An Austin man's journey from paralysis to peak-climbing post-stroke is slinging hope to fellow survivors. Phillip Engle, once a wheelchair-bound victim of a debilitating stroke, is now a mountaineering mentor after making an incredible recovery, as report by KVUE.
"I tell people I can do everything I could do before, I'm just not as fast," Engle said. After intense rehabilitation turned into remarkable resurgence, the Austin climber conquered mountains less than a year following his stroke in December 2021.
Engle's ordeal began with signs he couldn't shake – unbalance, slurred speech – and peaked with being frozen in shock, unable to move or talk, according to the Austin American Statesman. His unwavering resolve found an ally in a six-hour-per-day Young Stroke Survivors Program at St. David's Rehabilitation Hospital, where goals got greased, and hard-set determination paved the road to staggering improvement.
Amid the grinding gears of recovery, Engle discovered solace from a peer – a stroke survivor who was in his shoes, who, said, "I was where you are two weeks ago."
This encounter lit the fire even ardent caregivers couldn't kindle, and thus began Engle's upward climb from a wheelchair to ice-capped summits. Engle told said, "It's part of my therapy. It's the most important part of my therapy. It gives what happened to me purpose," as per KVUE.
