“If someone says, ‘That’s impossible,’ you should understand it as, ‘According to my limited experience and narrow understanding of reality, that’s very unlikely.’”                                          Paul Buchheit

March 24, 2002 – Innova Fairfax Hospital – Falls Church, Virginia: After reading the MRI, the doctor turned to former four-star Army General Hugh Shelton and grimly commented, “General, I am going to put it to you straight. You are never going to walk again. You may eventually regain use of your hands, but we can’t even guarantee that.” Shelton responded, “Doctor, your name isn’t God, is it? We will see about that.”

Born in Speed, North Carolina in 1942, Shelton attended North Carolina State University, where he participated in Army ROTC and earned a degree in textile engineering. After graduation, he was commissioned as an Army 2nd Lieutenant. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam with the 5th Special Forces Group. He later held senior command positions during the Gulf War.

In October 1997, Shelton became the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking military officer in the U.S. Armed Forces. He served four years as the primary military adviser to President Bill Clinton and the Secretary of Defense, William Cohen.

On that Saturday morning in late March 2002, the 66-year-old Shelton’s to-do list included trimming an oak tree in his backyard. When he cut through a three-inch limb, it clipped his stepladder. Shelton fell five feet and landed on the back of his head. The fall paralyzed him immediately. As he lay there, Shelton, a former paratrooper with more than 450 jumps, wondered how he would explain this incident to his wife, Carolyn, who was inside enjoying her morning coffee.

He lay there for almost an hour before a neighbor heard his cries for help. Paramedics rushed him to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Annandale, Virginia, where he received the grim diagnosis. Because of his senior military status, the former general was later flown to the trauma unit at the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.

A team of neurosurgeons had both good news and bad news for Shelton. The good news was that his spinal cord was not severed; the bad news was that the injury would likely leave him a quadriplegic.

The neurosurgery team suggested that General Shelton consider a new radical but risky procedure for treating spinal cord injuries. It involved raising his blood pressure to dangerously high levels. If successful, it would force blood to the damaged tissue and might help the injury to heal. The risk was the possibility of a massive stroke or fatal heart attack during the procedure.

Shelton contemplated his choice for roughly 30 seconds. He turned to Carolyn and told her, “The game favors the bold; let’s do it.” She held his hand and calmly responded, “I knew that you would say that.”

Shelton survived the procedure. Physical therapy began immediately with the goal of him being able to wiggle his toes. Try as he might, there was no feeling and no movement. Carolyn encouraged him, “Hugh, you can do it. If anybody can, you can.” In late May, two months after the injury, doctors removed pieces of four cervical vertebrae that had been compressed in the fall. They rebuilt them with titanium rods and screws, and by then Shelton could wiggle his toes.

On June 13, 2002, only 83 days after General Shelton arrived at Walter Reed, he walked out of the hospital without assistance. His remarkable recovery was a result of top-notch medical care and his fierce determination to overcome the paralysis. His humor and eternal optimism were a catalyst for his healing and an inspiration to the medical team who assisted in his recovery.

In October 2010, General Shelton published his autobiography, Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior.Today, at age 82, he leads a full and active life. He is the Executive Director of the General Hugh Shelton Leadership Center at North Carolina State, the Director of the Hugh and Carolyn Shelton Military Neurotrauma Foundation in Washington, D.C., and a sought-after speaker. Of that Saturday morning more than two decades ago, the general reflects, “With hope and God, the odds don’t matter.”