MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — A 44-year-old stroke survivor recently conquered the Manitou Incline!

The Incline isn't an easy challenge; it features more than 2,700 steps, is one mile in length, and ascension averages a 41 percent incline. Lee Taggart is part of the Facebook group " Manitou Incline Hike Group ." He posted his recent success story to a page, and a News5 viewer asked us to highlight the achievement. Taggart told News5 he nearly lost his life 19 months ago.

"I started losing my vision, and I thought it was a detached retina," Taggart said of the warning signs.

Taggart went to the optometrist, but they couldn't find anything wrong with his eye. It wasn't long before he was in the Emergency Room, and then the ICU for two weeks.

"I was having a series of strokes that we

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