That's when two billion viewers around the world learned about this remarkable young man from Manhattan Beach, and his heroic story of courage, perseverance, and hope against all hope.
CLIFF'S STORY BEGINS IN 1986, with a tragic construction accident that happened when he was just a 20-year-old college student working his way through school as an apprentice plumber.
On a chilly November morning, Cliff was assigned the task of taking a jackhammer to an area of concrete at a job site. As he was working, the tip of his jackhammer made contact with three unmarked high-voltage electrical cables and 30,000 volts of electricity—many times the charge of an electric chair—coursed through his body.
This impact blew Cliff out of the hole. But he fell right back in and again made contact on the still-pounding jackhammer which came into contact with his knees.
