Mason Branstrator was an experienced skier, runner, and soccer player when a skiing accident at age 17 left him paralyzed from the waist down after breaking his T-12 vertebra. After spending nine days in the ICU and four months at Craig Hospital in Colorado for rehabilitation, Mason discovered a new perspective on his situation when he got his first wheelchair. As he explains, “The first time I got in a wheelchair in rehab, I felt so free,” realizing that his wheelchair wasn’t a limitation but actually represented freedom and independence.
Mason returned home to Minnesota where he became homecoming king, then enrolled at the University of Denver near Craig Hospital, where he now serves as a mentor rather than a patient. He embraced adaptive sports including tennis, basketball, swimming, and surfing, and began training for marathons using hand-powered bikes and stationary equipment. Last month, he completed Grandma’s Marathon in his hometown of Duluth, Minnesota, finishing the wheelchair race in an impressive 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 52 seconds. Through his Instagram account, which now has nearly 270,000 followers, Mason shares his daily experiences to inspire others with disabilities, proving that his childhood dream of helping people came true in the most unexpected way.