Heeey everybody,
A good friend from school is the (now) fiance of SSG Patrick Zeigler, a survivor from the Fort Hood shooting. Immediately following the shooting in November, she left school and has spent nearly every day by SSG's side. From my understanding, he was shot 4 times, including once in the head. I've never met him, but just to give you an idea of how devoted and committed this Hero is to his country, I've copied and pasted an excerpt from their blog which gives updates to family/friends:
"Patrick was/is largely paralyzed on half of his body, so we know all about paralyzation making a person feel very cold. Patrick has a lot of physical and medical conditions that cause him pain, make him uncomfortable in a variety of ways, and alter his needs. Because of this, he has a "profile" with the Army that essentially says he does not have to adhere to any of the same dress regulations and physical requirements that other soldiers must. Patrick is allowed to wear civilian clothes and shoes at all times. But he doesn't. Every morning, Patrick insists on putting on his full uniform. His left foot and ankle remain entirely paralyzed so his boot is very difficult and very painful to put on. It is also a great challenge to walk in. He is allowed to just wear his tennis shoes with his brace. But he won't. He insists on the boots. No matter how painful something is, no matter how uncomfortable, no matter how hot or cold it is, or how long it takes us to get his uniform on or off (and trust me, it is often very uncomfortable for him and often takes a very long time to achieve), Patrick insists on presenting himself as a soldier and as a leader. When I know he is struggling or uncomfortable in his ACU's or in his boots, I ask him why he won't just wear a t-shirt instead or his tennis shoes in place of the boots. I always get the same very stern answer, "I'm in the United States Army, Jessica! I'm still a soldier". Patrick never seeks attention for his wounds and never takes a short cut or the easy path because he is allowed to or because he is wounded. He would rather sit and be cold in his uniform than be seen showing any weakness or asking for special conditions."
Truly impressive and motivating. SSG was slated to go to Army OCS days later.
I'm gonna ask her for permission to post the link to their blog on here -- I don't think it'll be an issue, but I just want to make sure..
