Adrian Petersen lost his leg and was inspired by @vikings @adrianpeterson to get back on his feet. Today AP met AP pic.twitter.com/zeWYCnmmbp
— Scott Wasserman (@S_Wasserman) August 4, 2014
Although their surnames are spelled slightly different, Vikings star Adrian Peterson and Vikings fan Adrian Petersen found a common bond Monday at training camp in Mankato.
FOX 9 says Petersen – who has followed AP since his college days in Oklahoma – finally got to meet the NFL superstar and tell him how his comeback from his ACL injury a couple years back inspired his recovery after a leg amputation.
Petersen lost his right leg after being crushed from the waist down in a rail car accident in 2011, about the same time AP suffered his leg injury.
Last month, FOX 9 reported on Petersen’s transition from a walking prosthetic to one that allows him to run again. At the time, the Minnesota man said AP’s recovery “shows you can push and strive yourself and do bigger and better things every time you step out.”
After the Vikings got wind of the report, the team set up a meeting between Petersen and AP. During Monday’s 10-minute meeting, Petersen told No. 28, “Seeing you, what you can do, gave me positive vibes and kept me strong.”
AP commented that God works in mysterious ways and brought he and Petersen together.
“To have his leg injury during the same time I had mine and the good Lord just blessing me by my actions and believing in him that anything is possible,” Peterson told FOX 9.
Peterson often shares his inspiration off the field. In January, KARE 11 said, AP called a teen in New York City suffering from a rare form of cancer. Blake Cognata, 17, got the call from Peterson after his family and friends launched a Twitter campaign.
The Twin Cities Starlight foundation says Peterson visited patients at Children’s Hospital and Clinics in August of 2013, and even called a game of bingo.
The blog Look to the Stars says Peterson supports five different charities, including his own All Day Foundation and the Tim Tebow Foundation.
Peterson is also a supporter of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, and was one of the stars who showed up at the organization’s annual celebrity gala last month.
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