The journey to fitness can be really unpredictable. The moment you think you are at your peak of success, even the tiniest accident can get in your way and ruin it all. However, what’s important is your resilience and determination to get back to where you started. Spending almost as long as a decade prepping for several bodybuilding competitions, Vigan’s regular morning workout regime happened to flip his world upside down on his 34th birthday.
He got trapped in a threatening back injury while training for an upcoming competition and was paralyzed from the waist down. Fortunately, with his sheer motivation and drive to hit back the stage, the Lincoln Bodybuilder, Francis ‘Tito’ Vigan has reported exceptional strides towards recovery.
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Francis ‘Tito’ Vigan walking the roads of recovery
The moment he was diagnosed with a rare stroke in his spinal cord, the doctors had clearly said that surgery was not an option and that his ‘best bet’ was physical therapy. So Vigan joined the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital for their special spinal cord injury program. From staying at Madonna for 2 whole months, the Lincoln Bodybuilder accustomed himself to living a life in a wheelchair.
He was kept under constant care and would try to drive past the hallway, often hitting everything. With time, as he got a little better, he stayed back at home and went to Madonna thrice a week. He was under the observation of Kelly Billings and she has been extremely supportive. Apart from Dr. Billings’ support, what paved the road to a quick recovery for Vigan was his effort and motivation.
Kelly Billings said, “He comes in and every week he’s got a new skill or he can show me something new he learned from therapy. He does amazing. He takes what we do in therapy and takes that home and practices so he can come and we can just advance his skills every week.” Vigan has also been taking up aquatic therapy to improve his balance and coordination. With a driving passion, he has very quickly come down from a wheelchair to walking just with a single cane. To think of hitting back at such a high pace from an injury that would take away hopes from many is commendable.
How did Vigan injure himself?
While training for a competition following his usual routine, Vigan suddenly sensed a burning sensation in his lower back. This happened while he was on his first set of bent-over rows. With the sensation, he thought he might have torn a tissue. He went about stretching profoundly to feel relaxed. However, it barely made any effect.
He said, “I thought if I stretched it, it would just go away,” Vigan said. “It didn’t go away, the burning sensation just got stronger and stronger with every minute that passed by.” With time, he could no longer feel his ankle and his legs went stiff. He could barely bend his knees and felt as if he was paralyzed from the waist down. It took the doctors as long as 5 days to come to the conclusion of the injury. Now, almost 4 months after the injury, his resilience has finally paid off, and he has been given permission to hit the gym again. He says, “Just because today’s harder doesn’t mean tomorrow isn’t going to be better.”
Let us know how you feel about the recovery journey of the Lincoln bodybuilder in the comments section below!
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Written by
Edited by
Parth Sharma