Earlier this year, Gino DePalma almost died of Guillain-Barre syndrome. He calls it ". . .  the craziest disease or illness anybody could get."

His hands and feet had started to tingle back in February, and his research on the Internet pointed to Guillan-Barre - and it turns out, that`s what he had. Only one in 100,000 people get the disease, which causes the body`s immune system to attack nerve cells.

There is no cure and it progresses rapidly. One day Gino was a healthy police officer; a few days later he was almost completely paralyzed. He couldn`t talk for weeks and could barely nod his head. As machines kept Gino alive, his family and friends kept hope alive.

His wife Tami said, "People would say `I came to see Gino, and I thought I was saying my last goodbyes... I thought he was gone.` I never once believed that, it never even entered my mind."

Little by little, Gino has gotten better. His family keeps track of every improvement. Months later, Gino is at home with his wife and 2-year-old son. He`s talking again, feeding himself, doing pool therapy. His next goal: to walk. "I will walk again, it`s just a matter of how and when," Gino said.

He shares this perspective from his wheelchair: "There are so many things people could be and are down about, but I`m here to tell you life is wonderful. I do feel very fortunate and very blessed."