HE WAS his dad's reason for walking again after doctors feared the sportsman would forever be confined to a wheelchair.
Now, former rugby league player Pete Stephenson's son, Sam, eight, is following him into the sport, having joined his dad's old club, West Hull.
Pete, 34, who broke his neck when a tackle went wrong, said: "I'll admit relatives, along with me, had reservations when Sam asked if he could play.
"But you can't wrap kids up in cotton wool. We have accepted the risk. What happened was just an accident.
"Sam is getting to that age where he knows and understands what happened to his dad.
"But if it's what Sam wants to do, I will back him."
Pete had just left West Hull and was playing only his third match for Hull Dockers when the accident happened in 2005.
He was temporarily paralysed from the chest down and spent months undergoing intensive rehab therapy at Wakefield's Pinderfields Hospital.
Today, Pete – who walks on crutches – still hopes to eventually be able to walk unaided.
"Some days I get a bit down," he said. "But that's only natural. When that happens I think back to the dark days.
"I'll never give up hope of getting rid of the crutches and walking properly again, though."
Shortly after the accident, doctors warned Pete he might never have full use of his lower body again.
But he has already proved them wrong.
"Some people, when they hear that from doctors, might sit back and think, 'That's it – I'm paralysed for life,'" said Pete.
"But that was not an option for me. For me, the driving force in my recovery has been my son. Sam was five months old when the accident happened.
"There was no way I would not be an active dad. I wanted to be able to play with him – not be stuck staring at a ceiling."
Pete says Sam shows early promise both as a footballer and a rugby player.
He said: "Sam's very active. He's just getting into his rugby and has been down to West Hull a few Saturday's for training and is enjoying it.
"I won all my medals over the years with West Hull and Sam has obviously seen them all.
"But he also enjoys his football and plays for Kingston FC, off Preston Road."
Pete, who lives with his partner Emma, 35, and their son, in Brendon Avenue, off Chamberlain Road, east Hull, helps run the football club.
Before the accident, Pete was a joiner.
Now, he is a sports journalist.
"What happened was a life-changer – in more ways than one," said Pete who graduated with a 2:1 degree from the University of Huddersfield last year.
"I was 30 – when I went back to full-time education – that was a big thing for me.
"But I had to do something else, returning to my old job was not an option.
"I am now freelancing, still involved in sport, and am really enjoying life."
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