From a frosty morning in BC’s Cariboo, Hana Erikson sits down with a special guest Thomas Giles for a raw, powerful conversation about grit, wilderness, and what it takes to fight your way back. Thomas is a hardcore hunter and horseman—until life flips overnight. After pushing through a fly-in moose hunt with a broken shoulder, Thomas suffers a massive stroke at age 34 and has to relearn how to speak, walk, and rebuild his life from the ground up. He shares the moment it happened—alone at home—when his puppy Jesse instinctively braces him upright as his right side goes dead weight, buying precious time until help arrives. From ICU, to stroke ward, to rehab, Thomas describes a 55-day hospital stay and a mindset that refuses to quit—then the next battle: his stroke was triggered by a failing aortic valve, leading to open-heart surgery on November 25.And then comes the turning point: getting back on a horse—using a step ladder to mount—discovering the horse is literally helping him “feel” what his body can’t yet feel on his right side, and accelerating his recovery.This episode is equal parts heavy, hilarious, and inspiring—proof that the mountains don’t just test you… they can also help heal you.In this episode* A stroke survivor’s minute-by-minute account of fighting to get help, and the dog that wouldn’t let him go down* The medical “why”: heart murmur history, calcium to the brain, and the emergency chain that saved his life* 55 days in hospital and the stubborn, daily push to stand, walk, and speak again* Open-heart surgery and the long road back—then returning to hunting, horses, and the wild* Back in the bush: a fly-in moose hunt redemption arc… and a grizzly at 19 yards Presented by: @sitkagearSupported by: @yeti @zeisshunting @frontiersmengear @onxhunt @stoneglacier @wild_tv @schnee_hunt @precision.optics @gunwerks
