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'Without track, I don't know where I'd be': Paralyzed Fort Valley State University student trains for track

Tre Lawson was paralyzed in a car accident three years ago. Now, he says he's ditching the wheelchair and wants to run again.

FORT VALLEY, Ga. — After a car accident in June of 2017, Tre Lawson says doctors told him he'd never be able to walk again. Now, three years later, he says he's not only gotten rid of his wheelchair, but he's also one step closer to his goal -- getting back on the track.

"Three years ago, there was no way I could move anything below my waist and my mind was in a horrible place," he says.

When we met Fort Valley State University student Tre Lawson in the beginning of 2019, he was still getting used to his walker.

Lawson was a track star at Westside High School when he and two other people got into a car accident. This week marks the third anniversary. 

"I'm walking around my neighborhood every day, a lap around my neighborhood minimum, everything is just on my own as of now," he says.

He says the time at home has turned him into a personal trainer and he keeps setting the bar higher.

"I wanna try my best to get rid of the walker beginning in 2021, so I can be fully functioning by myself. Even if I'm moving with arm crutches, it's a step higher than the walker," says Lawson.

Lawson says he knows there's still much more he has to do, but the motivation is still the same.

"My biggest goal is to be able to run for Team USA on the Olympics team, so once I get over this stepping stone, then I'll be able to get back to training for the sport that I love. Without track, I don't know where I'd be at," he says.

Lawson says he couldn't have made the progress he did if it wasn't for his Wildcat family. 

Lawson says his organization, Rolling Hope, has been put aside during COVID-19, but he hopes to keep raising money for spinal cord research at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

RELATED: 'He's going to keep on fighting:' Paralyzed Fort Valley State student's video of lap around track goes viral

RELATED: Rolling Hope foundation gives voice to people with spinal injuries

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