
back here are all torn.
Doctor 2:
Is he moving anything?
Doctor 1:
It's an incomplete injury,
so he's got some movement
in his proximal legs.
The distal legs,
he doesn't have any movement.
He's got some sensation.
Wanna take this bone out
and just do a corpectomy?
We could take
that down,
evacuate the blood,
get you to where you need to be,
leave a drain
in afterwards.
I'll just put
a cage in there,
and lock him in
posteriorly as well.
Morgan:
I guess I knew that
I couldn't move, but...
I didn't know...
that I had a spinal cord injury.
I had no idea what...
a spinal cord injury
entailed or the...
things that would come
with my life after that.
They had told my family
and my boyfriend at the time
that I was never
gonna walk again,
but no one had told me yet.
I don't know why no one
told me. I don't know.
I guess it's really hard
to tell someone that.
First thing that you hear
when you open your eyes
after a spinal
cord injury is,
"You're never
gonna walk again."
And I was just like, fuck you.
What do you mean
I'm never gonna walk again?
Like, "Well, we're not
gonna say never,
"but your five percent chance
is pretty slim,
"and at the five percent chance,
it's not going to be
the same way that
you walked before."
I just kind of woke up and...
was in my new body.
Doctor:
Nichole, so we just
finished up the surgery.
From here on out,
it's gonna be a rough road.
He'll have some problems with
bowel and bladder function,
sexual function.
There is a solid chance that
he's not gonna walk again.
Paul:
Day four.
Really tough.
Never in a million years
thought I'd be here, but...
if it wasn't for you guys,
I wouldn't be...
trying how I am right now.
You guys have been
a huge support.
-Use your legs
as best you can.
-Nichole: Just stand, baby,
-you got it.
-One, two, three.
Nichole:
Stand, stand, stand.
Push, push, push.
Paul:
Want to see if I'm stable?
-Nichole: Yeah, it's okay.
-Man: I've got his left
side here, Mike.
Nichole:
You're okay, babe. Push.
Physical Therapist:
Okay, nice. Now, we're sitting.
Perfect.
And here we go.
Samantha:
Breaking my back I thought was
similar to breaking your arm,
spraining an ankle.
You put a cast on it,
you get better.
I didn't understand that
neck meant quadriplegic.
I didn't understand that
back meant paraplegic.
I thought the people
that were in wheelchairs
were born like that.
I had no idea that you
could become paralyzed.
I had gotten an iPad,
and I remember looking it up
and just pulling up a chart
where it literally tells you
your whole entire spine
and then seeing paraplegia,
this is what it is.
This is the spinal cord chart,
and that's about it.
Nichole:
It's gonna get better, babe.
Paul:
Just wanna lock bands, get
these legs moving, and just...
help people in the future
with, you know,
the same situation,
and hopefully I can...
be the guidance
for someone else.
When you see somebody
in a wheelchair in public,
you just see them struggle
getting from point A
to point B.
The real struggle is
what goes on behind
closed doors.
When they started
telling me more about
the injury
and what it really meant
to be paralyzed,
and not to be able to feel
your body,
not being able to use
the restroom by yourself,
it's everybody's
worst nightmare.
It's 3:00 in the morning,
and, uh, this is what
I have to go through.
Ten o'clock at night,
12 o'clock at night,
three o'clock in the morning,
six o'clock in the morning.
Not a good time.
Sam:
I hated my fiance seeing me.
I think the first
thing I said to her--
'cause we were due
to get married in April,
and I was hurt in September,
and I remember when
she got to the hospital,
I remember just laying
there. I couldn't...
really grab her hand
or anything, and...
I remember saying to her,
"You're not marrying me."
Like, "You're not
marrying a vegetable."
Paul:
My girlfriend's been
sleeping in that corner
on that bed for
the last two weeks.
It kills me.
Ron:
I went from being
a hotshot tank commander
to being like
an overgrown baby.
I had to get my ass wiped
for me. I had to get bathed.
I had to get clothed.
I can't even--
Humbling isn't even a word.
It was, it was, uh...
I wanted to die.
I had-- I felt like,
why am I living?
If I can't be the same
person that I was before,
why am I still here?
I wanted them to like do
something to just...
end my life.
I just couldn't--
I didn't see how I could
continue living like that,
or like this.
Today felt like it was
the very first day that...
reality actually set in.
I'll never be back
on my bike or walking.
Aaron:
There were a lot of little
boxes that they put us in.
Time frames,
what to expect when.
Six months, really great.
Twelve months, definitely
getting some stuff back.
Eighteen months to two years,
you're maxing out.
They told me that I would make
my most progress
within two years.
Right away, it was in this gym,
was working towards being...
not necessarily out of
the wheelchair, just being...
the best I could be
in this situation.
-Want some music?
-Maybe.
- Nichole: Use all the power
have, babe. You can do it.
And then just
as you come up,
just keep bringing
your hips forward
and your chest up.
And the hips kind of
follow the chest.
Just up
and forward.
Nichole:
You got it, you got.
Use those legs.
Physical therapist:
As you feel, start walking,
hands forward.
This is him.
-He's got it.
-Nichole: Nice job, babe.
Good. Good!
Paul:
Two wheels was my life.
Started riding a bike
without training wheels
when I was two years old.
My dad would just
give me one good push,
and I was able
to maintain that speed.
I remember going
into the bike shop
with my mom and purchasing
my first BMX racing bike.
Getting out of school,
the first thing I would do
is go to this vacant lot.
All the teenagers would go
out there and build jumps.
That's all I wanted to do.
I wanted to compete,
and I wanted to race.
Announcer:
Basagoitia moving to the front!
The Flash dropping
one in the first turn!
Hasslegrave going down!
Paul:
I loved training,
working hard,
and getting the results.
I was the best in my age group
in the world, at 10 years old.
Today was a huge
accomplishment for me.
It was the first day
that I got out of bed by myself.
Super emotional about it because
every morning, that's like
the hardest thing for me is to,
you know,
get out of bed because,
you know, the night before,
you're always dreaming
about riding and hanging out
with your friends,
living a normal life,
and then you wake up.
Reality sets in.
I get choked up
even thinking about it, so...
I'm gonna keep
plugging away and do my best.
Woman:
You wanna keep your elbows in.
Man:
We're gonna take you
in backwards here,
so in the first row.
Whoa!
-Man: Don't be alarmed.
-Okay.
Woman:
Yeah, you're good.
Jesse:
If I could've gone home
right away, I would, but...
you have to do
certain things to be able
to get ready for that.
Steph:
It blew my mind.
I went from being so independent
to just starting all over again,
to the days that I don't
even remember, as an infant.
- Woman: Grab your...
and meet you on the other side.
- Okay.
Man: Coming down.
I went to my rehab
hospital and I said,
how many people
have walked out
of your hospital?
He said not many. And I said,
well, add me to that list
'cause I'm not leaving
here till I walk again.
Paul:
First day at Craig.
-Are you excited?
-Yeah.
-Are you?
-Paul: I'm, um...
I'm a little nervous,
but I'm excited.
I'm hoping to see some progress
and maybe walk
out of this place.
All right, let me see what
you can do with this foot.
Okay.
Where do you feel that?
Okay.
Steph:
The team that was
working with me told me
they can't tell me what
my life is gonna be like
because every spinal cord
injury is so different.
Some people
do have some movement.
Some people don't have movement.
Some people have sensation,
some people don't.
Vanessa:
Once I heard that there was
no two spinal cord
injuries alike,
and that you shouldn't
compare yourself...
Tobias:
Everybody's a snowflake.
Every individual
and their injury
is different and acts
and reacts differently.
So, there's no way
for any one person to understand
how another person
is experiencing this injury.
There's not one person here
at the hospital that's not
in a wheelchair, and, uh...
matter of fact,
there's people here
a lot worse than I am.
And it's, um, quite scary,
you know?
Everybody is literally here...
for the same reason, and...
and in this case, it's...
you know,
because you're paralyzed.
Annette:
They were having me
do a lot of things
to work in the wheelchair.
And I was like, no,
I just wanna walk.
I only want to be doing
therapy for my legs.
I don't want to transfer.
I don't want you to tell me
in a wheelchair.
I have to go to the refrigerator
and take out a dozen eggs.
I was getting so...
frustrated by them, like,
we want to teach you
how to diaper your baby
at the wheelchair--
like, it was always
the wheelchair level.
Samantha: They would tell me
to get out of my chair
and get on the floor,
and then get back into my chair.
This is how you're
gonna put on your pants.
This is how you're
gonna get in the shower.
And I feel like I still needed
time to process things...
...and grieve a little bit.
Woman: Paul, it's your mom.
I'm just calling
'cause I heard the bad news.
Have Nichole give me a call,
and let me know how
you're doing, please.
Bye.
Paul:
I haven't spoken
to my mom in years.
We don't see
eye to eye on things,
and when I get back home,
we can try to fix things,
but right now,
it's not the time.
Growing up wasn't easy.
In 1995, my parents
bought this motel.
Pretty beat up, the roof
was about to fall off,
but it was their dream.
My mom would take me
all around the US
while my dad was
at home working,
and raising enough money
for us to do these races.
My mom pushed me to the max.
I would do four to five races
every week.
The days I wasn't
doing so well,
she would yell at me,
scream at me.
As a child,
you don't want to hear
that from your own mother.
But she always wanted me
to be the best.
Every time we would come back
from the races,
my dad was drunk,
my mom was upset.
Once my parents got divorced,
everything just stopped.
My mom ended up
taking over the hotel.
My dad was like,
all I want is one room
until I'm able to figure out
my shit again.
He worked so hard
to get that hotel
and help me with my BMX career.
Told my dad, I'm like, hey,
I'm gonna be next to you
whether the situation
is good or bad.
We lived together in room 120
for a good three years.
Hi, brother!
Paul:
Just make sure
the brakes are on.
-Got your brakes on?
-Paul: Yeah.
Okay.
-Thanks for dinner,
it was good.
-All right.
Paul:
Yeah, I'll see you
tomorrow, buddy.
Watch it out,
it's ice.
Okay.
Dude, I've never,
ever seen my dad cry.
Never once in my life.
Nichole:
My mom says he's been
crying all week for you.
Yeah.
That was tough.
-Nichole: You're okay.
-I know. I'm just
saying it was tough.
Like, 'cause you know, like...
I don't know.
You just know it's serious
when he's crying, you know?
My dad's been through
a lot of shit--
Nichole: I know, but this is
the first time he's seen
anything for you.
I know. I just know right
when he saw me the first time
in the wheelchair,
-he was devastated--
For sure. He was...
-Cried a little.
And that's why it took him
so long to come visit me
because he didn't wanna see
me in a wheelchair, you know?
Or in this situation.
Nichole: Baby...
-Toughen up.
-I know. I'm just saying...
-I'm tough-- No, I'm tough.
-Nichole: You're gonna prove--
Told you I was gonna be
emotional when I saw my dad.
-Nichole: But your dad--
-And I was good.
I was good all day.
I was fine, until he...
"No, no, no. Oh..."
I don't know.
-Nichole: Love you so much.
-I love you, babe.
Why is it everybody
other than me
loves being in my wheelchair.
Watch this.
Nichole:
It's obviously
easy for me to say,
"Hey, let's move on," but...
the reason I do act like
that is to encourage him.
Paul:
I wanna see what you got.
Nichole:
If he sees that I'm happy,
I'm hoping
he will try to be happy.
I have to be the rock.
Paul: Gosh.
When you become injured
or your life
changes drastically,
it doesn't only
stop your life,
but it stops
everyone else's around you.
You realize that these people
like my fiance Elise
and friends and...
um, family,
they do it without even...
you know, blinking an eye.
This young kid from
the neighborhood came by,
and he looks into the car,
he's like, you're paralyzed?
I said yes, and I showed him
my handicap sign, my plaque.
He's like wow,
you don't look paralyzed.
So, once this young kid leaves,
she's like, "Mom,
you're not paralyzed."
And I was like, I don't
know where you've been,
but I'm paralyzed Brianna.
She's like, no, Mom.
She's like,
you can move
your legs a little bit.
She's like, someone who's
paralyzed can't move at all.
She's like,
so I don't see you as paralyzed.
So, when she said that to me,
something just shifted
in my mind where no matter what
I'm going through physically,
emotionally,
she just sees me as Mom,
as a complete person,
and her love is unconditional,
and that just gives me strength
to keep on moving forward.
Nothing will ever
change how I feel.
You're my life,
and...
nothing will ever change.
You're my one and only,
my end all be all.
This is nothing for me.
This makes me love you
even more because I know
how much you...
the strong person
that you are, and I love it.
So thankful for you.
Annette:
Nothing had changed for him.
I would've felt it. I would
feel other people's eyes on me
differently than they were.
You can sense it.
You know...
this person loves me.
Paul: My babe's leaving
me tomorrow!
I don't want to, babe.
Paul:
Going to be very sad.
No, don't talk about it.
I'm sad, too.
Paul: Reality:
gotta go back to work.
Talk about last night.
What? No.
Paul:
What do you mean?
What part of last night?
What happened last night?
Hmm...
Can you give me...?
No.
What happened last night?
- I'm not talking about that.
- What?
Okay, hand me that...
-Okay, you tell me
what happened...
-No.
...and then we'll discuss
about the Starbursts.
Uh-uh.
Nichole:
Take that towel off.
If...?
Nichole:
If what?
-Two for two?
-Oh my God.
Here's the three questions
people wanna ask when
you're in a wheelchair:
How did you get hurt?
Will you ever walk again?
Can you have sex?
Not as easy
as it once was or as...
normal or romantic
or that kind of thing, you know.
Being with someone
and being intimate
with someone involves so much,
it involves so much more
than just, you know, sex.
When people say that,
sounds like, "Oh, so
then you can't have sex."
No!
That is the only part
of my life I would say is
better than everything,
than it ever was before.
It made me more-- less...
inhibited, I guess,
less afraid,
and made me understand
my body more.
And so, for me, that was
the only plus I got.
Sorry to put it that way.
Nichole:
Hi, babe.
You won't believe
what just happened to me.
Nichole : Why?
Come on.
Yes!
Yeah. Yeah.
- Woo!
- Nichole : Ah!
- I'm about to cry.
- Oh my God.
Paul:
It was the best piss
I ever had in my life.
Nichole:
I'm so happy, baby.
-Love you.
-Okay, love you, too.
-Bye.
-Bye.
Yeah!
Steph:
I'll never forget
that moment.
Picking up a French fry,
slowly bringing it to my mouth,
and when it made it to my mouth,
I cried. I was like, wow,
like, I could beat this.
I can do something.
You're feeling tired,
I know three's a crowd
But if I bring
along a friend
It'll be fine for now...
Aaron:
I stacked those
gains like LEGOs.
I was able to stand in water,
with full bracing.
I was able to regulate
blood pressure.
I was able to give my dad
a hug on Father's Day.
I just started
to really break it down
into those tiny, incremental
improvements,
which were huge.
After you,
Hell should be easy
Vanessa: I got a lot more
shoulder movement, bicep,
and also wrists,
so that was a huge thing.
Had I not done the E-stim,
I do not think I would've
gotten the wrist function back.
I first started out just
being propped up to stand
in a standing frame.
And then I went
to the parallel bars,
and I was moving
one leg, another leg.
Oh, oh, oh!
Oh, oh-oh,
oh, oh, oh, oh
Then, I had a walker.
After the walker,
I went to my forearm crutches.
From forearm crutches,
I walked out of the hospital,
had my wheelchair
for long distances.
After you,
Hell should be easy
After you, I don't know
what I believe in
After you,
Hell would be easier...
Physical Therapist:
So, you're picking up your
trailing limbs a little early.
Paul:
Last day at Craig.
I was hoping to walk
out of this place,
but, uh, obviously,
that's not gonna happen.
Keep plugging away
and try my best,
and, hopefully, get back
on my feet here soon.
I'm the moon that pulls
The tides that take
the sand
I'm atomic man...
Paul:
Good, home sweet home.
Paul:
I'll take some,
thank you very much.
I love every single
one of you guys.
Tobias:
The major thing that happens
with a spinal cord injury is
a metamorphosis.
You change,
there's no choice.
You're not the person
that could do all the things
that you could do before.
And when you're in a hospital,
there's a bubble of hope.
There's a bubble
of possibilities that...
that you'll walk again, that
you'll rehabilitate yourself,
and you also are
surrounded by people
whose common goal it is
to get you
as better as possible,
as quickly as possible.
And then when you
leave that environment,
and you go back to the world...
well, the bubble bursts.
Nichole:
Leaving Paul is
really hard for me.
I mean, I still have
to go to work every day
and live my life, too.
It's stressful leaving him
in such a delicate state.
A bunch of friends stepped up
and helped modify my house
a little bit.
We had to put a ramp
in the front to get
in the front door.
Where do you want
this guy, Paul?
Uh, you can put
it right here.
-Right here?
-Yeah.
We had to cut a hole
in the wall so I can get
from the front door
to my room in the back.
They redecorated my entire room.
They switched my mom's
side of the house,
and it was now
my side of the house
'cause it was bigger.
But when no one's around
is like when reality
really sets in.
Steph:
It was my first time
looking at my bedroom
from a totally different level.
And I looked around,
and I was like,
whoa, this is my life.
This is what it is right now.
And I remember
bending over my chair,
and I couldn't even
pick myself back up
'cause I didn't have
the arm strength.
And I just bawled my eyes out
in the corner of my room
'cause I didn't wanna
look at it,
I didn't wanna go
further into the room.
Tobias:
It becomes a lonely place.
I would go to the window
because I knew that was
the time of day
when I could get sunlight
through the window.
Cynthia:
It was hard to see my house
the way that I left it
the day of my accident.
All my things were
still in place,
but I knew that this is
where I needed to be.
I couldn't stay in the hospital.
I needed to move on.
I need to start moving
on with my life.
Paul:
The things I miss the most,
the day to day things that
we do that we don't realize--
especially around the house,
you know, like mowing
the lawn, um...
doing house repairs,
cleaning around the house.
And then, of course,
like, you know...
going out and building jumps.
And I used to love going out
and scouting new lines...
It was literally just Cam and I
enjoying that great time,
and it sucks because
we don't do that anymore.
Paul: Let's see you go from
one end to the other, Cameron.
Cameron:
Peter Pan?
Highlight of my day,
Cameron, always.
Good!
I met Cameron when
I was 15 years old.
The first time
riding with Cameron,
I was so blown away,
what he was doing
on a mountain bike.
He was doing all the tricks
on a mountain bike that
I was doing on a BMX bike.
So Cam and I, we became more
than just riding buddies.
You know, we just started
becoming best friends.
I got on his bike, was like,
wow, this actually
feels kind of good,
you know?
Cameron:
Yeah, PB.
Paul:
He was like,
how do you feel about
entering a mountain
bike contest?
Had zero money,
so I ended up
working as a plumber,
and I saved enough to buy
a plane ticket to Whistler.
I had never, ever hit jumps
that big in my entire life.
Must've been at least
10,000 people that year.
I was like, holy shit,
this the real deal for sure.
Announcer:
Put your hands together
for Paul Basagoitia!
Paul:
I was there on Cameron's bike,
it wasn't even my bike.
I'm talking to myself.
I'm like, man, Paul,
this is the time to shine.
At the very last obstacle,
I had no idea that I was
gonna backflip onto it
and then tail whip off it.
I was so shocked that
I just did something
that I had no idea
was gonna work.
I don't even own
a mountain bike yet!
I remember Cameron
running to me, gave me
the biggest hug.
That's when I knew
it was a big deal.
I would thank my sponsor,
but I don't have
any sponsor, really.
Going to Crankworx
the second year,
I didn't want it to be a fluke.
Paul:
I'm so stoked! I mean,
last year I came out here,
no sponsors nothing,
and then I won, and then
I did the same thing.
I can't believe I repeated it.
I just can't believe it.
To defend my title was
one of the best feelings I had
in my mountain bike career.
I was not a fluke.
Before he got hurt,
we started riding a lot more
and I had my riding buddy back
and like, I was like,
man, dude, we're gonna
load up bikes before we know it,
and just like it
never happened and...
Trust me, I think about
that every day.
I can only
imagine, bud.
Never in a million
years I thought
I would be
paralyzed, you know?
We've all taken
crashes and...
what do we do? We hit
the ground, we get back up,
you know, and this time,
it was definitely different.
I'll devote any
amount of days
that you want
to go and ride,
and just, uh...
I know that it's...
it's tough, but
whenever you're ready.
That day will come, man.
Yeah.
Be good though.
- I'm here any time you need me, bud.
- -Thanks, man.
I lost a lot more than...
just my ability to walk.
Like, I lost my friends
and my whole life that I had.
I lost everything.
Everything.
Patrick:
Most people injure themselves
when they're older.
There's this
transition period
that you go through,
and I can't say that I've ever
felt a... sense
of transitioning, you know?
Like, this is
all I've ever known.
I do definitely
get bouts of frustration
and bouts of depression.
Ron:
I was so depressed...
so lost that
I wouldn't even put...
There was no reason
to even get dressed
in the morning.
You know, why'd you
choose me, to happen to me?
I got two kids
and... all that stuff.
You know, I was coaching
their soccer teams
and having fun with them,
and I was like...
I was like thinking,
man, life's over, dude.
I can't do nothing, you know?
I sat there and laid
in my bed in my room,
day up, day night, you know?
Wouldn't get up, wouldn't
get in my wheelchair.
Just laid there,
you know, pissed off.
I didn't even know if
I could finish high school.
Just to go back
and be amongst all my friends.
You know, they're out
there surfing and skating
and partying
and having a good time.
What am I gonna be able to do
that even will allow me
to have fun?
Your friends are telling you
to get out and go do something,
and you're laying there
and you physically
can't get out of bed.
And then they don't understand
why you just lay there.
Mentally, you're just drained
and it just drains your
whole entire body.
I mean, depression,
it is the worst thing.
Woman:
All right, here we go.
Annette: You can't imagine
the different world
you live in,
walking and not walking.
Oh, Annette, we have all
these different groups,
and you can still do
the things you wanna do.
No! I can't even get
to the soccer field
the way I wanna get there
because someone blocked
the gate last week.
I mean, literally,
some guy just blocked
the one entranceway.
Nobody could find him.
No one knew where his car was.
That stuff happens
to me all the time.
I just wanna live
my regular life,
and not have it be a drama
for all the people around me.
Where's the guy?
Who has the key?
Where did he go?
Oh no, how are
we gonna get her in?
We gonna throw her
over the fence?
Does someone have to carry her?
Then my husband's frustrated.
Then my kids are like,
they gotta go to the game.
You know, I just...
That's the kind of thing
that makes me feel bad.
As a human being,
I'm in the way, I'm a problem.
-Paul: How's it going?
-Man: Nice to meet you.
Paul:
Thanks for coming out,
appreciate it.
Auctioneer:
Three hundred bucks!
Auctioneer:
300! 320!
-Man: Got 600 for it!
-600! Yeah!
Whoo!
Man: 800!
-900!
-A thousand bucks!
-Yeah, baby!
-Yeah!
-My turn!
-Paul: Yes!
- A great big hug, man.
- A big hug, man.
Dude!
Paul:
Thanks, buddy.
Cameron:
Dude, you're an animal.
-You're an animal, dude.
-Thanks, man.
-You All right?
-I'm good. I just can't balance.
I just can't balance.
But thanks, buddy,
I appreciate it.
Man:
Everybody come out
to...
Man:
Yeah, buddy!
Love you guys!
Once again,
there's no way I'd be able
to do this without you guys.
This fucking injury sucks,
I'm not gonna lie.
Hate it. Everyday, I cry.
I wake up, I'm devastated,
but you guys keep me
plugging away
and trying my hardest to get
back on my feet, and I will.
So, I'll see you guys,
and thank you.
-Howdy!
-How you doing?
What happened?
-Broke my back.
-Oh!
Mountain biking.
Yeah, fracture...
Whole wide world
Down on me
Oh, down on me
Down on me
Looks like everybody in
Whole wide world
Down on me
Oh, down on me
Down on me
Paul:
My career in mountain biking
was living every kid's dream.
Whole wide world down on me
Oh, down on me
Down on me
Woman:
The winner is...
All:
Paul Basagoitia!
Oh, down on me
Looks like everybody in
this whole wide world
Paul:
It's unreal. It seems
like we're rock stars.
It's pretty good, pretty good
living, that's for sure, man.
Man:
Paul Basagoitia,
out here from Reno, Nevada!
Bills.
American Family
Insurance. Bills.
They love me.
Craig Hospital, big bill.
Ron:
I just trained like crazy,
all the time, every day.
About eight to 10
hours a day of my life
for about a year and a half
went into improving my
condition, doing everything
I can to defy anything that
any doctor ever told me.
Paul:
Nichole and I, we actually
went to high school together.
She was one of those, like,
girls that are like, oh man...
What do you think
about Nichole Munk?
Never really thought I had
a chance with her because
she was all about
cheerleading, so...
she was always hanging
out with football players,
basketball players
and stuff, and, uh,
that definitely
wasn't really me.
The first time
we actually hung out
was five years after
we graduated from high school.
Paul:
Good thing
I can do this, huh?
Nichole:
Do you want me
to drive, babe?
I got it.
Paul:
When I got hurt,
she made it very clear that
we're gonna do this together.
I don't know how many
other girls would've
stuck around, you know?
But she stayed.
There's not a day that goes by
that I don't think about
that accident.
At least you, like,
weren't concussed--
I kind of wish I was.
I wish I was knocked out,
so I don't
remember any of it.
-Nichole: No because--
-The problem is,
I know everything.
I know, word by word,
I remember everything
like it was yesterday.
That's the shitty part is...
I deal with this
every single day
because I remember
it so clearly.
-There's the site.
-Nichole: Holy.
Oh.
Rampage Strait!
What up?
-How you doing, dude?
-Cool. How you doing?
-How's it out there?
-Pretty good, man.
-Good to see you, man.
-Yeah, it's pretty good.
Where I caught
my pedal, huh?
Right here, yeah,
and then you landed...
there.
Cliff's not
even that tall.
-Nichole: Yeah.
-I guess going--
You were going
fast though.
Going 50 miles per hour.
Sam:
Even though it's
given me so much,
I go through the emotions
weekly of...
I hate that sport.
You know, I hate...
that I dedicated my life
to it and it did this to me.
For 10 years straight,
I did everything
that I could to walk again.
We put all of our
resources into it.
I fought...
as hard as I've ever
fought for anything.
Man : Let go.
Like a pump.
Get rid of the CO2
effectively,
influencing the chemistry
of the body.
We do 30 breaths.
Paul:
Jessy, what's up, buddy?
If you have any sensation
below your injury,
man, that's, that's huge.
Paul:
I'm able to walk around with
two AFO braces, two canes,
and I'm also able to pedal
a stationary bike as well.
I have my core, I have my quads,
so that's how I'm
able to get around.
But what's holding me
back to walk is my glutes.
So, if you take the canes
or the crutches away from me,
I just fall down.
Oh wow.
Woman:
While some recipients
claim to receive great
benefits from stem cells,
these treatments are not
available past clinical trials
in the US.
However, overseas...
Xander: Summer of 2015,
I started a medical trial.
I was patient zero.
The science
that they were using on me
had me standing up,
weight-bearing.
I had regained movement
and control of my hips.
I still have control
of my hips now.
I used to be paralyzed
from the ribs down.
My body is... way different
than it used to be
because of this
trial specifically.
But the trial unleashed
a whole new world
of so much pain,
so much spasticity,
so much...
so many symptoms that,
for years, I was
lucky to never have.
Do I wanna be the first
guy in space? No.
I'll wait until, like,
space travel is...
is pretty safe
and everyone's doing it.
There's this website
where it shows
every single trial
in the world,
and I went one day,
I spent four hours
going through 800
different trials,
looking at them,
reading them,
and I found two.
I found two that I was like,
oh, this sounds good.
And then I sent them
to my doctor, and he's like no.
Bray:
Probably what you did was got
back nerves in the early phase
that were injured
but not dead.
The ones that were actually
damaged completely died off,
and they're likely
in the process of
re-enervating
or regrowth.
How do we speed
up that recovery?
-You don't.
-You don't?
You don't think stem cells
would help that out or--
-Well... You know--
-What's your take on that?
It's something that
could be considered.
I'd kinda wanna know
where you really are at
before we did that,
because you may be
in a phase of rapid
regrowth by yourself.
You're finding out that one
of the big problems is that
there's a whole lack of
information out there.
You kind of get
lost in this mix
of who knows all
this stuff properly.
Paul:
I'm finally hearing
about stem cells,
and I still have to get
the right answers.
I gotta know a little bit
more about embryonic
and adult stem cells.
So, I'm kind of just
going day by day
and learning on my own.
I'm lower level, I'm T12,
and I don't have glutes.
I got my quads,
I got some hamstrings.
So I'm able to get around
with canes, you know,
but if I go get
this treatment,
and it fires up
just my glutes?
That's
life-changing for me.
Everything got better
after my first treatment--
like skin color,
like muscle tone.
I'm considering
adult stem cells.
It's coming out of your
bone marrow, it's all you.
It's natural.
Adult stem cells
are not good enough
for a treatment for
spinal cord injury.
Embryonic stem cell treatment
is, by far, the way to go.
Woman:
The chances
with embryonic are
if that embryo has
a DNA pattern of cancer,
you can be putting a disease
back into your body.
I would by far tell you
that if you were gonna do it,
-do it with your own cells.
-Right.
At your age, you're still
making decent stem cells.
Paul:
There's been so many
people that showed
huge progress
getting stem cells,
and then I watched
a documentary last week,
and this dude goes
backwards, you know?
He lost the function of
his bowels and bladder...
It made him worse.
Samantha:
I got a stem cell
treatment in Germany.
I did get nerve pain,
which doctors say
it's good,
but...
it's not an easy
thing to live with.
Also, very expensive.
On paper,
there's nothing that
says that it works.
When I first got injured,
they said that
there would be
a cure in five years.
And then when that
five years passed,
they said there'd be
a cure in five years.
I've been injured for 21 years,
and I've heard that
four different times.
This is spinal cord injury,
the unknown.
Being in that
unknown zone is...
there's nothing scarier.
Paul:
Dr. Hans Keirstead,
he's been
part of the whole
stem cell research
from the beginning.
In 2002,
he actually made
a paralyzed rat
be able to walk
after injecting
embryonic stem cells into
the spinal cord of the rat.
That is
incredible.
Paul:
If you were in my position,
what would you do?
I'd be very
leery of...
99.9% of
the overseas work.
If you're down in Mexico,
making a treatment
that's unregulated,
who knows if its
actually safe
or efficacious?
Now, this treatment
that we developed,
is it ever gonna
effect 100% a cure?
No, it won't.
You gotta get
in there soon.
The treatment,
I designed it
to be used within
weeks, not years.
Nichole:
Did you really think that...
it would 100%?
I mean...
I worked my ass off
to get to that 100%,
but, I mean...
Nichole: Absolutely.
Yeah, that's never
in question.
I'm not gonna change
my mindset, you know,
regardless.
Nichole:
He wants to be walking
with no crutches.
I want him to realize
he's come so far
and he's upright
and he is walking.
I don't care to run a mile
in under seven minutes.
I just wanna take
a shower standing up,
just little simple things.
End of the day, I just
wanna have independence.
I don't think I ever thought
that I could
possibly die this way
without ever taking
another step.
I mean, I just...
I don't--
I don't know,
but I guess it's possible.
I mean, it's possible
that could be it for me.
I still think, in my dreams,
I'm walking.
Man:
For this journey,
we focused on fetal stem cells,
arguably the most contested
and controversial form
of stem cell therapy to date.
I didn't even know that
even existed until basically
you brought that
to my attention.
Warren:
It's just crazy how...
Man:
They use the stem cells
from an unborn fetus,
the mother's going to have
an abortion anyway.
After the abortion, rather
than discard that fetus,
they harvest the stem cells.
Paul:
What we need is
the neuron cells,
so fetal stems cells, you're
able to get that neuron cell.
I know it's only
been a couple weeks,
but have you seen any
gains from this treatment?
Paul:
Man, that's amazing.
If I can get my glutes
to fire back up,
that would be
life-changing for me.
Paul:
If you mention
the word stem cells,
everyone's like,
oh, you're nuts.
Second off, if you tell them
what kind of stem cells,
fetal stem cells,
people are gonna be like...
now, you're really crazy.
And then to top it off,
to tell them
you're gonna go
to Tijuana, Mexico, to get it?
Oh man, I don't even wanna have
that conversation with people.
Nichole:
I just can't watch it.
I don't wanna watch it.
-I really don't.
-Paul: Until you watch
this documentary,
you should have
an open mind about it.
But right now, you're
so one-sided because
all you're
thinking of is,
you're gonna go get stem
cells by aborted fetuses,
but it's not
like that.
I would've never
thought that--
and I'm sure you didn't either--
that we'd be in a position
where we actually have
to make a tough decision
based off of something
that's really fucked up.
-It's hard to explain--
-You know, but the thing is
here's what's
always gonna happen,
and this is always
what you're gonna say.
"Well, you're not
in my position,
so you don't
understand."
-And you know that's true.
-Absolutely.
Sam:
No one in your immediate corner
ever understands exactly.
They don't mean to not und--
but no one understands,
like, how...
difficult some
things are, or how...
what you go through every day,
as much as they try to.
Everybody thinks there's
no hope for this injury.
I truly believe
there is.
Nichole:
I'm willing to try
whatever it is
to get out of where
we're at right now,
because it's been
terri-- it's...
mentally, like,
it's not fun.
You're not a pleasant
person to be around.
I'm pretty committed.
I already put the deposit in,
and I'm heading
down there for sure.
You're gonna go
to Tijuana with me?
Nichole:
We're literally
in a strip mall.
Fucking stem cells.
- At least that place looks nice.
- Really?
It looks like
Frankie's Spa in Reno.
Like we should be
getting pedicures,
not stem cells.
Paul:
It hasn't even been a week
since the stem cell treatment.
It's funny 'cause every
morning, I'm like, okay,
is there gonna be
a new muscle group
to fire back up?
And it's not like that.
It's gonna take months
to see any sort of gains,
and hopefully I see
some gains with muscle.
You know, I wanna see
my muscle groups
to start firing back up
and to get stronger
and hopefully start
wiggling some toes here soon.
I'm kind of heartbroken.
The only thing that
the whole procedure
really did to me
was drain my bank account.
Nichole:
You don't want two canes?
No, I want to look
like I'm doing better
when I go see
my sponsors.
Nichole: Good call.
Paul:
99.9% of people
told me don't do it,
but I think I'm better off
failing, opposed
to never trying.
Whoa!
Victor:
Paul!
-Paul: Victor.
-It's good to see you.
-You, too, man, how you doing?
-I'm doing all right.
-How you doing?
-Not bad, man, not bad.
So stoked to
see you, man.
Paul:
I think what helped me
progress
to one cane was time.
Yeah, maybe
you progress the most
in the first two years,
but I don't think
it's over on
that second year.
I think there's still
time to get better.
I've seen it in other cases.
Took Christopher Reeves
five years to be able
to move a finger.
It took this one girl
I follow on social media,
and it took her
seven years to...
get out of a wheelchair
and start walking with crutches.
Well, it was three years in
that I got my bladder back,
and that was when I was
pregnant with Ingrid.
I'm three years out
and I'm still improving.
I just started
being able to move
my lower left
leg, my knee.
I went to physical therapy
and occupational therapy...
all growing up and...
I started this...
physical, intensive
physical therapy
at this place called
Project Walk...
when I was 10.
Fast-forward eight years,
when I was graduating
high school,
I walked across the stage
at my graduation.
The more I go through this
injury, the more I realize that
no one knows anything,
and I just...
I just chip away at
every day of trying to...
get a little bit better.
Just remove the concept of time
with this injury.
This isn't a broken
bone where 12 weeks,
I can cut a cast off and start
getting on with life.
This is a lifestyle.
This is a new way
of living and being.
Woman:
Thank you so much
for answering my boys
when they sent
you messages.
All good. I love the support.
-You guys are great.
-Woman: And they just...
-They're so happy that
you answered them.
-Yeah.
-Hey, it was finally
nice meeting you.
-He told his whole class...
And what a hero you were.
It was awesome to them.
Thank you, man,
I appreciate that.
And they saw you and
they were so nervous.
They walked around
you a couple of times.
Aw.
Paul:
The last 14 years I've
been coming to Crankworx,
I've been competing
at some type of event,
so it's kinda weird
coming here and...
kinda just watching.
-Good luck.
-It's like a kid
at a candy store
and walking out with no candy.
Good man. Gonna
win it this year?
Last time I did pump track,
it was you and me, man.
Annette:
The reality is that there's
human suffering.
That's the thing.
I was actually mad at myself
for knowing that reality
and not accepting my own.
Like not saying,
that I'm gonna be
subject to that, too.
I'm gonna be subject
to the laws of nature
and other people making errors.
I'm gonna be subject
to suffering.
This was my first
real suffering.
It was...
I can't say I handled
it brilliantly.
I think it was just more
shocking, and before,
suffering was always something
that I thought about...
maybe it'd happen
mostly to someone else,
or I think the things
I'd been through
really were more adversity,
and adversity is something
you can overcome.
You can pull up your bootstraps,
you can get through it.
But suffering is
something that you endure.
Paul:
Last week, a kid found
out that I was in Mexico
and got stem cells,
and he said,
"I'm on my way next
month to get it done.
What do you think?"
I told him, hey...
Don't do it.
I feel like I'm not
improving that much,
you know, or at all.
To a point that...
At least to a point that
I would be able to walk
without any
assistance, you know?
I think you're
improving. I mean,
and it's probably easier for
me to say you're improving
than it is for
you to, you know,
like you wanna
be improving
more and
faster, but--
To be honest with you,
I'm definitely
second guessing
the future and my outcome.
That makes me choke
up a little bit.
I've just never
heard you say...
maybe, this
is it for me.
-Like, that's...
-I know.
Paul:
We always want more.
As humans, we always want more,
no matter what the situation is.
I used to be the strongest
person to walk into the room.
I don't know, like
I'm... I'm weak.
Patrick:
You're definitely
allowed to be sad,
and you're definitely allowed
to get depressed and you're...
you don't have to
fight those feelings,
but you do have to be open to...
change, and you have
to be open to...
figuring out how to move on.
If I had gotten frustrated
and resisted everything
that was a challenge,
it would be my entire life.
I would be frustrated
and annoyed and depressed and...
that's just no way
to live, you know?
If you sustained a spinal
cord injury and you survived,
you've got a second chance.
This is your second...
your second ticket...
on the same train
of life, right?
So, you shouldn't waste it.
Paul:
Before this injury,
I would always tell
myself I would...
probably take my life
if I was ever paralyzed.
I'm so glad that
I was able to overcome that.
-Nichole: Still taking photos?
-Paul: I'm a perfectionist.
-Nichole: We have tomorrow--
-Paul: I need to get
that right photo.
Nichole:
Monday, Tuesday,
and Wednesday to do that.
Paul: Life is not guaranteed.
Tobias:
Just because I accept my
situation, doesn't mean
this is it.
It doesn't mean that
I can't change it
or control it
or move past it.
And so that's the beautiful
part about acceptance.
It's not admitting defeat.
It's empowering yourself
to move forward.
Aaron:
I've given all of
myself to this process,
and I respect my injury.
I know my body works
hard for me. I know I have
a spinal cord injury.
It's gnarly.
I'm surrounded by it every day.
I live it every day.
And my mantra is gratitude.
I really accept it
for what it is
and the limitations
that it has, and that's okay.
I actually feel I'm
still a whole person,
a valuable person.
That hasn't changed.
My value is equal.
I still believe that I can
walk. I still have hope.
So for me to accept it
means that I'm giving up
that hope to walk again.
I've learned to live with it.
I've learned to live
with my disability.
Every day is a challenge.
But no, I can't say
that I've accepted it.
I still have a 5% chance.
I try to be thankful
for what I do have,
and understand that
I did love my sport and
that's why I was doing it.
I just have a whole a different
outlook on what I feel
is important in life now.
Get that seven!
Announcer:
As we look to the top,
Cam Zink, a husband,
a father of two.
This is the steepest line
in the history of Rampage.
A 63 degree angle slope
after he lands this
massive cliff drop,
and here he comes.
Zink over the edge!
There he is!
You did it, Zink!
Paul:
My life's not half as exciting
as it was, that's for sure.
I think I'm okay with it.
It's time to move forward,
move on.
Announcer:
Your eyes are not
deceiving you.
Paul Basagoitia, Paul Bass on
set. Paul, welcome my friend.
Good to see you guys.
Such hallowed grounds
behind us here.
It's hard to come
back sometimes.
Last year, it was really
hard for me to come back,
but this year,
it feels good to be back.
I have not accepted
my injury 100%,
but I do appreciate
where I'm at in life.
Last week, I was so upset that
I couldn't go wakeboarding
or wakeskating with
all my friends,
and I was just on the boat,
watching my friends
have a good time.
Something just clicked
in my brain. It was like,
well, at least I was
able to get in that boat.
I just put my hand
in the water...
feeling the temperature,
the texture,
and I feel a connection to
the people that can't do that.
Jesse:
Came up with an idea
about surfing again,
and made a surfboard where
I can lay down on my stomach,
and then...
they push me into a wave down at
Cardiff Reef in San Diego and...
Samantha:
I had rode
the Jet Ski by myself,
and that's where I felt my...
sense of normalness come back.
True feeling of
independence again.
Russel:
At first, I'd go out
to support groups
and talk with other injured
SCI patients, you know?
I like to go to
concerts, baseball games,
you know. I do more stuff
now than I did when I walked.
One thing for me was driving.
Put all the windows down,
feel the wind in your hair.
Hell yeah.
Patrick:
I love playing rugby.
I'm a quadriplegic, but I can...
absolutely wreck
someone's day
in my rugby chair.
I had no idea what I was doing,
calling all these girls.
"Hey, do you wanna dance?"
And they're like, sure?
In a wheelchair? Sure?
Five years later, it's...
a dance company I never
thought I could have.
I kicked off my music career.
I started riding a bicycle
again, but on my terms.
I would go ride to ride,
just pedal the damn thing.
Cynthia:
I never thought that
I would be a human robot
back in the '80s when I
was watching Robocop.
And I was
like, oh my God!
You want me to show you?
It's amazing to
stand and to look at
your friends at eye level.
I make a big deal about it
because for so many years,
I've been used to people
kind of looking down on me.
Paul:
If you could take a pill
and wake up tomorrow morning
and be completely healed,
what's the first
thing you would do?
I don't know.
I don't wanna ruin the drama,
but I have no clue.
The first thing I would
do is go to the beach.
Yep. It's crazy 'cause...
the last time I was at
the beach and I was able
to feel the sand
between my toes,
I remember walking
off and running back
just to feel it one more time.
The first thing I would think
to do and the first thing I'd...
try to do is just give my
mom a big hug, standing up...
'cause I've never
done that before.
I would run and never stop.
Just like...
just like Forrest Gump.
Have everybody run with me.
I'd run with my mom,
I'd run with my dad.
My brother.
I would run.
This world
We can
This love
It isn't good
-Paul: You like Europe, babe?
-Nichole: I do.
You like Amsterdam?
What's your favorite
part so far of Amsterdam?
I like
the buildings.
-Paul: Cruising.
Look at these places.
-Nichole: Wow.
-Paul: Sweet.
-Nichole: Beautiful.
Paul:
Some mansions.
What do you
like about it?
Here how I'm biking
and everyone just thinks
I'm your average Joe,
which I love.
Book of poems
Sweetie . Don't!
I'll hold onto your shoulder
like this, now pedal.
I'm gonna
do the work?
You gotta deserve
your drink.
I-- I am, I'm very
deserving of drinks.
This world
We were
This world
We heard
This world
We can
This love
This world
We won
This world
We heard
This world
This love