Mr. Trump, welcome to the club!

Brock Mealer’s speech at the 2016 GOP Convention

Christmas Eve 2007, my parents, my younger brother, Elliott, his girlfriend, Hollis Richer, and I were driving to church. Out of nowhere, a car ran a stop sign, crashing into us. My father, my hero, David Paul Mealer, and Hollis died that night.

I endured eight and a half hours of surgery.

When I awoke, the surgeon came into my hospital room with more devastating news.

My spinal cord damage was about the worst she had ever seen. She said that I would likely never walk again — that even a one percent chance was overly optimistic.

But that 1% was all I needed. Through it all, I had faith in Jesus Christ, believed in myself and strived to make that one percent a reality.

Truthfully, God made that 1% a reality; His will, not mine. He blessed me with football coaches Rich and Mike, who gave me a fighting chance. His blessings enabled me to graduate from The Ohio State University and go on to be cheered by University of Michigan fans, as I led the Wolverines onto the field. He blessed me with my beautiful wife, Haley; we walked down the aisle together. He gave me countless other blessings. This very moment, for me, is a testament to God working all things for the good.

And guess who else was told he had a 1% chance? A company that analyzes polling data for CNN predicted last year that Donald Trump had a 1% chance of winning the Republican nomination for president. Mr. Trump, welcome to the club!

I defied the odds. But I couldn’t do it on my own.

Donald Trump can’t do it alone either. He needs our help and support. Just as Michigan was willing to adopt a Buckeye, for a cause greater than ourselves, we can unite behind Donald Trump to Make America One Again.

Now I want to turn it over to a fellow Ohio State graduate who really knows how to unite a team — Coach Bobby Knight.