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Tyler W. "Ty" Ziegel was born October 16, 1982. He did not come from a fancy background. His mom was a waitress. His dad worked in construction. He wasn't born with the highest IQ perhaps, but he was strong, and after graduating high school, he joined the army to serve his country. He met a girl he loved named Renée Kline. He was handsome enough, and she was pretty enough. Life seemed good. In 2003, at 21, he was sent to Iraq.
On Christmas Eve 2004 a suicide bomber blew up near his truck. Ty lost his left hand and right fingers. His skull was shattered, he was blinded in one eye, and he suffered severe burns to his face and body.
Ty spent 19 months in a hospital and underwent 30 operations, including massive skin grafts to repair his torched skin.
Through it all, Ty did not let it slow him down. He became famous for his determination. He didn't want pity. He kept going. Even in hospital he remained sociable and went room to room getting to know everyone. When he was finally discharged, he continued his relationship with Renée and asked her to marry him.
She divorced him within a year.
Ty suffered from chronic pain and isolation for the next 7 years. He became addicted to heroin and alcohol.
Finally in 2012, 8 years after the blast destroyed his appearance, his body, and his life, the day after Christmas, he died of a heroin overdose.
Ty is a reminder that no matter how good you have it, everything can be taken away. He started as a low level Chad with a moderately charmed life - the kind of simple idyllic life most of us would kill for. Then one blast transformed him into a monster that no one could ever love again. He spent his last 8 years of life pumping himself full of drugs to try to cope, because no amount of determination or perseverance could overcome the horror of what he had become.
Women can be acid faced and still find supportive husbands. But for man, this is death. If you asked him whether he would have rather died on the battlefield in 2004, I imagine he would have said "yes". Life can be horrible in ways most people can't even imagine.
Ty is one of the rare people I would consider a war hero. He truly suffered for his service. The war that destroyed him was inconsequential. He was a pawn in a meaningless game. And although he started off basically as a Chad, I can imagine what those 8 years for him felt like once it was all taken away, and he was reduced to nothing.
On Christmas Eve 2004 a suicide bomber blew up near his truck. Ty lost his left hand and right fingers. His skull was shattered, he was blinded in one eye, and he suffered severe burns to his face and body.
Ty spent 19 months in a hospital and underwent 30 operations, including massive skin grafts to repair his torched skin.
Through it all, Ty did not let it slow him down. He became famous for his determination. He didn't want pity. He kept going. Even in hospital he remained sociable and went room to room getting to know everyone. When he was finally discharged, he continued his relationship with Renée and asked her to marry him.
She divorced him within a year.
Ty suffered from chronic pain and isolation for the next 7 years. He became addicted to heroin and alcohol.
Finally in 2012, 8 years after the blast destroyed his appearance, his body, and his life, the day after Christmas, he died of a heroin overdose.
Ty is a reminder that no matter how good you have it, everything can be taken away. He started as a low level Chad with a moderately charmed life - the kind of simple idyllic life most of us would kill for. Then one blast transformed him into a monster that no one could ever love again. He spent his last 8 years of life pumping himself full of drugs to try to cope, because no amount of determination or perseverance could overcome the horror of what he had become.
Women can be acid faced and still find supportive husbands. But for man, this is death. If you asked him whether he would have rather died on the battlefield in 2004, I imagine he would have said "yes". Life can be horrible in ways most people can't even imagine.
Ty is one of the rare people I would consider a war hero. He truly suffered for his service. The war that destroyed him was inconsequential. He was a pawn in a meaningless game. And although he started off basically as a Chad, I can imagine what those 8 years for him felt like once it was all taken away, and he was reduced to nothing.
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