afterwards. >> reporter: charles krauthammer is talking about his terrible accident 41 years ago. the devastating injury he sustained. and his determination not to let it define him. >> getting around is harder. it takes a little longer. a little more effort. but, i would say if you were to look at my story it hasn't changed it. >> reporter: these are the last pictures of him standing. on spring break in bermuda in 1972, during his first year at harvard medical school. two months later, he was back at school, diving into a pool one day. when he hit his head on the bottom, and severed his spinal cord. instantly paralyzing him. >> i knew from the second i was hurt, what had happened, why it happened, and what it meant for the future. >> reporter: he had set two books by the side of the pool. one on the anatomy of the spinal cord. the other one, man's fate. and charles was quick to accept his fate. >> the best thing i had going