California wheelchair-bound father captures hearts of millions online with inspirational story
Father who is paralyzed learns how to parent
A Los Angeles father is inspiring millions online, just by living his normal life. Richard Dahl tells Good Day LA’s Brooke Thomas he just wakes up each day and gives it all he has. It’s how he works to be the best father to his adorable one-year-old daughter, despite his circumstance of being in a wheelchair.
LOS ANGELES - A Southern California father is inspiring millions of people online just by living his normal life.
Richard Dahl wakes up each day to work and be the best dad to his adorable one-year-old daughter – despite his circumstances of being wheelchair-bound.
Dahl had just graduated from college and was about to put his career plan in place when an armed robber changed everything.
"I tried to get in my car and drive off and as I was driving off… the bullet came into the car. He struck me in the back and hit me in the spine and instantly paralyzed me," he recalled about that harrowing moment.
Richard Dahl on his college graduation night.
It wasn’t easy, but he figured it out. Now, six years later, he’s taking on a new challenge by parenting as a wheelchair user.
As he learns by the day, he shares his journey online and millions of people are watching.
"I get to inspire people by just genuinely being me and just genuinely getting up and carrying out my life," he told Good Day LA’s Brooke Thomas.
Good Day LA's Brooke Thomas with Richard Dahl's one-year-old daughter, Riley. (FOX 11)
On top of co-parenting and running his business, he has also decided to take up adaptive golf.
"Golf is hard and life is hard. I told myself I can figure out how to become a good golfer [and] I can figure out how to become a good person in life," he said.
By his own definition, being good at life has a lot to do with creating lifelong memories for his precious little girl.