During this season of American Idol, viewers were introduced to a very inspiring man.
When David Francisco, 25, walked into the audition room, he had 2 walking sticks supporting him. His fiancé Kristi walked alongside him, carrying his guitar.
David is paralyzed from the waist down— well, he used to be anyways.
A few years ago, while on his way back home from Blackbird Academy, David was struck by a distracted driver.
“Just three weeks after I moved to Nashville, a distracted driver ran a red light and T-boned me on my bicycle,” David said.
“I don’t remember anything except for waking up in the hospital and asking ‘Why aren’t my legs on the bed?’ And I looked down and sure enough, there are my legs on the bed— but I can’t feel them.”
When doctors told David he was paralyzed from the waist down, the aspiring musician lost all hope.
“I thought everything’s over. Music’s over, relationships are over. I cried every single day for months.”
Then one night, while laying in bed, David saw his foot move just a bit.
“Within the next 2-3 months, I had a lot of improvement,” he said. “And that continued until… today, really.” But, David didn’t do it all on his own. He also credits one important person for changing his outlook on life— and that’s his (now) wife, Kristi.
“I probably take for granted she’s in my life,” he told News Channel 20.
“Just because I don’t know if I would have the motivation to work as hard to be as positive without her. Definitely, she’s been a big part of the journey.”
“Being on American Idol is huge because this is the next step,” he told the camera. “Trying to reincorporate myself into real life, and then maybe I could someday support myself with music. ”
The judges are awed by David’s story, but it’s his singing that really gets to them.
For his audition, David performs a raw, acoustic version of “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder. As he strums the guitar, Kristi stands on the sidelines, watching him with love in her eyes.
“He is the most joyous, the most energetic, the bright light of the room,” she tells the camera in a pre-recorded interview.
“Life is so much fun with him.”
The judges all wear smiles while watching David’s performance, but Katy Perry can’t help stealing glances at Kristi, who is watching David.
Their love is so tangible it brings tears to Katy’s eyes.
“I’m just watching [Kristi] and like, how in love she is, and I’m just losing it,” she tells everyone, afterward.
Lionel Richie calls David “an inspiration” before sending him to Hollywood.
“This is a big moment,” David said. “Just a broken thing happening, and then that thing turning into all these beautiful things, you know. Beauty from the ashes.”
David progressed through the competition until he was eliminated after performing “Sunday Morning” by Maroon 5. Luckily though, he doesn’t seem to have any hard feelings.
After being eliminated, David shared the following photo on Twitter, captioning: “Yes, I got kicked off American Idol, but I think I’m winning.”
Hear his amazing story below!
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