At 20 years old, former Spanish Fork High School three-sport athlete and football captain Hunter Rasmussen was accidentally shot in the leg during a hunting trip. Doctors later told him he had been approximately ten minutes from bleeding to death.

What followed were weeks in the hospital, multiple surgeries, a life-threatening infection, and ultimately the amputation of his lower leg. But Hunter’s story didn’t end there.

In this episode of the Especially for Athletes Podcast, Hunter shares the remarkable journey from the moment of the accident through years of recovery and learning to walk again. He talks about the lessons sports had unknowingly taught him for this moment, what resilience means when progress literally happens one step at a time, the importance of taking care of yourself without becoming consumed with yourself, and how keeping your “eyes up” can help you see both the road ahead and the people around you.

Hunter also shares the role his faith played throughout the experience, including moments in the hospital when he struggled to understand how everything could possibly “work out.”

This is a powerful conversation about resilience, perspective, faith, service, and continuing to move forward when life looks nothing like you expected.

Socials:

Instagram- @1_legged_hunter
TikTok-1leggedhunter

Key Moments:

00:32:17 - Meet Hunter Rasmussen

00:35:27 - Hunter’s Story: Sports, Hunting & Growing Up

00:37:30 - Choosing to Serve a Mission

00:39:29 - Returning Home & Starting Life Again

00:40:34 - The Hunting Trip That Changed Everything

00:41:52 - Realizing He Had Been Shot

00:42:27 - The Makeshift Tourniquet That Saved His Life

00:44:12 - “Your Life Flashes Before Your Eyes”

00:45:22 - Fighting to Stay Awake

00:46:37 - “Everything’s Going to Work Out”

00:47:29 - Emergency Surgery & Compartment Syndrome

00:48:39 - Unable to Move His Foot

00:49:25 - Hearing the Word “Amputation”

00:50:27 - A Life-Threatening Infection

00:51:35 - Losing His Leg

00:52:29 - Only a 10–15% Chance of Keeping His Knee

00:53:23 - The Turnaround Doctors Couldn't Explain

00:54:35 - Learning to Walk Again

00:57:58 - What Resilience Means to Hunter

00:59:15 - How Sports Prepared Him for Adversity

01:00:25 - “Just Keep Going”

01:02:43 - What “Eyes Up, Do the Work” Means to Hunter

01:05:20 - Looking Up Helps You See Others

01:06:27 - Take Care of Yourself—Then Help Others

01:09:17 - Reframing Difficult Experiences

01:13:03 - Faith, Adversity & the Story of Joseph

01:15:47 - Pits, Potiphar, Prison—and Your Pharaoh Moment

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Credits: Hosted by Dustin Smith & Shad Martin
Produced by E4A and IMAGINATE STUDIO