Smeele can now operate his wheelchair with his right arm -- an advance he called "major progress", although it's slow going. Although Smeele admits he thought his physical progress would be more advanced by now, he said his mental development has far exceeded expectations -- and he's living a life filled with positivity. Video will play in Play now Don't auto playNever auto playA wakeboarding accident in Florida left the former world champion Brad Smeele a quadriplegic, confined to a wheelchair and almost ready to give up on life. But a major part of his progress hasn't been physical, but mental. Two years on, Smeele hasn't given up hope of moving around on his own two feet one day.

Source: New Zealand Herald July 15, 2016 06:56 UTC