“I got in a lot of trouble in high school. I didn’t want to work dead-end jobs, so I joined to figure out what I wanted to be. I fell in love with it. In February of 2007 my unit took over the road clearance mission from a sister platoon. One of the vehicles we had wasn’t fully up-armored, so I made that one mine since I was in the back and those vehicles are rarely targeted. But that day: Boom. I remember looking back at my vehicle and I couldn’t see my guys. I got up and I could feel the flames on my face and torso. I dumped my body armor and started to roll ’til my body locked up. I‘ve had ninety-nine total surgeries to date. I’d get invited to events, usually because of my disfigurement, and it didn’t feel right. I didn’t like being on the receiving end like that. I also knew I wasn’t going back in after losing my hands and because I now have such bad vision. I got really depressed. I lost my purpose. One organization I did something with was Operation Comfort. I asked if I could volunteer with them, rather than being supported, and that was the start of me becoming a veteran advocate. I’ve also worked with the Gary Sinise Foundation and Gallant Few, among many great organizations. Find your purpose. Every day is a struggle in some aspect or another for everyone. Find what gets you out of bed in the morning.”