Inspiring Story: Triathlete Brian Boyle Recovers From Horrific Crash to Compete in Ironman Competition
Triathletes from around the world are gathering in New York City as the Big Apple prepares to host its first Ironman competition. One athlete, Brian Boyle, is competing in the event after battling back from catastrophic injuries sustained in a horrific car accident at the age of 18; he says his fight back to reclaim his health has not been easy.
Brian joined Happening Now to talk about the accident and his amazing recovery. In it, he suffered shattered ribs, a shattered pelvis, collapsed lungs and lost about 60 percent of his blood. He was also in a medically-induced coma for one month.
“I had given up. But having my parents around me,
my support system, my medical team believing in me, I had to keep going for them,” Brian said. He described how he could hear his parents and see them, but being paralyzed, he could not communicate with them. He finally was able to force himself to smile to show his parents that he could understand them.
“That simple subtle gesture of the face, that smile was my comeback. And seeing the joy in the eyes of my parents for once, it meant the world to me and I was addicted to it. I kept going and everything since then has been about living life to the fullest.”
Brian is a national Red Cross volunteer spokesperson and the author of “Iron Heart: The True Story of How I Came Back From the Dead." In the course of his recovery, he had 36 transfusions and 13 plasma treatments. “This race is extra special, because I’m racing on behalf of my bloodrunners in the American Red Cross, so it’s going to be a great day tomorrow,” Brian concluded.
