17-year-old runs Chicago Marathon less than 1 year after spinal cord injury
A 17-year-old is sharing an inspirational message after completing a marathon following a spinal cord injury less than a year ago.
Wyatt Anderson shared a video message with ABC News after he finished the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday in 3 hours, 56 minutes and 28 seconds.
"Just take it day by day. You can do it. Most importantly, be positive and smile," Anderson said. "The most important thing I learned today was smile, even if it's faking a smile, because it really does change your whole attitude. It makes you feel a lot better, even if you're in a lot of pain, but just smiling is so important and saying yes to every opportunity. -- I just can't emphasize that enough."
Anderson suffered a spinal cord injury while playing basketball last November, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.
"I was going for a rebound and tripped up on my own feet and ran headfirst into the wall ... I blacked out right after for a little bit, and I couldn't move any limb on my body," Anderson told ABC News previously, speaking about his injury.
Anderson subsequently underwent spinal fusion surgery, followed by a monthslong rehabilitation period.
"Every single day, it was in the back of my head, I was like, 'Am I gonna walk again? Am I gonna be able to do the same thing that I was doing two weeks ago, a day ago?'" Anderson recalled of the uncertainty he felt during his recovery process.
While he was going through physical therapy, Anderson said his therapist told him an incredible story about a man who completed 50 marathons in 50 states in a year while in a wheelchair, which he said inspired him to come up with his own major goal.
"That just, like, blew my mind and motivated me," Anderson said. "So, I thought I wanted to do something similar ... I wanted to walk or run a marathon within a year."
On Sunday, following months of physical therapy and his own hard work, Anderson did just that, with his brother, Jack, supporting him along the way.
The siblings also ran to raise funds for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury through research and improving the quality of life for people impacted by paralysis.
"I hope my story will help other people want to set a lofty goal for themselves and to believe that nothing's impossible," Anderson said. "[You] can do anything if you set your mind to it -- truly, I mean, coming from someone who couldn't walk at a time and now is running."
