GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Ever since Eric Westover was young, he has kept busy riding motorcycles. His passion for riding took him to the Silver Lake sand dunes every week.
But in July of 2015, everything changed.
Eric got in an accident, and he can still describe the pain he felt when the collision happened.
Eric underwent more than a dozen surgeries, and eventually both of his legs would have to be amputated.
He spent months at Mary Free Bed relearning how to do everything, and he walked again just four and half months after the accident.
Physical therapist Jennifer McWain has been at Mary Free Bed for 25 years and has worked with Westover from the start, and he wanted to mentor other patients. "Most patients need more time to come to terms with it," she said. "We can't use them as a mentor for a while."
"He wanted to give back immediately. There was no waiting, and (he's) an incredible human being to move forward with such a positive attitude 110% of the time."
Now in outpatient therapy, Westover continues to push himself. A year and a half into recovery, and he recently got special prosthetics that allow him to run, something that does not usually happen for recovering patients so quickly.
"If I'm doing something one day, the next I want to do it a little more," he said. "ust those little steps. Progressively you get better and better."
