BEND, OR (KTVZ/CNN) - A quadriplegic and his family are setting out to bike 1,200 miles from Mount Bachelor, OR, to Los Angeles.
They're working to raise awareness and $100,000 to buy wheelchairs for people in developing nations.
They were set to begin Monday.
A skiing accident changed Nathan Ogden’s life forever.
"I went skiing at Mount Bachelor with my brother-in-law and I came off a jump wrong landed on my neck, shattered my vertebrae and was instantly paralyzed," Ogden said.
His wife, Heather, is from Bend and they were visiting her family.
They were married for 4 years and had two young children when his accident left him paralyzed.
Nathan was 26 years old when he was diagnosed as a quadriplegic, but he stayed positive and was confident he could walk again.
However, a year after the accident he became sick and while getting an X-ray, fell off the gurney and broke his neck again.
He said that's when he became paralyzed, not just physically but mentally as well.
"We call it in our family, frozen, so we like to live our lives unfrozen. It mentally paralyzed me so I dealt with depression and it was a tough time to kind of grasp if I wanted to live life again in a different way than what I dreamt it to be," Ogden said.
It's now been 15 years since the accident, and he said the life he has now would not be possible without the love and support of his family.
Nathan and Heather have been married 20 years now and have four children.
A few months ago, Heather came up with the idea to help raise money for wheelchairs to be delivered in other countries where people might not have access to them.
Nathan, Heather and their children will bike 1,200 miles to LA in relay-style, raising awareness and hopefully a $100,000 for the wheelchair foundation.
Instead of using his hands to ride the bike, he will have adaptive gloves that clip on, so that he can push himself the entire way.
Nathan said this bike ride is not really about him, it's about the people who they're raising money for and who need wheelchairs.
He said he wants people to have a choice, and when something bad happens, don't give up on your dreams, just find a new way to get there.
The whole family wants this bike ride to show anyone can keep going, even when it's hard.
The Ogden family hopes to bike into LA on July 21, making a few stops along the way, but encouraging everyone to follow their journey and help other people.
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