AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thirty-five years ago Sunday, Gov. Greg Abbott’s life changed forever.
He was jogging in a west Houston neighborhood when a large oak tree cracked and fell on him. He was paralyzed from the waist down, with crushed vertebrae, broken ribs and damage to vital organs. Doctors inserted two steel rods near his spine, and he spent months recovering.
“My life seemed crushed,” Abbott said. “Little did I know I would go on to become governor of the greatest state in America.”
Abbott remembered the anniversary on Twitter and shared a video taken from the Governor’s mansion, with a Texas flag waving in the breeze and the Texas Capitol in the distance.
“Never let challenges stop you from achieving your dreams,” he said. “Never give up.”