EDMOND, Okla. – A car wreck took his leg, but an Edmond man says it actually saved his life.

“I woke up to a whole – another life. Yeah, I woke up to a whole other life,” Thomas Hill told KFOR.

Hill doesn’t remember much about the day that changed everything.

“Oh, it was a beautiful weekend,” he said.

Nearly three years ago, a routine trip to work at Hill’s personal training center almost ended his life.

“Just a freak car accident,” he said.

Hill’s car ran off the road. He was rushed to OU Medical Center. He lost his leg above the hip, and his torso was nearly destroyed.

“I lost half of my pelvic bones, lost a lot of my insides,” he said. Doctors are crediting Hill’s physical fitness for his survival.

While at OU, doctors discovered Hill had cancer – finding and removing multiple tumors on both kidneys. He credits his doctors, Alisa and Brian Cross (who are married) for saving his life.

“I could have been suffering a whole other fight that I could have very well lost,” he said.

It took about 9 months before Hill was able to even get back to Next Level Fitness. In fact, he wasn’t even able to get in his office chair until just this weekend.

“Little things like this can bring a person so much joy,” he said. “Incredible, it’s incredible.”

From the chair, Hill books clients facing health problems of their own.

“I think I can actually help others get through their challenge because I understand their challenge now. I’m more empathetic because I’m going through it myself,” he said.

Hill’s not just their personal trainer, though. He’s his own, too.

Hill’s determined to stand on his own again.

“If you’re still up, you’re still breathing, there’s never a time where you can’t do something,” he said. “That was the biggest thing I got over also in that bed when I woke up – removing myself from saying I can’t. Because, if I kept saying I can’t, I won’t ever.”

Hill will receive the OU Medicine Trauma Survivor Award on Friday for his courage and strength through adversity.

Hill’s very active in sharing his inspirational journey on social media. You can follow him on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.