Most people, when they enter the armed forces, know that they might receive an injury or two, and many even enlist fully aware that they may die. However, most don’t expect to be shot 27 times and live to tell the tale. Mike Day is a Navy SEAL who proves that, in addition to being a SEAL, he is not like most people.
10 years ago, Mike Day entered what to most people would be a nightmare. He was serving in Iraq in a town near Fallujah, a city of constant war and tension in the middle east. Day was the first of his team members to enter what they thought was an empty room in an abandoned building when he was met by three al-Qaeda insurgents who wanted him dead. They opened fire and didn’t stop.
Day was hit with 27 bullets during that incident. Just 11 were stopped by his body armor; 16 more penetrated his body and left him wounded. Had he been any other SEAL or soldier, he may have died. But Day proved then, as he continues to prove now, that his willpower is stronger than most, and that a few “measly bullets” can’t take him down.
After being shot those 27 times, an insurgent threw a grenade his way. It exploded within feet of him, knocking him unconscious. He awoke a minute later and managed to kill two of the insurgents before walking himself to the nearest medical helicopter.
Day described the grueling incident as “a single gunfight on an ordinary day at the office.” He goes on to list his injuries on his personal website: “I was shot in both legs, both arms, my left thumb was almost amputated, I was shot in the abdomen and had a colostomy bag for a year, my right scapula was shattered, I was shot twice in the buttocks, once in the scrotum and my body armour was hit multiple times which caused fractured ribs and contusions on my lungs.”
Despite his injuries, Day trained and completed a Florida half Ironman. All the proceeds he collected went to his fellow veterans–veterans whose injuries may be invisible but that are much more complex and under-understood than Day’s.
Though the SEAL spent just 16 days in the hospital before he was discharged and awarded the Purple Heart, he suffered from PTSD in the years following the incident. He attributes his good mental health today to the Carrick Brain Centers in Dallas, an organization that delivers state-of-the-art treatment programs to individuals suffering from Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and other neurological issues. Brain injuries are highly misunderstood and therefore, difficult to treat. Day hopes that by bringing awareness to PTSD and TBIs, and that by raising money to fund the research surrounding it, he can help promote a better understanding of them and aid in finding a viable treatment.
Day intended to raise upwards of $75,000 for the institution by completing the Florida half-Ironman. The event saw him swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and run 13 miles.
On his fundraising page, Day stated that his mission in life is to “care for and lead my wounded brothers and sisters.” Whether or not he met his fundraising goal, we’d say that he’s living his mission to the fullest.
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