Doctors told him he’d never walk, then he finished a marathon

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (InvestigateTV) — What does it take to defy the odds? One man’s journey might inspire you to rethink what’s possible.

Three times a week, Patrick McGinnis goes for a run. Not for himself, but for what it means for his son James.

“It’s great therapy,” Patrick McGinnis said. “You get that blood flowing. I do it because every time we go out, James gets better.”

For the McGinnis family, running is about more than miles. It’s purpose.

The injury

Eleven years ago, during a televised high school football game, James McGinnis, a senior at the time, collapsed on the field after a hit.

“When they turned him over on his back, I knew it was serious,” Patrick McGinnis said.

James suffered a traumatic brain bleed. Doctors gave him less than a seven percent chance to survive.

“I went into research mode. What’s recovery like? What’s our next steps?” Patrick McGinnis said.

James spent weeks in the ICU. On day five, he signed “I love you,” giving his parents hope.

“I showed the doctors. They said that’s reflex. I said I don’t think so. It’s purposeful,” Patrick McGinnis said.

Recovery and rehabilitation

James kept proving his doctors wrong. The driven attitude he had embraced through childhood carried him through seven and a half months of therapy and rehab.

“They initially said it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon, and they said [he’ll] never walk again,” Patrick McGinnis said.

It took James nine months to walk on his own and nine years to run.

First a mile, then a 5K, a 10K. After a half-marathon in 2024, the 29-year-old set his sights on something bigger.

“When he locks in a goal, there’s nothing that stops him,” Patrick McGinnis said.

Marathon milestone

In November 2025, with his dad and best friend by his side and resistance bands keeping him upright, James finished his first marathon in 8 hours, 10 minutes.

“Twenty-six miles, but don’t forget that .2,” James McGinnis joked. “I was like, ‘Woo, I’m here!’”

Along the course, Patrick recorded “James-isms,” his son’s core beliefs, one at every mile. At mile 10: “Tell me I can’t, and I will show you I can.”

“Docs told me and my family this journey’s going to be a marathon. Well, I did my marathon,” James McGinnis said.

James’ rehabilitation doctor, Dr. Brad Steinle at the University of Kansas Health System, said James’ prognosis was grim, but his recovery has been remarkable.

“I think it’s somewhat humbling,” Steinle said. “I have hundreds of patients that while I think that we help them, they help us. I’ve never had anyone quite like James.”

Future goals

James is already planning his next challenge: running the Boston Marathon and possibly competing in the 2028 Paralympics.

“I’m always saying, ‘Oh, that looks fun, let’s do it, Dad,’” James McGinnis said.

And Patrick always agrees because for this father-son duo, it’s never been about the finish line.

“I think he’s just getting started,” Patrick McGinnis said.

James and his family are planning to turn their journey into a mission with a foundation and book release in the first half of this year.