SEGUIN, Texas – Being a teenager can be tough, but a 13-year-old boy from Seguin has gone through the unimaginable.
Christian Bertling was born blind and he was left medically decapitated in a car accident.
But despite all that, Christian shows up everyday at school with a huge smile on his face and ready to learn.
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If you look around Briesemeister Middle School, you might notice Christian is playing the tuba without sheet music in front of him.
"When he was born, he was 1 pound 6 ounces, and the doctor gave him less than a 5 percent chance of survival," said Blake Bertling, Christian's father. "He said he recommended aborting him, and he wouldn't be a viable life form."
But the Bertlings don't believe in abortion, so they decided to have Christian, who was born at 23 weeks with one of his retinas detached from his brain. After several surgeries, doctors could only save 30 percent of Christian's right eye.
Christian is blind, but he has a keen sense of hearing, which helped him turn to music.
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His first passion was the piano.
"Because of my blindness, I can hear the music. I can hear the music, plus I have a natural talent for it," Christian said.
Growing up blind produces many challenges, but on Fathers Day 2016, Christian and the Bertling's faced a nightmarish situation.
"So, we were on our way to Sunday school. Me, my little brother, my little sister and Tristan, my best friend," Christian recalls.
They would never arrive at their destination because the driver of an 18-wheeler fell asleep at the wheel and hit their car.
Christian's grandmother, sister and best friend were killed in the crash.
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"He was decapitated. He had an internal decapitation. That's what the doctor called it," Blake Bertling said. "He said 95 percent of the people who have that is fatal, and the other 5 percent are paralyzed from the neck down and Christian is a case he can't explain."
Christian was medically put to sleep for three days, but somehow he survived.
His head is now held with steel rods.
Not only is Christian surviving, he is thriving at everything he sets out to do.
"When he got into junior high, he decided he wanted to play an instrument," said Jennifer Bertling, Christian's mother. "He got fitted with the tuba, because he can really listen to the bass and play the bass of the music. So, he has really taken off with it."
Christian is excelling at school and in the music room, much to the delight of his parents and teachers.
"He has made this program better just by his presence alone," said Louie Blancarte, Christian's band director.
Even though Christian has had to overcome obstacles, many people can't even imagine how he goes to school with a huge smile.
"Dealing with 13-, 14-, 15-year-olds, everyone has their bad days. But I have never seen him have a bad attitude. I've never seen him on the wrong side of the bed," Blancarte said.
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Christian is a standout musician in his middle school band, and he uses modern technology to perfect his talent.
"He listens to it on his braille note and then he plays it. It's pretty amazing to watch," Blake Bertling said. "He can have a brand new song (and) within a minute, he can play it with no complications. It's pretty neat to watch."
Christian said his musical goal is to play at Carnegie Hall one day, but it's the technology field where he wants to work.
He wants to make technologies more accessible for the blind.
"Go work at Apple in the voice over accessibility team at Apple. Another option is to go work up at Humanware up in Canada," Christian said.
Christian is an inspiration to his parents.
"I would like people to remember, it doesn't matter how bad things get. You can always accomplish something if you put your mind to it, and he is a living testament to that," Blake Bertling said.