“Your mind will quit
on you long before your body will!” – Donny Daughenbaugh
Donny was a United States Marine, his wife and caregiver
Sarah works in the Heroes Thanking Heroes program. Donny was injured in Iraq in
2004 while on patrol in Mahmoudiyah, he
took an AK-47 bullet to the face breaking his jaw, then entering his sinus
cavity and stopping nearly an inch from his brain. This bullet still resides in
his head today due to the location and the potential risk’s it could cause if
surgery were an option.
Donny served in the USMC for 6 years and prides himself on
being very active and fit. He loved running, working out, and just being
physically fit. He wasn’t going to let something like a bullet in his head slow
him down. How could he? He was a Marine! Hard headed and stubborn! He wanted to
prove not only to himself but his family that this injury wouldn’t define him
or slow him down. He was still the same Donny that Sarah knew, loved, and
married.
One day Sarah and Donny took their daughter to their
favorite park that had a wonderful walking trail around a lake. It had only
been 6 months since Donny had been home and he felt confident that, there had
been enough time that had passed in his recovery for him to start getting active
again. After they had finished their walk, Donny told Sarah that he was going
to run around the trail one time on his own, it was only about a mile, and he
didn’t stop…not one time. Donny started to approach his wife and Sarah knew
something wasn’t right. He was pale and his eyes were huge and gasping for
air. He handed Sarah the keys and asked
her to drive home. They lived 7 minutes away from the park, and it was the longest
7 minutes of their lives.
After that, Donny realized that he wasn’t quite ready for
such intense activity. He took some time to really figure out what he could do
and how far he could go with his injury and still stay healthy and safe.
Now, several years later, Donny and Sarah completed the
Texas Tough Mudder TOGETHER! This was Donny’s 5th and Sarah’s 4th
time running this INSANE obstacle course. There were several times Donny’s
injury slowed him down, but he pushed through and made it to the finish!
“You’ve been given a second chance and no matter the
obstacles, you can and will overcome your own barriers and live a life that you
want, not what your injury wants.” – Sarah Daughenbaugh
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