"I'm gonna go back and I'm gonna farm": Renville County man fighting to walk again after deer stand fall

RENVILLE COUNTY, Minn. – It's true that motivation leads to inspiration. And in Renville County, a farmer is inspiring his friends and family by working through a life-changing injury.

John Lauritsen shows us how Bill Voelz's road to recovery runs through farm country.

"I live on the farm that I was born and raised on," said Bill. "I love everything about it."

From the serenity he finds in his tractor, to the peace and quiet of the countryside. About the only thing that compares to this lifestyle is the life Bill's made with his wife Jean.

"Always on the go and always 10 projects in the works or right down the line. Every day is a busy day for him," said Jean.

It's one of the reasons Jean fell in love with Bill. And it's also what makes their new reality so difficult.

On Sept. 15, Bill was fixing a deer stand when he fell. As soon as he hit the ground, he knew something was wrong.

"I says, 'I don't feel anything from my stomach down,'" said Bill.  

First responders arrived quickly and airlifted him to North Memorial Health in the Twin Cities.

"Before I got in the helicopter, my wife was there and I said to her, I said, 'Honey, I'm sorry.' She said, 'It's OK.' Next thing I knew I was flying to North Memorial," said Bill.

After hours of surgery, doctors told Bill what he feared most – that he would likely be a paraplegic.

"It was hard to hear that, that I'm gonna be stuck in a chair," said Bill.

"But they won't ever say that you won't walk again. They don't ever make that statement because stranger things have happened, and miracles happen," said Jean.

And that's what Bill's counting on. He's taking part in physical therapy, and even virtual reality therapy to get his strength back.

Going forward, there's one certainty in all of this: If Bill needs any kind of help at all, he won't have to look far to find it.

"It was just really emotional for us," said friend Dean Enestvedt. "That was one of the tougher days of my life, really."

Friends Dean, Jeremy Hebrink and Cody Bakker were part of a group who volunteered to take care of the Voelz's crops after the accident. It took them just a couple days to harvest what would have taken Bill a week or more.

"I never knew I had such good friends, or people that thought enough of you to want to help you out," said Bill.

But they firmly believe Bill will return to the fields he loves.

"He was capable before and I'm sure with that same drive he's still gonna be capable if that's what he wants to do," said Cody.

"If he says he's gonna do something, it gets done," said Jeremy.

Dean said Bill's work ethic has inspired young farmers across the area.

"The man's got a will second to none," said Dean. "If anybody in his situation will do it, it'll be him."

That's the plan. Bill has already looked at ways he can get into a tractor or combine in the spring. But his toughest task still lies ahead, so he works to get better, like only a farmer can.

"I finally come to realize, it's just not the end of my life," said Bill. "I just decided that I need to get the best that I can be and move on. And I'm gonna go back and I'm gonna farm."

Bill says he will never give up the hope of walking again, and doctors have said it's not impossible that he could do that one day.