In 2013, Edward Rotella was in a horrific car accident that broke his back and pelvis and deflated an eyeball

On top of his injuries, the crash — which also resulted in the death of his puppy — sent him into a deep depression

Rotella used fitness to recover, and four years later, he's stronger than ever

Edward Rotella was sitting in the passenger seat of his father’s car as the pair drove home together a week before Christmas in 2013. He fell asleep with the family's new puppy in his lap... and the next thing he knew, he was waking up in the hospital with nearly every broken bone imaginable.



“We got T-boned,” Rotella explained to Menshealth.com. “When I woke up, I knew everything hurt really bad.”

At the hospital, doctors informed him he broke his neck at the C3, C4, C5, C6, and C7 vertebrae. He fractured his back in several locations, broke his pelvis “in half,” as he put it, and deflated his right eyeball.

“I put my hands in front of my face, started moving my toes and asked if I was paralyzed," he said. "I was really lucky that I wasn’t.”

Rotella’s car after the accident. Edward Rotella

During the accident, the puppy Rotella was holding died due to his injuries. The accident and recovery, combined with the dog’s death, sent Rotella into a deep depression, which he now carries in the form of PTSD. However, a little more than four years on and Rotella credits one thing from bringing him back from the brink: working out.

Just one week after the accident, Rotella was sent home with a neck brace, a new cadaver bone in his neck, and an eye patch. (His eye still works, but he says it's like "seeing underwater.") After staying in bed for six weeks straight to recover, Rotella had to get back to work, so he got a job at an auto parts store. There, he saw everything as a micro-workout.

“I stayed active, I used everything I could around me to exercise,” he said. “I would pick up rotors and they're about 25 pounds each. So every time I'd walk back I would use them to exercise.” He’d walk about 1,200 steps a day, which less than a year after his injury was a massive achievement.

Eight months after his injury, Rotella was ready to start a regular workout routine outside of his workplace. Prior to the accident, he'd regularly trained in Muay Thai with instructor Stonehorse Lone Goeman, but after that fateful drive, he couldn't perform the movements anymore. So he built out a small home gym, borrowed his dad’s old Bowflex, and got to work.

Rotella shows off his gains. Edward Rotella

Today, Rotella’s routine includes four weekly Bowflex workouts, lasting about an hour each time. Rotella focuses on different body parts each day, and only works out until fatigue, not failure. He takes twice-daily walks outside, which is proven to bring people both mental and physical clarity — and he isn’t doing those walks along.

“I have a new dog, and I love her,” he said of his workout partner. “She is a German pointer, and she needs to go for long walks and hunt squirrels twice a day.” On those walks, Rotella often wears ankle weights and hand weights. Along the walk, he’ll stop and perform calisthenics to keep their outdoor adventures interesting.

“I feel that my potential is limitless because I choose it to be."

As for his mental health, Rotella has found that both exercise and sharing his experiences have helped him immensely, because “you can’t bottle this stuff up.” (He even posted about his amazing progress on Reddit.)

Because of everything he’s doing, Rotella, now 30 years old, said he’s “definitely stronger than I've ever been right now.” He added, “I feel that my potential is limitless because I choose it to be. I can't pursue the MMA anymore, I can't ride roller coasters anymore, but I can still go and jump off cliffs all summer long.”

If you struggle with depression or suicidal thoughts, seek professional help immediately or contact the National Suicide Hotline at .



Stacey Leasca Stacey Leasca is a journalist from Rhode Island.

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