START" AND WEATHER. DOING IT ALL.
>> THANK YOU. >>> WE'RE WRAPPING UP OUR
SPECIAL PASSOVER AND EASTER WEEK SERIES THAT WE'VE BEEN CALLING
"SOUL SEARCHING TODAY." >> TWO REMARKABLE MEN DEFYING
THE ODDS. AND JENNA BUSH HAGER HAS THE
THIS STORY. >> Reporter: IMAGINE IF YOUR
BEST FRIEND WAS STRUCK WITH A RARE ILLNESS THAT ROBBED HIM THE
ABILITY TO WALK. HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO LIVE OUT
HIS DREAMS? WAIT UNTIL YOU MEET PATRICK AND
JUSTIN, TWO GUYS DRIVEN BY A FAITH SO DEEP, THEY'RE CLIMBING
MOUNTAINS. NESTLED IN IDAHO'S FOOTHILLS,
TWO LIFE LONG FRIENDS, NAVIGATING A ROCKY PATH, USING
FAITH AS THEIR COMPASS. >> OUR FRIENDSHIP HAS BEEN ABOUT
ADVENTURE. THE BIG ONES, THE FALL ONES.
>> Reporter: THE ADVENTURES BEGAN AS INFANTS.
PATRICK AND JUSTIN WERE BORN JUST 36 HOURS APART.
AND GROWING UP, THE BOYS WERE INSEPARABLE.
>> I'D BIKE OVER TO HIS HOUSE. HE WOULD COME OVER TO MY HOUSE.
>> Reporter: AT THE AGE OF 16, JUSTIN'S COURSE TOOK A DARK
TURN. >> I STARTED TO NOTICE WEAKNESS
IN MY LEFT FOOT. >> Reporter: THAT WAS DIAGNOSED
AS MULTIFOCAL ACQUIRED MOTOR AXONOPATHY.
A DISEASE SIMILAR TO A.L.S. >> I CAN FEEL EVERYTHING FROM
HEAD-TO-TOE. JUST MY MUSCLES DON'T WORK THE
WAY THEY SHOULD. >> Reporter: DESPITE WEAKENING
MUSCLES, JUSTIN CONTINUED FULL SPEED AHEAD.
THE BOYS GRADUATED COLLEGE, MARRIED AND STARTED THEIR OWN
FAMILIES. ALL THE WHILE, REMINING THE
VERY BEST OF FRIENDS. >> THEY HAVE A UNIQUE
RELATIONSHIP WHERE ONE -- THEY HAVE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES.
AND THEY KIND OF PIECE TOGETHER LIKE A PUZZLE.
>> Reporter: BUT EVENTUALLY, JUSTIN'S PROGRESSIVE DISEASE
BEGAN TO ROB HIM OF THE ABILITY TO WALK, TO WRITE, AND THE LIFE
HE ONCE IMAGINED. >> HIS ABILITY TO HANDLE IT WITH
GRACE AND DIGNITY, HELPED ME NOT BE AFFECTED BY IT.
BUT WHEN THE DISEASE REACHED HIS HANDS, IT WAS REALLY HAR HARD FE
TO COME TO GRIPS WITH. >> Reporter: ONE AFTERNOON, A
TRAVEL TV SHOW WOULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF THEIR LIVES.
>> I WAS WATCHING "RICK STEVE'S EUROPE."
THE EPISODE WAS ON THIS PILGRIMAGE ACROSS SPAIN.
I KNEW INSTANTLY, MY HEART WAS TELLING ME, YOU NEED TO DO THIS.
>> Reporter: WHEN JUSTIN PROPOSED THE 500-MILE TREK TO
HIS BEST FRIEND, PATRICK DIDN'T SKIP A BEAT.
>> THIS RELATIONSHIP IS JUST -- IT IS A GIFT.
WE'VE DONE EVERYTHING TOGETHER SO FAR.
WHY NOT HAVE ONE MORE ADVENTURE? LET'S MAKE IT A GRAND ONE,
RIGHT? >> YEAH.
>> THERE'S NO OTHER RESPONSE IN MY HEAD THAN, YEAH, I'LL PUSH
YOU. >> Reporter: I'LL PUSH YOU
BECAME THEIR NEW MANTRA AND MOTIVATION.
AND WITH THE BLESSING OF THEIR FAMILIES, TWO YEARS LATER, THEY
WERE OFF. >> WE HAD A SIX-WEEK WINDOW FOR
START-TO-FINISH. ACCLIMAING AND GETTING BACK TO
THE STATES. >> Reporter: WITH JUSTIN IN A
THREE-WHEEL ALUMINUM WHEELCHAIR, THEY DOCUMENTED THEIR REQUEST.
A NETWORK OF ROUTES THAT CONVERGE IN NORTHWEST SPAIN.
>> A GREAT DAY TO CLIMB A MOUNTAIN.
>> I'VE NEVER BEEN THAT DEPLETED PHYSICALLY IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.
>> Reporter: BEGANING IN FRANCE, THE PAIR TRAVERSED MOUNTAIN
RANGES, RIVERS AND A VAST DESERT IN SPAIN.
>> WE MET PEOPLE FROM I THINK 27 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.
>> YOU GET TIME TO REALLY CONNECT INTIMATELY WITH PEOPLE.
AND HONESTLY, I WOULD SAY EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY THE WAY
IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE EXPERIENCED. >> NICE TO MEET YOU.
>> Reporter: ASCENDING THOUSANDS OF MILES, THE CAMINO WAS A DEEP
DIVE WITHIN. ONE OF SOUL-SEARCHING AND
EXPLORATION. >> FAITH IN HUMANITY WAS
RESTORED. BEING THE RECIPIENT OF SUCH
GRACE AND SUCH HELP AND LOVE, IT WAS TRULY AMAZING.
>> Reporter: AND INCREDIBLY 500 MILESIR FINISHED
IN JUST 34 DAYS. THEY RECOUNT THEIR
TRANSFORMATIONAL ADVENTURE. >> THE PILGRIMAGE TAUGHT ME,
WHEN YOU DO STEP OUT IN FAITH, WATCH OUT BECAUSE AMAZING THINGS
CAN HAPPEN. >> WE HAVE PEOPLE AROUND US THAT
CARRY US UP THE MOUNTAINS. THEY HAVE GIVEN SO MUCH.
AND IT WILL BE A TESTAMENT OF OUR LIVES.
WHATEVER THEY CAM IN CONTACT WITH.
THE GREATEST GIFT WE CAN GIVE IS TO LOVE THEM.
>> Reporter: SURROUNDED BY THEIR FAMILIES IN IDAHO, AS THEIR
PHYSICAL ABILITIES CONVERGE, THEIR BOND CONTINUES TO
STRENGTHEN. TWO BEST FRIENDS, PROVING THAT
WITH UNCONDITIONAL FRIENDSHIP AND FAITH, JUST ABOUT ANYTHING
IS POSSIBLE. >> YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE DEFINED
BY LIMITATIONS. IT'S WHAT YOU DO IN SPITE OF THE
LIMITATIONS THAT DEFINES YOU. >> PATRICK AND JUSTIN ARE
WORKING ON A CHILDREN'S BOOK. AND MANY OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS
ARE ACTUALLY JUSTIN'S ARTWORK. PRETTY INCREDIBLE, RIGHT?
>> WHAT A BEAUTIFUL IMAGE OF A FRIEND PUSHING HIS FRIEND UP
THAT MOUNTAIN. AND ALL THAT SYMBOLIZES, TO SAY
NOTHING OF JUST DOING IT. >> I DID IT WITH MY BEST FRIEND.
IT'S REALLY HARD. AND YOU DO MEET PEOPLE AL