Blind and paralyzed, an adventurer takes new steps

By Azadeh Ansari, CNN

Updated 1149 GMT (1949 HKT) October 9, 2015

Mark Pollock competition training with a hand-bike in Norway in 2010. Although he was blind, sports became a passion for him.
Photos: The incredible life of Mark Pollock
Mark Pollock competition training with a hand-bike in Norway in 2010. Although he was blind, sports became a passion for him.
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Pollock was captain of the Trinity College Dublin boat club. A world-class rower, Mark went on to win silver and bronze medals rowing for Northern Ireland in the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Photos: The incredible life of Mark Pollock
Pollock was captain of the Trinity College Dublin boat club. A world-class rower, Mark went on to win silver and bronze medals rowing for Northern Ireland in the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
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Mark spent 16 months recovering in the intensive care unit after his fall from a second-story window in London in the summer of 2010. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Photos: The incredible life of Mark Pollock
Mark spent 16 months recovering in the intensive care unit after his fall from a second-story window in London in the summer of 2010. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.
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Pollock now trains four hours a day, four times a week using a combination of aggressive physical therapy and cutting edge robotic technology.
Photos: The incredible life of Mark Pollock
Pollock now trains four hours a day, four times a week using a combination of aggressive physical therapy and cutting edge robotic technology.
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Drawing from his setbacks to inspire and motivate others, Pollock went on to develop an international speaking business and co-authored a book focused on life choices of successful people.
Photos: The incredible life of Mark Pollock
Drawing from his setbacks to inspire and motivate others, Pollock went on to develop an international speaking business and co-authored a book focused on life choices of successful people.
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Pollock has taken thousands of steps with robotic legs under the guidance of doctors at UCLA.
Photos: The incredible life of Mark Pollock
Pollock has taken thousands of steps with robotic legs under the guidance of doctors at UCLA.
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Pollock and his fiancee, Simone George, share an unbreakable bond. They have been together for more than 10 years.<br />
Photos: The incredible life of Mark Pollock
Pollock and his fiancee, Simone George, share an unbreakable bond. They have been together for more than 10 years.
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Norway Training Camp.jpg - Mark PollockRowing.jpg - Mark PollockMark in hospital.jpg - Mark PollockPhysiotherapy.jpg - Mark PollockWheelchair.jpg - Mark PollockRobot.jpg - Mark PollockMark and Simone.jpg - Mark Pollock

Story highlights

  • Mark Pollock was blind, then paralyzed by a 2010 accident
  • He walks with the assistance of a "robotic exoskeleton"
  • Pollock says people must learn to recognize the reality of their situations to move forward

(CNN)As a young boy growing up in Northern Ireland, Mark Pollock dreamed of being Superman one day.

Like his childhood comic hero, action and adventure have filled Pollock's life, but also tragedy. He is blind, and an accident as an adult left him paralyzed. But he never let his physical setbacks stop him.