Colin Bales, a 31-year-old physical therapist and Air National Guard member from Park Rapids, Minnesota, was left paralysed after a diving accident at his family's lake house on 4 July. According to his family, he performed a jack-knife dive into shallow water off their dock, shattering his spine and leaving him unable to feel his body below the shoulders.

Bales was airlifted to Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, where he underwent emergency surgery and remains in intensive care on a ventilator, communicating by mouthing words and blinking. His family have shared updates via CaringBridge, and his wife, Amy, hopes to transfer him to Craig Hospital in Denver, a specialist spinal cord rehabilitation centre. Recent posts suggest early signs of progress, with Bales regaining some sensation lower on his chest and being cleared to sit in different positions.