When Denton firefighter Gary Weiland, 42, had his left leg amputated in 2018, he worried whether he could still be an example of strength for his children.
“Physically, it was really hard to take, and mentally, it was even harder,” Weiland said of his amputation. “When I looked at my kids, they looked at me like I was the most pathetic thing they’ve ever seen.”
Weiland vowed his children would never look at him like that again. He wanted to prove to them that nothing, not even losing a limb, should stop them from reaching their goals. Tuesday night, Weiland got the chance to prove his resilience when his run on American Ninja Warrior aired on national TV.
Weiland took a break from his typical firefighter duties for 10 months after his leg was amputated due to complications from a knee-replacement operation. But he didn’t sit idle. He spent countless hours in the gym to get back to full duty.