FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KGPE/KSEE) — It’s a story that sounds like it’s out of a movie: A man is recovering after being crushed by a giant boulder while hiking in California.

Kevin DePaolo had been hiking with his friend Josh Nelson in the Eastern Sierra mountains of Inyo County. They were searching for rocks and quartz when the boulder rolled on his legs while he was digging, crushing him.

DePaolo suffered multiple injuries and has undergone numerous surgeries since being rescued by the Inyo County’s Search and Rescue team. He is now in a wheelchair but is expected to fully recover — and his spirits have never been higher.

“Oh no way dude, I can’t wait to go back up there man,” said DePaolo told Nexstar’s KGPE/KSEE.

Meeting DePaolo in person, you can’t tell that back on Dec. 5, he almost lost his life.

“I’ve been watching a lot of kung-fu movies while I’ve been in bed, so I can go back up there and karate chop that [boulder] in half,” he said jokingly.

DePaolo recounted the harrowing moment.

“I basically heard [my friend] say, ‘Look out Kev-o,’ and I look up and there’s this grand piano size boulder tumbling down the hill,” DePaolo said. “I’m laying like uphill, and the boulder was coming down. [Nelson] took a pick and he propped it underneath, and at the same time he’s calling 9-1-1.”

“It was a real survival situation at the point and we really needed somebody’s help.”

Help, however, was hours away.

“We sat there, man, for several hours. I told him at one point to call my mom and tell her that I’m not gonna make it. He said, ‘No way Kev, you’re not dying on my watch,'” DePaolo recalled.

The Inyo County Search and Rescue team was able to locate Kevin and Josh, and a helicopter from the Lemoore Naval Air Station was deployed to assist in his rescue.

They were able to free Kevin from underneath the boulder, but the injuries he suffered were severe.

“I actually saw my femoral artery that I ended up severing. I had to get a muscle removed from my left leg because it was so damaged from the initial impact. I cracked my pelvis in two different spots,” said DePaolo.

He has another surgery planned for this week, but, apart from the hospital gown and yellow casts on his legs, he’s staying cheerful.

“There’s nothing to do but stay positive like that, in a situation like this,” he said. “It’s so serious that the only thing you can do is just laugh and thank God that I’m still here.”

Despite all that he’s been through, Kevin is maintaining that positive attitude. He said if anyone wants to try to make his survival story into a movie, he’s all for it.