LANSING, Mich. — The pages of a miracle story continue to be written, with just one more page to go. 10 years ago, Justin Caine started competing in para-athletics. At the same time, he was starting a family and a business.
"Any of those things are hard to do on their own, doing all three I honestly have no idea how I did it. I know why I did it, I'm super competitive," Caine said
Justin's journey started in fourth grade. He was driving to school with his dad when his world changed forever.
"There was a tumor cancerous tumor growing down my brain stem that no one knew about and it had gotten so big that it cut off blood flow. I bent down it hemorrhaged and I nearly died there," the Paralympic hopeful said.
Justin was rushed to the hospital and had less than a 50 percent chance of surviving. Doctors saved him but he lost the ability to do everything. Through tireless hours of rehab, Justin was able to recover.
"Any challenge that I've ever faced since then and any challenge I'll ever face for the rest of my life will never be as hard as what I faced at 10 years old," he said.
Fast forward to when Justin was 30 when he started participating in para-athletics. He almost quit right when he started, then realized this was something worth fighting for. Last year he medaled in the World Ability Sport Games. That led to an email he got earlier this fall.
"My phone dinged and I had an email and checked and it said, Para Pan. The first word was congratulations. It was such an amazing feeling because it's been nine years culminating to this point and you know there was never a guarantee," Caine said.
He’s said all along he is going to retire at the end of the year. Retirement day may get pushed back if he qualifies for the 2024 Para Olympics in Paris.
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