When Garreth Bell was asked in a school assignment in fourth grade who his hero was, he said his dad, Stephen.

Garreth had a question for his dad: Why are you in a wheelchair? The reason happened long before Garreth was born.

In 1992, Stephen was 22 years old when he woke up with extreme back pain between both shoulder blades. It turned out a blood vessel burst in his spine, paralyzing him from the chest down.

"I was in rehab for about two months and learning how to just, to live again. I gained a whole new perspective on the world," he said.

In his school assignment, Garreth wrote, "it's like he's still walking because he takes care of himself and the family."

Those words changed how the father of three felt about himself.

In an email to CBS News contributor David Begnaud, Stephen e

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