Man in wheelchair crowd surfs to stage before having a wholesome moment with Coldplay's Chris Martin

There is a famous saying, “The sky is the limit.” However, with several setbacks in life, many people stop believing in the statement and their challenges become their barriers to achieving their goals and dreams. However, Rob O’Byrne's persistence and cheerful spirit pushed him concert after concert to enjoy the liveliness music brings despite him being in a wheelchair. The Guardian reported that the man, who injured his spine and was in a wheelchair, learned his way around and ultimately had a life-changing experience at a Coldplay concert recently.

Rob shared his story and gave a gist of the incident adding what could be only one of the most illuminating elements of his experience. Rob explained that one of his holidays years ago became the platform for a tragic accident at a swimming pool when he tried skinny dipping in the dark. “I dived into the shallow end, banging my head and instantly damaging my spinal cord. It felt like air deflating out of a balloon. I couldn’t move my arms and everything went white,” Rob said. He further added that although he was saved from drowning, he faced a harsh repercussion.

He elaborated “I became a C5 incomplete quadriplegic, which means I have no feeling or movement from the chest down.” After months of hard work and recovery, Rob decided to move on with what he called his “new normal.” The man further shared the silver lining at the end of his dark cloud. “Walking as a kid and being in a wheelchair as an adult, I’ve seen life from two points of view”, Rob said. He further shared that having been part of a choir, music was thriving within him which was the reason for having been part of several gigs since childhood. Speaking about karaoke, the man said, “I do a great version of Coldplay’s A Sky Full of Stars.”

Revealing that Rob somehow received the tickets to see the band's concert, he also mentioned that he got the opportunity to crowd surf. “Coldplay released large bouncy balls into the crowd and these two well-built lads fell over me trying to catch one. They apologized and picked me up, holding me up in my wheelchair above the audience to give me a better view of the stage,” he said. It was a feeling to remember for Rob as he explained, “They started moving forward and suddenly a spotlight came on me. The crowd parted like the Red Sea.”

With so many emotions going through him and so much happening at the sight of a man in a wheelchair being crowd-surfed, Rob wasn’t sure what to expect. While the security tried to avoid havoc, the lead, Chris Martin, did just the opposite. He invited Rob up on stage. “He helped lift me over the barrier, a pure gentleman,” Rob remarked. After a heartfelt conversation with Rob on stage, the singer decided to add more to the wholesome gesture. “A mic and harmonica were handed over to me,” Rob said. “I don’t play, but he said he’d look down when he wanted me to blow on it."

He made up a song on the spot: ‘We’re in Dublin with Rob, he’s a PT,’ stuff like that. It was short but sweet,” he added. It sure was an experience of a lifetime for Rob and several others like him serving as an evident example that nothing is impossible once you dare and persist. In Rob's words, "If you get yourself out there, you never know what's going to happen," reported BBC. Rob is currently a fitness trainer at "What’s Your Excuse for Fitness" and helps others with similar injuries get their confidence and hope back together while on the road to physical recovery.