fullback and iron man athlete was minnesota's first critically ill covid patient in march 2020. he was intubated on life support and not expected to survive. were you ever fearful of the future? >> i had a lot of questions about the future, about what's going to change. from that point on it's been how can i be better tomorrow than i am today >> reporter: but to be better he first had to get better >> you can see i've got another big first today. i'm taking my walk and i'm doing my pt without any oxygen >> reporter: and so inspired by his wife deanna and 5-year-old daughter ben decided to recommit to his training, with a new mission in mind. to raise $10,000 through the ironman foundation's iron aid program to help those battling covid and sky-high medical bills. >> i had the best care in the world and i was very privileged to have that. so whatever i can do to give back and help others that did not have the same fortune that i have is -- i