army specialist hugo gonzalez found himself on patrol in baqubah, iraq, when his unit came under attackinsurgents. >> it was part of the sunni triangle, very hard place to be. >> being in a firefight was nothing new to specialist gonzalez. but this battle was intense. >> none of the gun battles and close calls that we got could ever prepare me for the tribulation that lays ahead of me after that night that i got mortally wounded in a dusty alley in baqubah, iraq. >> his humvee took a direct hit from an ied. and bomb fragments ripped through his skull even as the firefight raged around him. >> by the time i get to hear the cease-fire order, i was already blinded, calling for my mother, and scared to death. >> hugo had suffered a traumatic brain injury, had internal bleeding, and had injuries to both eyes. he spent 2 days in a coma and had to have part of his skull removed to combat the swelling. his fiancée, annie, was back home in the dominican republic, not knowing if he would live or die. >> she have all the opportunity at that time to say, "i think i -- i don't gonna be able to handl

while i was on a combat patrol my c in baqubah, iraq,nned out.d grenade took my arm off at the shoulder. when i came home, i felt alone. my family was around me, but i couldn't talk to them about what i'd seen and what i'd done. i remember just thinking, man, the way i am right now, i don't want to live. i was discharged from the army, and i've been working with the wounded warrior project since 2007. warriors don't have to be severely wounded to be with the wounded warrior project. we do have a lot of guys that have post-traumatic stress disorder. being able to share your story, i guess it kind of helps you wrap your mind around what did happen over there. just because you've left the military doesn't mean your life is over, because when these guys are coming home, i'm kind of leading and training them, instead of for combat, i'm leading and training them to heal. and if i come away with anything from the wounded warrior project, it's them giving my life back. my name is norbie, and yes, i do suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder,

while i was on a combat patrol my c in baqubah, iraq,nned out. a rocket-propelled grenade took my arm off at the shoulder. when i came home, i felt alone. my family was around me, but i couldn't talk to them about what i'd seen and what i'd done. i remember just thinking, man, the way i am right now, i don't want to live. i was discharged from the army, and i've been working with the wounded warrior project since 2007. warriors don't have to be severely wounded to be with the wounded warrior project. we do have a lot of guys that have post-traumatic stress disorder. being able to share your story, i guess it kind of helps you wrap your mind around what did happen over there. just because you've left the military doesn't mean your life is over, because when these guys are coming home, i'm kind of leading and training them, instead of for combat, i'm leading and training them to heal. and if i come away with anything from the wounded warrior project, it's them giving my life back. my name is norbie, and yes, i do suffer from post-traumatic stress d

while i was on a combat patrol my c in baqubah, iraq,nned out. rocket-propelled grenade took my arm off at the shoulder. when i came home, i felt alone. my family was around me, but i couldn't talk to them about what i'd seen and what i'd done. i remember just thinking, man, the way i am right now, i don't want to live. i was discharged from the army, and i've been working with the wounded warrior project since 2007. warriors don't have to be severely wounded to be with the wounded warrior project. we do have a lot of guys that have post-traumatic stress disorder. being able to share your story, i guess it kind of helps you wrap your mind around what did happen over there. just because you've left the military doesn't mean your life is over, because when these guys are coming home, i'm kind of leading and training them, instead of for combat, i'm leading and training them to heal. and if i come away with anything from the wounded warrior project, it's them giving my life back. my name is norbie, and yes, i do suffer from post-traumatic stress dis

while i was on a combat patrol my c in baqubah, iraq,nned out. a rocket-propelled grenade took my arm off at the shoulder. when i came home, i felt alone. my family was around me, but i couldn't talk to them about what i'd seen and what i'd done. i remember just thinking, man, the way i am right now, i don't want to live. i was discharged from the army, and i've been working with the wounded warrior project since 2007. warriors don't have to be severely wounded to be with the wounded warrior project. we do have a lot of guys that have post-traumatic stress disorder. being able to share your story, i guess it kind of helps you wrap your mind around what did happen over there. just because you've left the military doesn't mean your life is over, because when these guys are coming home, i'm kind of leading and training them, instead of for combat, i'm leading and training them to heal. and if i come away with anything from the wounded warrior project, it's them giving my life back. my name is norbie, and yes, i do suffer from post-traumatic stress d

closed captioning sponsored by: while i was on a combat patrol my c in baqubah, iraq,nned out. a rocket-propelled grenade took my arm off at the shoulder. when i came home, i felt alone. my family was around me, but i couldn't talk to them about what i'd seen and what i'd done. i remember just thinking, man, the way i am right now, i don't want to live. i was discharged from the army, and i've been working with the wounded warrior project since 2007. warriors don't have to be severely wounded to be with the wounded warrior project. we do have a lot of guys that have post-traumatic stress disorder. being able to share your story, i guess it kind of helps you wrap your mind around what did happen over there. just because you've left the military doesn't mean your life is over, because when these guys are coming home, i'm kind of leading and training them, instead of for combat, i'm leading and training them to heal. and if i come away with anything from the wounded warrior project, it's them giving my life back. my name is norbie, and yes, i do suffer from post-traumatic stress d