Horrific Incident Leaves Brian, 90 Day Fiancé Star, Instantly Paralyzed!
Brian, 51, and Ingrid, 32, are one of the new 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days couples appearing on a fresh installment of the show this fall. Kicking off on September 1, TLC fans will get to know all the new cast members including some who have heartbreaking backstories.
After talking daily for years online, Brian and Ingrid are set to make a go of their relationship for real. As 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days season 7 kicks off on September 1, TLC viewers are taken aback by Brian’s terrifying backstory. The reality TV star suffered an incident that left him paralyzed at 27.
Brian’s story
During 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days season 7 episode 1, viewers are introduced to Brian.
He hails from Harvard, Illinois, and tells the cameras he’s approaching his fifth anniversary of being in a wheelchair.
The TLC star explains: “When I was 27, I was shot with a small caliber handgun.”
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Brian continues: “It hit me in the spinal cord and left me a quadriplegic.
“Unfortunately where I’m from, gun violence is not uncommon,” he adds.
Brian tells of how he grew up in inner-city Chicago with an absent father and a mom who mostly raised him and his siblings alone.
He said: “She did the best she could but it was a constant struggle.”
When Brian was 19 years old, he married his high school sweetheart. The two welcomed a daughter together named Brianna: “We were married three years and then got divorced,” he says.
Brian explains how his daughter “was everything to me, so I did everything to support her.” However, he adds how his world was “turned upside down one day.”
Incident caused ‘instant paralysis’
As fans learn more about Brian, many are confused to hear Ingrid hasn’t asked what caused him to have to use a wheelchair.
The TLC star explains the story to fans:
“There was two guys waiting for me as I come home. One guy crosses the street, comes to my car, tells me to get out and says ‘I’ve got a gun’, I was being carjacked but being a young guy from the inner city, that didn’t scare me much.”
Brian says how he thought he could “grab him,” and “get away from the situation.”
He got shot and explains: “It was instant paralysis from the chest down.”
In the hospital, a doctor told Brian, he’d have to “start over,” and “accept the fact I wasn’t going to walk again.”
Recalling the moment, Brian breaks down in tears telling the cameras: “That was tough, but I’m happy I went through everything because it made me who I am… it’s just harder.”
Speaking of his daily routine nowadays, the reality TV star says it can take him one to two hours to get ready and he can only feel half of his arm.
Brian wasn’t held back by his incident, however. He said getting injured was a “rebirth” and he looked for ways to remain active despite being in a wheelchair.
He began playing wheelchair rugby and made the USA team, representing the country for around four years. He says he’s been to around 10 different countries in his career.
