In 2005, while on a combat operation in Iraq, I was landing on a building via a small helicopter. I was sitting on the outside of the helicopter when it crashed. The top blade cut my right foot a few times leaving me with a below-knee amputation. It also cut my left foot, severely crushing the foot. I was then thrown against a wall, stopping my body.

The end result of it all was a severely crushed foot—which I was told I would never walk on again— and a compound femur fracture which damaged my peripheral nerves in the leg I still had. My lungs were collapsed, I had sustained some back damage, my chest hurt like hell, and I suffered a traumatic head injury. The injuries to my foot left me unable to move it from all of the nerve damage. With a lot of work and surgery, I have it functioning well now.

All that said, afterwards I still wanted to go back to my team, which was part of special operations. After a while however, I decided that due my TBI and injured foot, it was best not to. I then retired, but as you can imagine and relate, I still have the need the need for adrenaline and especially for personal challenges.