Kevin Rempel is preparing to take on Sochi. Photo courtesy: Twitter

It was 2002, and Kevin with his dad Gerry were deer hunting. 

Gerry had scaled a tree to set up a deer stand - and it was from this look-out, some two stories above the ground that he fell. Gerry broke his back in the fall and was left a paraplegic. Life for Kevin’s father would never be the same, nor would it be for Kevin.

Four years after his father’s accident, Kevin realized his goal of turning pro and riding in front of an audience. Sadly and shockingly, just two weeks after reaching that goal, fate would take an ugly twist.  At only his second show and while practicing a stunt, Kevin fell off his bike from a height of nearly 30 feet. He plummeted to the ground, and like his father, fractured his back. But unlike his father, Kevin would learn to walk again.

His grit and determination saw him out of his wheelchair just one year after the accident.

At this point, you’re probably thinking this kid is pretty amazing. To see his dad suffer, then to endure the same fate but overcome the odds to walk again - incredible, right?  Sure, but while his story took a happy turn here, it wasn’t long until another life altering event would turn Kevin’s world upside down yet again.

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Not dealing well with his own situation, Gerry became depressed and addicted to gambling in the years following his accident. His wife, Shirley, would eventually leave him and shortly after that, Gerry took his own life.

Kevin could hardly believe what had happened – on top of all else he and his family had endured in the last six years, losing his father the way he did was just too much.  Kevin packed his bags and left Canada to visit his sister in Australia.

NEXT PAGE: KEVIN'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN