Episode 474 Davey Lind Rising Strong After Combat Injury Transcript

This transcript is from episode 474 with guest Davey Lind.

Scott DeLuzio: [00:00:00] So you wake up every morning with a plan, until the day that everything changes. And for some, it’s a sudden injury. For others, it’s a transition that leaves them feeling lost. But imagine dedicating your entire life to a mission, only to have it ripped away in an instant. And that’s exactly what happened to today’s guest.

Marine Corps veteran Davey Lind was on his fifth combat deployment when an IED explosion took both of his legs. In that moment, everything could have ended. But instead of accepting defeat, he set a goal. To walk again, to rebuild and to come back stronger than ever. Today, Davey is the first ever double amputee CrossFit trainer, proving that resilience .

Isn’t about what you’ve lost. It’s about what you refuse to let go of. And in this episode, we are going to talk about his story of recovery, the mental battles that he fought and how fitness purpose and community helped him redefine his future. [00:01:00] And before we get into it. If you’re looking for more stories of resilience and real world advice for veterans, uh, join our mailing list at driveonpodcast.

com slash subscribe. And you’ll get my five favorite episodes delivered straight to your inbox. Uh, stories that inspire, motivate, and help you take action in your own life. After you do that, we’re going to jump right into this conversation with Davey Lind.

Davey. Welcome to the show.

I’m really glad to have you here.

Davey Lind: Thank you. Pleasure to be here. The, um,

Scott DeLuzio: So, let’s begin with what I’d imagine was probably the most challenging moment in your life, getting struck by an IED. We talked about that just a second ago in the intro there, and losing your legs. Uh, describe what that moment felt like, what, you know, emotions associated with it. What was going through your head at that point?

Davey Lind: the hardest part to describe about that, you know, that fateful night, June 14th, 2007, the hardest part to [00:02:00] describe for me or to put in context for people is, as you said, it was my fifth combat tour. And I had been, um, I’d been in combat situations, close, medium, and far, uh, for my entire career from Desert Shield on all the way up until I was injured.

Um, and. One of the things that happens, any leaders in the room listening, you, you get to a point, you start off your career where you, you know, just want to see the action, you just want to get into it, you know, that’s literally, you know, kind of what it is, you know, and you are ignorant to the cost of combat, the risk of your life because you, you know, your perspective is different.

It’s very, it’s very masculine. That’s just what you want to do. And then life goes on, the military career goes on, and then you transition from taking care of yourself to taking care of a team, in my case, and then taking care of a platoon. And by the time you get to being a platoon sergeant where I was at, now what you’re [00:03:00] caring about is the individuals under your charge.

You’re caring less about your personal safety, you’re caring less about getting into the action. You want to do your job, you want to be aggressive in the nature of how you do your job, you want to be tactically and technically sound and proficient. Thank you. But you also want to make sure you bring everybody back.

So at that point in time, when I was injured, I was a platoon sergeant, a recon platoon. I’d been in combat. I’d accomplished a lot. I thought at that point in time that I would either live or die in combat, but I never foresaw myself being seriously injured. The perspective of what you can and can’t tolerate from combat injuries, everybody has that preconceived notion.

And for me, I never imagined myself being an amputee. I thought life would be over when that happened and so one of the unique aspects of my injuries is I was never knocked unconscious from the [00:04:00] blast, so immediately aware of missing my right leg at that kind of oh damn moment and got myself out of the vehicle, you know, I was in an UpArmor Humvee, blast went off directly underneath me, Was able to wedge myself out from the bulletproof glass and my, you know, the, the compromised nature of my vehicle and got out of the vehicle.

And only when trying to slide away from the vehicle, using my left leg to push away, did I become aware that I was missing. My left leg. So here I am, I’m 36 years old, platoon sergeant, I’m a recon platoon, king of a small island. In the real world, I have, you know, a wife, kids, you know, I own stuff, I do things, and now I’m an amputee.

And in that immediate moment, the various [00:05:00] first things that happened to me was, I will honestly tell you, I honestly considered, Uh, ending my own life, the, you know, there on the battlefield thinking there is no way I’m living with this through this. And, and in that context, I also immediately realized how selfish and how silly that was, that I had so much more to do, and I, Pushed all that aside.

And, uh, and, and I will say not tongue in cheek, but as honest as I can, I had a conversation with a higher power and said, you know, if this is the path you have for me to walk, I’m going to walk this path to the best of my ability. Um, and, and that was at about 2330, June 14th, local time, uh, local time and date in, uh, Al Anbar, Iraq, June 14th, 2007.

And, uh, and I’ve [00:06:00] been on that path. In one way, shape or form, uh, with enthusiasm, sometimes greater than others, but since that time, so.

Scott DeLuzio: So, so that’s what, that’s kind of what pushed you to start walking again, right? I mean, because you said, I’ll walk, I’m going to walk this path, right? And, and I don’t think that, that was, uh, you know, a figurative, uh, way of saying things. I think what you’re, you’re trying to say is you’re literally going to walk this path.

And,

Davey Lind: Well, at that, at that time, not to, not to cut you off that, but, but at that time, I, so I was a gunnery sergeant in the Marine Corps and the Marine Corps for, you know, listeners, anybody out there, you, when you get selected for your next rank, so I was a gunnery sergeant at E 7 and I was selected for master sergeant in E 8, but when they select you, it’s kind of like a probationary time period.

So I, you get selected a whole year in advance and then over the next calendar year, they, they sprinkle in those promotions at the first of the month or whatever. So I was due to be promoted. [00:07:00] So at, as soon as I arrived at the hospital, they told me that I was going to walk in 10 months to a year. And I already knew that I was going to be promoted in 4 to 6 months.

So I made it up in my mind right then that I’m going to walk to my promotion. That was the immediate goal I set.

Scott DeLuzio: Ah, gotcha.

Davey Lind: But when I came from, this is, this is kind of a fun, semi famous story within my, my circle of friends. When I came from Bethesda, Maryland, where I was initially transported to, to San Diego, uh, Balboa hospital, where I was stationed in California.

So when I arrived, I was met with about 20 or 30 friends at the airport. And one of those friends was getting married and my wife was in their wedding and they, they were adamant right away. You know, I was supposed to be on deployment, so I’m home early. They were adamant right away that I was going to go down the aisle in a wheelchair, wearing my blues, and my wife [00:08:00] was going to push me down the aisle.

So right away, what do we think? Born on the 4th of July, right? Like spectacle display. And I was like, Oh, hell no. I am not about to be this. There’s no way I’m doing that. I hate, I hate to be in a wheelchair. So we started right then and there pushing back against each other and they weren’t really taking no for an answer.

So when I went into my, see my prosthetic engineer, my orthopedic surgeon and, and all these people that following week, um, they, we had a conversation. Yeah. And I told him what I, what I needed to do. And I said, I have a wedding that’s in about three weeks away and I need to be able to walk. And they kind of gave me a look and said, well, you know, you do the work, we’ll make the legs and let’s see if we can get there.

And so I’m very happy to say that that was the ultimate driving forces. Um, so I was injured June 14th, [00:09:00] their wedding was August 25th, I believe. And I started walking August 14th, you know, two months of the date of my injuries. And was able to successfully, you know, tongue in cheek, walk down the aisle of the, of the wedding.

But nobody knew that I could walk except for a handful of people. So when I come down the aisle, I, I stole some of the bride’s thunder that she begrudgingly, she begrudgingly lets me get away with today. But it is still, uh, it could still be a sore spot from time to time

Scott DeLuzio: I, I, I think she, you know, given the circumstance, it’s, you know, you kind of have to give you a little leeway there. I, I would imagine, right? Like, thank God you can walk right. And

Davey Lind: you would think, but then, you know, sometimes it is the bride special day. Right. You know,

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, you do, you do get those, those brides who, uh, you know, but it sounds like it, you know, it’s a, a good relationship that you have with that family and, and that, that you guys are, are able to kind of make. Make light of the situation, uh, you know, despite how, how serious it was. Right. So, um, so that, [00:10:00] that’s where your, your mind was at.

It was like, I’m, I’m doing this and you know, I’m, I’m walking to my promotion. I’m going to definitely walk in that wedding, you know, the hell with the wheelchair kind of thing, right. And, uh, you know, that, that, that’s like your, your motivation, you’re driving. Force behind it, right? Um, but I got to imagine it, it wasn’t just as easy as, you know, getting to the hospital, popping on some prosthetics and let’s get going, right?

You got to imagine there’s some surgeries, physical therapy, that type of stuff too. Um, how did you cope with all of that stuff and, and still remain so strong, you know, uh, mentally?

Davey Lind: uh, there was, there was a lot of challenging days. You know, I went from, from leading men and being around men doing very physical, physically demanding, aggressive things, you know, just the very nature of putting your gear on and walking to the vehicle, you know, rucks weigh whatever, weapons weigh [00:11:00] whatever, ammo weighs whatever, you have all this.

And then, you know, then, you know, reconnaissance missions, whatever the case may be, there was a lot going on. So then I can’t transition from a bed to a wheelchair. You know, my first day of physical therapy was going, cause I’ve been flat on my back for about a week or 10 days in and out of surgery. Every other day in and out of surgery to my first day of physical therapy was sitting up in bed, uh, and just being able to balance.

My second day of physical therapy was transitioning from a bed that could elevate up and down to, to my wheelchair. And I remember the first, one of the first lessons I got going all the way back to those initial lessons you get in bootcamp and initial training and things was my physical therapist came in and he said, okay, we’re going to go down, we’re going to work on this, you know, X, Y, and Z.

And, you know, it’s down the hallway down here to the PT [00:12:00] room. So, uh, you know, come on, let’s go. And I had transitioned in my wheelchair. I’m sitting in my wheelchair and he was standing and talking to me and he kind of turned and walked out of the room and took a couple of steps and he looked back over his shoulder and gave me a look like, you know, come on, let’s go.

And I was like, Oh yeah, this is on me. So the first day of physical therapy was literally the realization that I had to will myself to physical therapy. And in doing that, uh, you know, We’ll, we’ll, we’ll humble you. Anybody that’s been in that surgeries type situation, it humbles you real quick on, okay, we’re back to square one.

And, and that, but that established a foundation of it’s, it’s got to be on me. And, uh, yeah, that’s what we went with.

Scott DeLuzio: yeah. And, and so like, nobody’s going to do the physical therapy for you. No, one’s going to do the, you know, the, put the effort in, uh, for you, like you’re going to have to do that. And, and I think that was maybe an important step where the, the physical therapist [00:13:00] didn’t. Push you in the wheelchair, which very easily could have been done.

Um, but it’s like, no, this is your time to work. You know, you, you gotta get in that mindset where yeah, now, now you gotta, uh, you gotta suck it up and you gotta, you gotta get some work done here. Um, and so maybe that. That initial thing is just wheeling yourself out of the room and down the hall, right? Um, but with, without that, uh, mindset, you’d just be like, Okay, well, stuff just needs to start happening to me, you know?

And, and you do the work for, for me. Move my leg, you know, move my arms, move my everything. Um, you know, and that’s not The way it’s going to work. And so it’s kind of laying that, the, the ground rules out, out, right out, out from the beginning. Like you said, uh, in, in bootcamp, uh, drill sergeants aren’t, aren’t going to be carrying that ruck for you.

They’re not doing the pushups for you. You got to do those things yourself in order to [00:14:00] transform yourself into, you know, a Marine or, you know, a sailor, airman, you know, soldier, whatever the case may be for anyone out there who’s listening. You, you, You are transforming yourself into something else. And at this point, you’re, you got to go through some work too.

And it’s, it’s almost like basic training over again, where you got to, you got to put some hard work in, in order to see the results right

Davey Lind: 100%.

Scott DeLuzio: now, you mentioned you had, uh, you know, a group of people there who were supportive of you. Um, you know, other, you know, service members, family, you know, things like that.

Um, You know, in what ways were they able to support you, um, while you’re, you’re home, and, and I believe also there’s a, the Semper Fi and Americas Fund as well was supporting you. How, uh, how, how did they play a role in your recovery?

Davey Lind: So there’s, there’s, there’s two parts to it, but they kind of overlap. So, um, the first part that was most important is Semper Fi and America’s [00:15:00] Fund or the fund as, as, as we call it. Um, the very first thing they did is they showed up at my bedside at. Uh, in, in Bethesda within days of my arrival, but they were also able to get, uh, my wife there.

My later on, my, my children were able to come see me. So my world changed. And at that kaboom moment, next thing you know, I’m on a whole new path with a new focus, filled with questions, filled with doubt. And, and I mean, questions are inherently going to be doubt ridden. Like, you know, how do I do this?

What’s, what’s next? And, uh, and, you know, this summer, it’ll be 18 years that I’ve been an amputee, and I’ve been associated with the Semper Fide Americas Fund for 18 years. They’ve been associated with me for that entire 18 years. But the very first thing they did is they had answers to questions that I didn’t have.

Answers to questions I didn’t know. Things like [00:16:00] paying my bills, my gas, electric, you know, what, what, what small things that Could they take care of to alleviate my, my day to day worries, my day to day struggle, and, you know, God bless the power company, electric company, all, all that. Um, but they want their money on time.

And, and my wife had to leave her job at a moment’s notice to, to come be by my bedside. And that did two things. So they took. The monetary drain off of, off of us and, and, and took care of that, which was amazing. And then it, my wife coming by my bedside allowed me not to focus on distractions. I was able to focus on physical, physical therapy, getting better.

You know, there was, there was some, uh, vocational therapy there as well. Some things, you know, how do I function in a wheelchair in an apartment? How do I, you know, little things like [00:17:00] that. How do you, how do you do this? How do you transition from a. Couch to a chair. I had to do that all the time, uh, to demonstrate that I could leave the hospital. In order to do that, I had to focus, I had to be selfish and focus on myself, and I was able to do it because they had taken so much off my plate. And that continued, that relationship with the fund continues through today. I’m very blessed to be able to speak about what they’ve done, not only for me, but for the 33, 000 other service members of all branches of the service.

that they’ve, that they’ve helped. So it’s, it’s been a true blessing in my life. Um, I have stories upon stories of how they’ve made a difference. The, the one story I’ll tell you that’s so important is, um, I was injured June 14th. As I said, I came to San Diego on, uh, on, on June 30th and I had a couple weeks in the [00:18:00] hospital before I was walking, but I had a Saturday where I wanted to go home and I lived in a condo in Oceanside, California.

And we did the normal routine. My wife came and picked me up. I transferred from the wheelchair to passenger seat of a car, drove up to my condo, took the wheelchair out of the trunk, set it up. I transitioned from my passenger seat back to the wheelchair and, uh, was 15 feet from my front door of my condo on the ground floor and it was not wheelchair accessible. Hi.

Scott DeLuzio: soon as you were talking about getting out of the car, and I was thinking, what’s the next step, and I was like, he doesn’t have a ramp or anything to get into the house,

Davey Lind: It was just an older complex, it wasn’t up to code, it had been built, refurbished, and it’s something you never think about until you need it, which I’ll, I’ll give a public service announcement at the end, but um, the, so we, we, I literally just looked at my wife, there’s nothing I was [00:19:00] going to do, so got out of the wheelchair, crawled across the little front lawn, crawled in, and made it through the front door, hopped up on the couch, and you know, And went through that emotional, uh, that emotional rollercoaster of being so close yet so far and, and being there.

And, and no exaggeration, no lie, later on that afternoon I was called by my case manager, uh, Sondra Saylor, who was just calling to check in. Hey Davey, how you doing? What’s going on? What, anything you need? And I said, I’m okay, I’m, you know, you down in the hospital today? I said, no, I, I came home, uh, today.

And I, you know, just on the couch and, Oh, you know, sure. Everything’s all right. It’s like, yeah, you’re not going to believe this. We don’t even have a wheelchair ramp here at, at my, at my place. So it’s, it was kind of tongue in cheek, joking with her and then using existing relationships, um, connections, contacts, volunteers, people that said, how can we make a [00:20:00] difference or they might’ve broke knuckles, I don’t know.

But I do know that the next time I came to my. Back home, there was a not up to code, not up to standard, wooden, but totally usable wheelchair ramp that got me from my parking spot in front of my house up into my house with no, with, with, with no problems. So completely solved the, the, the problem and, uh, and did it without my knowledge.

Scott DeLuzio: And that’s something I think you can, uh, Attest to military veterans, you know, anybody in the service, you got a problem like that. We’ll, we’ll figure it out. It may not be the prettiest solution. It may not be, we may not be too worried about like the legal technicalities of it, but, but it’s gonna, it’s gonna work, you know, regardless.

It’s gonna, it’ll, it’ll get the job done, you know. Um, and, and that’s, [00:21:00] that’s what that was. And, and so next time you got home, you were able to get in the house, you know, sure, maybe it wasn’t a hundred percent up to code, but, um, It was functional,

Davey Lind: Right. And that’s, and that’s, I think it’s so important because So much of what the fund does is done in a, you know, we hear, you know, I’m quoting, you know, it’s, it’s north of 33, 000 service members and millions and millions of dollars, but there’s also a part where it’s holistic healing and it’s, you know, leveraging volunteers and relationships and things that people want to do and locations and, you know, the, the blessing for my situation, I was right outside the back door of Camp Pendleton, but I can imagine that if There was a young service member that was injured in the Midwest, not near any military base.

They would have leveraged the exact same type of situation and volunteer grassroots movement to solve the problem the exact same way. [00:22:00] So many of the problems that they solve are done without a check ever going from them to the service members. So many of those problems are solved, as I said, with relationships and leveraging support.

In a holistic fashion, which I think is very important.

Scott DeLuzio: that is important. And knowing that there are organizations like this out there is, gives a little bit of peace of mind to folks who are in need of, of some sort of service. And it’s like, well, okay, it’s not all on me, right? Like, cause, sure, you had, uh, To do the work for your physical therapy, your wife had to do the work of being there for you, to be supportive and help you through this incredibly difficult time, right?

All these things had had to be happening, but there’s like light, the world didn’t stop spinning. Right? Like you said, the power company needs to get paid and, you know, the, the water company, all, all the, the things that, [00:23:00] uh, need to still be done. And if there’s no paychecks coming in, that’s going to be awfully difficult.

And so knowing that, that people are just going to take care of things for you to, to make this difficult situation a little less difficult, uh, to, to put your mind at ease a little bit is, I think, a good peace of mind to know that these people exist.

Davey Lind: I, when I talk to people, I think it’s very important to say that the Semper Fi in America’s Fund is definitely a hand up and not a handout. That’s, that’s very important. And then I applaud them for the ability to solve the gamut and the unique situations that they, that they come in contact with. My, um, my battle buddy that I was in physical therapy with, who was injured a couple of weeks before me.

Um, other than being very similarly injured with amputation of both of our legs, we literally had very little in [00:24:00] common. I was injured at almost 18 years in the Marine Corps with a wife and kids and live local. He was injured at 18 months in service with a wife, a new wife on his first combat deployment.

So we have nothing in common except the, the, the status of our injuries. And how we need our different ways. So that case manager relationship of knowing that individual, knowing that family and, and, and seeing how to, how to solve the problem. There’s not a cookie cutter, fill out this form. We’ll get this done.

It’s a, what do you need? How do we do this type of thing? And that’s, that’s what makes the fun so different than any other organization I’ve been around.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, that’s awesome. Um, in addition to all of this, you’ve taken this challenging time that you went through and turned it into a story to help, uh, inspire others. Um, you know, You became a, uh, double [00:25:00] amputee CrossFit trainer, um, and you, you’ve done all sorts of things. Tell us more about this transition from, uh, you know, Marine Corps, uh, you know, the injuries to what you’re doing now and kind of what inspired you to take on, uh, this type of role.

Davey Lind: Yeah. You know, it wasn’t something that I, that I set out for right away. I went through, I went through, you know, challenging days, dark, dark times where I was, I had retired. I was away from the Marine Corps. I was away from my military family. I was a suburban dad, uh, raising kids, doing, you know, doing that, doing that thing, doing that type of stuff.

And, um, I, I, I needed an outlet and, uh, you know, I went to a CrossFit gym in, in, uh, in, uh, Chino Hills, California. Met some great trainers, met some great coaches. Push me back in a way that, uh, that I needed, you know, a drive, something to get me up and get me [00:26:00] going. And, and it kind of opened the door to me that no matter what I do or what it is, I find such a huge benefit in doing something physical outside.

And, you know, I can’t lift as much weights as I want to anymore. I can’t, there’s certain things I can’t do anymore, but I realized real quick that, you know, no matter what, I’m an example, everybody will give me. I’ll get a pass on anything, let’s be honest. I’m a, you know, I’m a combat injured guy and if I wanted a pass I could get it.

But there’s no benefit to me, there’s no benefit to my kids, and ultimately there’s no benefit to anybody else around me. Ironically, the thing that’s so funny is I live such a normal life. I think I live a normal life. I travel, I go places, I do things, I meet people. I’ll, it’s, it’s funny almost that I’ll get stopped in the grocery store because people will be like, oh, you’re doing such a great job.

Like, [00:27:00] I appreciate your, your, your kind words, but I have no, you have no idea what I’ve struggled with or how short my temper was just backing into my parking spot out in front of the store, you know? So it’s, I realized real quick out of my example, CrossFit is very important. Transcribed I am a, I am a, a, a CrossFit trainer.

I, I don’t know, I feel like based on everything I read, I was the first double leg amputee trainer, but I know there’s a couple other ones out there with different injuries, so nobody fact checked me and called me out for stolen valor or anything like that. So I started coaching in, uh, 2014. So that’s, you know, we can go back and, and fact check records if we have to, but I, I just find a huge benefit in not only being physically active.

That’s some way, shape, or form every day. But also being in the class setting, and, and, you know, I solve most things with, uh, crass humor and dark jokes, and so it’s a very, it’s very much military esque to be around a CrossFit class, [00:28:00] and it’s a lot of fun.

Scott DeLuzio: That’s awesome, yeah, and it kind of brings back that camaraderie that we had, all had in the military, where, you know, the guys that we served with, and you know how we kind of joke around with each other, and,

Davey Lind: my favorite thing is when somebody complains about, oh, my legs are killing me, my legs are so sore, I hurt this, I just give them I just give them looks like I just deadpan, you know, I’ll really tell me more. What what are you going through today? What’s what’s but you know, and I don’t do it with no smile and true, you know military leader Fashion and they just give me a look like all right, you’re gonna be a jerk.

Okay, good They just you know, so

Scott DeLuzio: You know, it’s one of those things, though, when you’re trying to push yourself harder, you know, in, let’s say CrossFit, or, you know, maybe you’re training for a marathon, or something, um, When, whenever I’ve been in a situation like that, I use people like, like you or, [00:29:00] you know, the people who didn’t make it home, I use those, those people as motivation to say, well, hell, if, if, you know, that person who didn’t make it home, for example, they can’t be here and do this, but I can, so I don’t care that my legs are on fire, I don’t care that my, my back is hurting or that my, you know, whatever, uh, you know, my lungs are on fire.

Uh, like, I’m just going to keep going and until I can’t go anymore. And I’m going to, I’m going to do that because they can’t. And so, you know, someone like yourself who, you know, you do it in, you know, typical military leader style, which is awesome. Um, you, you can serve as that inspiration. So that person now they’re, they’re sitting there complaining that their legs are hurting.

Well, now they’re going to get back up and they’re going to keep, keep working, keep pushing and keep getting better. Right.

Davey Lind: that’s a hope I you you hope to inspire I like to tell people I’m a good example. Sometimes I can be a good [00:30:00] example of a bad example, depending on what the, what the setting is or what’s going on. But like I said, I like to have fun. I travel, uh, often I love, um, activities outside and I, you know, one of the, one of the greatest opportunities I’ve had is, is, uh, something I never thought I’d enjoy that much as golf.

I love the golf. And, uh, it’s one of the things that, that is so, so fun is. One of the biggest compliments I can be given by friends or associates is that they don’t see me as, as handicapped. So, all I have to do is do something. Just a little bit better than somebody I’m with and you all of a sudden I’m not getting, I’m not getting a pass.

I’m not getting a buy. I’m not getting a stroke. It’s like, okay, you know what? And that’s, that’s ultimately what we, what I look for is, uh, just to be, just be taken, um, as a normal everyday guy out there, you know, so[00:31:00]

Scott DeLuzio: Absolutely. And that’s awesome because a lot of people are, are, are out there and they’ll take the easier path and they’ll, they’ll look for that pass or, uh, an extra stroke or two, you know, because of, you know, what their, their injury happened to be. Right? Which I’m sure the people that they’re playing with would have no problem with that, you know?

Um, but, but for someone like yourself, it’s like, no, that’s, that’s, that’s, Not the standard you want to set. You, you want to set a high, the bar higher. Um, and you want to try to achieve what people who still have, you know, full use of their, their legs and all their other limbs, you want to be able to.

Achieve, uh, you know, everything that they can do, uh, you know, just as well. And so, and, and even better, you know, in some cases, right? So, so that’s, that to me is an inspiration too, because, you know, you’re, you’re looking at someone like yourself and [00:32:00] man, it’s so easy to just get down on yourself and be like, you know what, uh, and the way you almost sort of did, you, you talked about when you’re, you’re in Iraq immediately after that blast, you’re just like, well, I can’t see myself going on this way.

Um, Here you are, and thank God you are, uh, still here because, you know, not only are you an inspiration, but you’re, you’re also, you know, able to, uh, to be there for your family, for your kids, for, you know, the other people in your life, and, uh, you know, think about all that they would have lost had, had that bond been a little bit more, uh, successful on the, on the bad guy’s side, you know?

Davey Lind: for sure. For sure.

Scott DeLuzio: um, So physical fitness, uh, obviously is, is a thing that is, has been helpful for you. Um, and I, I feel like that that’s a thing. Um, it’s a common theme when, when I’m talking to other veterans, whether they’re dealing with, you know, Mental health issues, [00:33:00] whether they’re dealing with physical health issues, doing something physical, some sort of exercise, whether it’s CrossFit, running, lifting weights, uh, whatever the modality is for them.

Uh, it seems like a physical activity is the thing that helps kind of reframe their mind, which is, seems like a strange thing to say, because you got to do something physical to get your mind right. But it seems like that’s what has been your, your case, right?

Davey Lind: Absolutely. And the, and the more, um, you know, you have to, you have, you know, father time remains undefeated. So you have to, you have to do what you can do, function in the way you can function and not, and not live, um, not live where you were 30 years ago. You have to adjust and things like that. But it’s, it’s amazing how just the simple fact of getting up and getting out of the house.

I, I, I’ve found through different [00:34:00] podcasts and different platforms, there’s great, there’s great evidence of just doing simple menial tasks, running errands, going to the store. You know, cooking dinner, things like that. Um, although they may not be physically challenging, they are liberating. They are enabling you.

You’re doing something. You’re self sufficient and there’s value there, not only to yourself as the veteran, but to the family around you. You know, so I, you know, I love to cook. I love to travel. I love to go places. I, you know, I enjoy, I enjoy life. And I think that, that that’s very important. Um, and then, you know, I’ve looked at different challenges.

That I’m like, man, that looks like something I would want to do, but do I want to do that? Can I really do that? There’s a thing that keeps, you know, off on the, off on my periphery out here, you know, that little red light. There’s like cattle drives that go on in the summertime that are a week [00:35:00] long, like city slickers.

I’m like, could you do that? Maybe Lynn, could you be on a horse for a week? What? Tell me, tell me, could you experience that? And there’s, you know, there’s that part where you’re like, I think I could. And then. You go on a trail ride for six hours and you’re like, I definitely don’t want to do that every day for the next week.

So it’s, it’s one of those things you have to, you have to factor it in and see what you’re really capable of. So

Scott DeLuzio: Well, capable of two and also desire, like it, it may sound like a great idea until you get into it. And it’s like, I really don’t want to be doing

Davey Lind: I’ve hurt myself with that a couple of times. Absolutely.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah. I mean, like, you know, an afternoon is one thing, but a whole week, uh, that might be a little much. Right. So,

Davey Lind: It could be that I’ve, I’ve famously golfed four days in a row and by halfway through on the third day, I was like, what in the world? Did I get myself into this is, this is a terrible idea. Why did nobody counsel me? Why didn’t nobody suggest I can’t do this? What is wrong? So,

Scott DeLuzio: this is what the professionals do. Come on.

Davey Lind: they, every, all the time.

Exactly. All the[00:36:00]

Scott DeLuzio: You know? Um, but I, you know, again, it’s, it’s important to. Uh, no, no, not only limitations as far as, you know, what, what can you do? What are you capable of doing? But, um, what do you want to do? Right? Because in afternoon activity, that might be fun, but if you stretch it out all week, that might become a drag.

So knowing what it is that you want. Out of the activity, uh, you know, they’re, they’re different things. So, so keeping that in mind, um, based on your, your journey and, and kind of everything that you’ve gone through, um, what message would you like to relay to other service members or, or even veterans who are undergoing something similar, whether they’ve lost a limb or, or not, maybe they, they have some other, uh, you know, issues that they’re, they’re dealing with, um, that that’s a struggle for, for them.

Um, What message would you have for them to help them get through [00:37:00] this tough time that they may be going through?

Davey Lind: Yeah. The, um, there’s a couple of things that I’d say in, in, you know, in, in no particular order, I would say, um, just like we said, the military, you’re either getting better, you’re getting worse. You’re never staying the same. So, so always be looking for, for improvement. is something that I’ve learned that you can’t get stagnant.

Um, especially as we get older, it’s, it’s, it’s going to do more damage. So I, I do everything I can to stay as active as possible. Even if it’s just something as simple as a golf outing or, you know, whatever, staying active, I think is very important. Um, I would like to remind people that you are never, ever, out of the fight.

That as long as you are have the ability to be on this side of the ground, you are [00:38:00] able to positively impact your day and, and, and to not give up. And there, there’s another thing, uh, that, that I think is kind of funny and it’s, you know, this too in time shall pass. So even if it’s really, really great, this, you know, wait, this too in time shall pass. But when things get really bad, you have to remind yourself, this too in time shall pass. So it’s, you know, the, I look back at different training and different challenging situations you were in and, and, you know, they all pass. They all, you, you, you continue on. And I think it’s so important to connected to your service members.

Your fellow brothers and sisters, reach out to them, family, be involved, be engaged in life. And, and I love to remind myself that I, I’m an [00:39:00] example. Uh, you know, you go to a military base, regardless of the branch of service, you go to that town and it looks completely different than any other town that you go to where there’s not a military base close.

And where I live now, I have one trigger. And my trigger happens every single day. And believe it or not, I hate that I’m going to say this, the amount of people that take handicap parking spots, real quick, I am, I go from zero to a hundred, and, because I need that spot to open my door the whole way to get out, like I actually need that spot.

You could make it further away, it’s not the walk, it’s the, I need the access to the spot, and it’s one of those things that, That when I get to a handicapped spot, if I can change anything by people listening to this podcast, don’t put your shopping carts in the handicapped spot and don’t take them unless you Actually need them.

It’s, it sounds so simple, but it’s, it’s like a litmus test in [00:40:00] society. It’s my platform. And I’m going to, I’m going to develop something that makes people responsible to put their, to put their carts back in the barn and not take handicap spots. That’s all I want. That’s how I’m going to change the world one day at a time.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, and that drives me nuts too. I haven’t had the experience of needing a handicapped spot. Thank God. Um, but the, the carts in the parking lot that are just left wherever, like it’s not that far, they, they put these, these, these, uh, carousels or wherever to, to put the carts away, they’re all over the place.

Even if you have to walk back to the store to put it back there, it’s not that far, you already walked there from, you know, after buying your stuff, come on guys, come on, seriously, but, uh, hopefully,

Davey Lind: with a smile on my face now, but you catch me in Albertsons or Stater Brothers parking lot here later on the day, and you might get a completely different. You know, uh, uh, double amputee standing in front of you with like the, are you serious? Come [00:41:00] on, come on.

Scott DeLuzio: yeah, right.

Davey Lind: it’s, uh, that’s, that’s the only thing.

Um,

Scott DeLuzio: It’s ridiculous. Yeah,

Davey Lind: but, but I, but I’m, I’m, I’m happy you had me on and I, I can’t say enough how important it is. You know, we talked about my, my journey, but I, I really want to reiterate, you know, I’m successful today by most standards of, of, of success. Thank you I’m married. I have a dog that may have shown up in the background here and I, you know, I have all these different things that are going on.

I travel, I go places, I do things, but I’m successful today because it’s such a crucial time in my injury in this new chapter. I had a strong foundation that helped me build my support to let me go on to success and there are brand new critically ill and injured service members right now today. We, [00:42:00] we, it might not be a global war on terror, but we still have service members downrange today in the Middle East and Africa and other places that are coming home injured.

And thankfully, The Semper Fi and Americas Fund is there treating them the exact same way they treated me 18 years ago, nearly 18 years ago. And, and I, I just really want to, want to hammer that point home.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. And I think that’s a great point. And I do want to, uh, give, uh, another shout out to, uh, Semper Fi and America’s Fund, uh, their, their website, thefund. org, I believe it is, uh, is, is where you can go to find out more information about them. Uh, I’m sure you can make donations and all that kind of stuff, uh, through, through their website as well.

Um, but, uh, You definitely want to support that organization, um, because, um, like you said, they, they They were able to help you through this, but you know without a [00:43:00] handout it was a hand up and and that’s That’s what you needed. I think at that that point in time and like you said so many other people that they’ve assisted along the way That’s what they need as well.

So definitely, you know, reach out to that organization if you’re in need, you know for similar kind of support that that you were Talking about earlier if folks are Looking for that, definitely reach out to the organization, um, and consider donating as well if you’re able to, uh, that, that’s, uh, I think a great, uh, great cause, great organization to, to support.

Davey Lind: It’s, it’s absolutely necessary. And, uh, they, I, I don’t know, are you going to share my information? They can reach out to me directly. I can give more stories about how they helped me and, and, and, and way to do that. So

Scott DeLuzio: yeah, for sure, and I, I have your, your social media links, I, I believe, uh, and if not, I’ll get those from you, but I’ll include those in the show notes, uh, for the, the listeners as well, uh, and, [00:44:00] you know, websites, uh, anything like that, that, that you want to share, um, you can share it now, and, and I can also put it in, uh, the show notes as well.

Davey Lind: yeah, I’m real easy to find. It’s, uh, Davy, D A V U I, L I N D. On all the social media platforms. So,

Scott DeLuzio: Excellent. Excellent. So like I said, those links will be in the show notes, uh, for the listeners, uh, reach out to Davey. He can help out, uh, you know, share more stories and that type of stuff that we, you know, maybe weren’t able to cover today, but, um, I’m sure he’ll be glad to help. Um, Davey, it’s been a pleasure speaking with you, uh, hearing about your story.

Really, like I said, it’s, uh, been inspirational to hear, uh, your, your side of things and, uh, how you’ve coped and managed with, uh, this difficult situation. Um, but. But you’re coming out, uh, stronger every day, it seems like, and that’s, uh, obviously what we want. So, uh, thank you again for, for taking the time to share and coming on the show.

Davey Lind: and thanks a lot. I really appreciate being on and, uh, look forward, uh, look [00:45:00] forward to this one life.